GIA HERBS

11/18/12 UPDATE: I'm still taking Gaia turmeric most every night, and the tendonitis has not come back. (In fact, I'd forgotten I ever had it till I reread this review.) Whether the turmeric cured the tendonitis, or it vanished on its own, I don't know. But turmeric has numerous other benefits, so I plan to keep taking it. 3/5/15 UPDATE: I drifted away from taking Gaia's Turmeric Supreme for a while, but have recently begun taking it again. I actually like taking it along with New Chapter Turmeric Force (one capsule of each). I feel the effect dramatically within an hour or so of taking it. The tendonitis I cited in the "original review" is old history. My joints, muscles and tendons all feel fine these days. I take a lot of natural anti-inflammatories such as turmeric (in various forms) and fish oil. It may the combination that made the difference. ******************************************* ORIGINAL REVIEW: I started experiencing pain in my left forearm and wrist a few weeks ago, that was severe enough to keep me awake at night. I hadn't been injured, it just came out of the blue, and was severe enough that I couldn't type or work with that hand at my computer. I went to a doctor who confirmed diagnosed the condition as tendonitis caused by the work I do at a computer, and recommended that I begin occupational therapy. But the OT she recommended was booked up, so I couldn't get an appointment till September. My doctor gave me stretching exercises to do while waiting for the OT, which were painful themselves but helped a little. She wanted me to start pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories, but I held off on that because mental clarity is important to me. (When I've taken pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories in the past, they put me in a mental fog.) While waiting for the occupational therapist to become available, I mentioned the pain to a friend of mine, and he suggested turmeric. (He takes a teaspoon of turmeric every morning.) I decided to try Gaia turmeric extreme, three capsules a day (actually I take them at night), because I like Gaia's approach to how they process herbs. I was startled to find that my tendonitis was greatly improved, almost overnight. I have literally no symptoms as long as I take the turmeric. The only "side effect," if you can call it that, it that when I take it, I sleep soundly through the night. I can't prove that what I've experienced is cause and effect; maybe something else cured the tendonitis pain (though I had been told it was not curable). Maybe my doctor's diagnosis was incorrect. Maybe the tendonitis is cyclical and the pain will return in time. But my gut level feeling is that it's the Gaia turmeric supreme which is handling the inflammation so effectively, that healing can take place. Gaia's herbal products are high quality and highly distilled. BTW, I have also taken fish oil for inflammation, which I have sometimes found effective if I take a large enough dose for things like arthritic back pain, but the turmeric seems to have had a stronger effect at a much smaller dose. ************************************ ADDENDUM (one week later): the tendonitis pain is still completely gone, as is my back pain. I'm still sleeping great. And I have noticed one more interesting side effect: I breathe better at night. Re: buying herbs and supplements on Amazon, I have found that if you shop around, it's often less expensive than buying locally, with one caveat: you have to make sure you don't get slammed with high shipping costs, which aren't revealed till the last stage of completing your order. Sometimes the shipping costs when buying this way are reasonable but occasionally they're through the roof. I've learned to check the details of the order before approving it. (I recently tried buying $150 worth of supplements on Amazon --- each supplement was reasonably priced, but the shipping came to $50! And this, for lightweight supplements that did not have any kind of "rush" on delivery. So I canceled the order and bought the products locally.) Free super savings shipping is great when you can find it. But you do have to be careful cause it it's not free, it can add up to an outrageous amount. LATER NOTE: If you buy a LOT of supplements on Amazon, getting a Prime membership is one way of lowering the shipping cost. Be aware however that "Prime" products often cost more than their non-Prime counterparts. And Amazon no longer guarantees two day shipping. When I order using Prime, usually the product(s) will arrive within two days; but sometimes it's taken a week or ten days. When I call Amazon for an explanation, I'm told that "two day shipping" just means that once it ships, it'll take two days to get here, but it may not be shipped for a week or more! I have appreciated Prime's quick shipping in the past, and am disappointed that the quality of the service has gone downhill. They used to actually guarantee the product's arrival in two days, and give a partial discount if it took longer.

Works great for me!

After a serious knee injury from running a couple of years ago and the subsequent surgeries to repair it, my knee has not returned to normal. If I over-exert or twist it during heavy exercise, it tends to swell and become very painful. My orthopedist put me on regular daily doses of anti-inflammatories; but I had a problem with stomach irritation so I've tried a number of natural supplements which provided some relief. Turmeric had been mentioned to me by a nutritionist, but I had waited to try it. I started out with a couple of different name brands of turmeric/curcumen. After a few days on the it, the pain in my knee improved noticeably but I still had a fair amount of pain after workouts. While I use the Gaia Herbs brand for a couple of other supplements and have been extremely happy with their quality, I avoided buying Gaia Herbs' version of turmeric since the other brands I was using were less expensive. I decided to try one bottle's worth to see if it made a difference. It did! Several weeks after switching brands to the Gaia Herbs version, my knee pain improved dramatically...often to the extent that I don't even notice the pain (haven't been without knee pain in 2 years). In researching the most effective way of taking turmeric for joint pain, I learned that it's important to include an extract of the black pepper berry which aids in the absorption of the curcumin. Basically, it helps the curcumin to get into your bloodstream rather than just passing through your intestines. Gaia Herbs version contains 7mg of this black pepper berry extract and uses an alcohol extraction method to best capture the curcumin. I've also read that it's helpful to pair the turmeric/curcumin with Bromelain because it forms a synergistic combination that helps to support a healthy inflammatory response. The recommended daily dosage on the bottle is 1-2 capsules per day. I take two capsules daily -- one in the morning and one later in the day. I can't take more than one at a time because too much can result in upset stomach or acid indigestion. (NOTE: Turmeric grows as a rhizome (large root) and has been used since early times to treat gastrointestinal upset, arthritic pain, and other ailments. Curcumin, which is a constituent of turmeric, is known for for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity and it's being studied as having a potential role in the battle against cancer, Alzheimer's disease, psoriasis and cystic fibrosis. For joint pain and inflammation, a number of orthopedists claim that it offers the same degree of pain relief as NSAIDs (anti-inflammatories)...without the health risks.)

I use this to reduce inflammation in my body and my acne. It works really well. I highly recommend it. The pill was easy to swallow not too big 10 out of 10.

These have been really helpful for my inflammation that comes from having fibromyalgia. I haven’t noticed any side effects since taking it. Easy to swallow and doesn’t leave a bad taste.

This is a superior item that really helped me with my inflammation. Highly recommended!

I use Gaia Herbs Turmeric Supreme Extra Strength for inflammation, and I’ve seen great results. The formula combines turmeric curcumin with black pepper for better absorption, and it noticeably helps calm flare-ups. The capsules are vegan, easy to take, and high quality.

Works well to help decrease arthritic pain