Can too much turmeric intake lead to iron deficiency?

Turmeric is a popular Indian spice that is generously added to curries to give it a bright yellow colour and a warm taste. Apart from its wide usage in preparing Asian food, this spice has been used for centuries to treat varied health benefits. Due to its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, the usage of this spice gained more popularity during the COVID-19 wave to reduce the risk of infection and boost immunity. Right from turmeric root pickles to turmeric shots, the demand for this yellow spice increased drastically in every household. However, what most people do know is that the excessive intake of even healthy foods, including turmeric, can be a great matter of concern and lead to several side effects.

Indeed this yellow spice reduces inflammation and boosts immunity, but too much it can also reduce the absorption of iron in the body. Iron is a mineral that our body requires on a daily basis to produce haemoglobin, which is a red protein responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood.

Turmeric is categorised into food that can decrease iron absorption by 20 per cent to 90 per cent, depending on its intake. This happens due to the stoichiometric qualities of turmeric which help it to bind all the absorbable iron and cause iron deficiency. Curcumin, the key active ingredient in turmeric, can bind ferric iron to form a ferric-curcumin complex. This compound can also inhibit the synthesis of hepcidin, peptides responsible for iron balance in the body. All these factors together lead to iron deficiency.

Tumeric can support your health in numerous ways, provided you take it in moderation. You can freely put it in your curries and veggies like you always do. The problem begins when people go the extra mile and start having curcumin supplements or taking turmeric shots.

If you add 2,000–2,500 mg of turmeric to your food, it provides only 60–100 mg of curcumin per day. This amount of curcumin is not harmful to anyone as it is under the safe limit. Having this amount of turmeric per day in an exact form is unsafe. It is all due to the amount of curcumin in the supplement which is responsible for its potential benefits. Consult your doctor if you are planning to take curcumin supplements.

Apart from causing an iron deficiency, taking too much curcumin in a day may also lead to digestive issues, headache and skin rashes. Extremely high intake of turmeric can also increase the liver size, stomach ulcers, inflammation and make you more prone to intestinal or liver cancer.

Curcumin is the most important active compound in turmeric, responsible for most of its health benefits. But intake of curcumin supplements is not recommended for everyone. Those already suffering from anaemia, bleeding disorder, kidney stones and diabetes should be extra careful while adding an extra dose of this yellow spice to their diet.