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submitted 18 hours ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

A 57-year-old woman spent six days in the hospital for severe liver damage after taking daily megadoses of the popular herbal supplement, turmeric, which she had seen touted on social media, according to NBC News.

The woman, Katie Mohan, told the outlet that she had seen a doctor on Instagram suggesting it was useful against inflammation and joint pain. So, she began taking turmeric capsules at a dose of 2,250 mg per day. According to the World Health Organization, an acceptable daily dose is up to 3 mg per kilogram of weight per day—for a 150-pound (68 kg) adult, that would be about 204 mg per day. Mohan was taking more than 10 times that amount.

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[-] [email protected] 5 points 7 hours ago

Can't wait for the chubbyemu video to explain the science of what happens here

[-] [email protected] 4 points 6 hours ago

He's probably in the emergency room now, writing down all that is happening. "Hyperturmeremia - hyper- for high, turmer for turmeric, and -emia for presence in blood."

[-] [email protected] 4 points 8 hours ago

In my bathroom cabinet I have 6250mg tumeric gummies, which I take in the morning with my multivitamin for inflammation. I bought this well known brand (Jamieson) from a reputable source.

Am I not supposed to be able to trust that a basic suppliment from Shoppers is safe? This isn't "magic sleep improvement concoction" or some underground fad wellness brand selling mushroom infusions.... This is a large and old company that makes half the shit in my cabinet....

[-] [email protected] 12 points 7 hours ago

googling for 3 seconds I found that Jamieson Tumeric Gummies only have 250mg Tumeric per Gummy, which is apparently equivalent to 6250mg of dried Tumeric. That is basically the recommended maximum daily dosage.

In general, no you can't trust 'basic' supplements, since they are poorly regulated. I'd also recommend getting supplements only for things that you actually need supplemented, i.e. a blood test shows you are deficient.

https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1143270524?ft=nprml&amp%3Bf=1143270524

[-] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

So you're saying I shouldn't take one of those supplements then go have a curry?

[-] [email protected] 4 points 6 hours ago

Thank you for doing that. I found this out first thing in the morning and am now on my first work break, I hope I would have figured this out eventually but it was bothering me already today. My workmate had the rational thought "it's got to be a factor of 10 difference or something, you should reread the label when you get home."

But again, thanks, now I have a little peace in my head until I can do some more research. I poison my liver with alcohol. I don't need extra help....

As for why I take it, I was instructed to by my family doctor as well as my (far more trusted and who I've known far longer) Massage therapist, who explicitly said "I can't legally tell you to take supplements because laws and such, but go ask your doctor about x,y,z." Which I did.

[-] [email protected] -3 points 8 hours ago

As a random internet person who knows not much about anything, you should definitely take them.

[-] [email protected] 18 points 14 hours ago

daily megadoses [...] Mohan was taking more than 10 times that

that's a decadose at best

[-] [email protected] 6 points 13 hours ago

Also microdoses are usually decidoses, but that's irrelevant because in this use mega means large and micro means small. Microcar. Microcomputer.

But what size are microplastics when also mentioning nanoplastics? Are they still "5mm and smaller"?

[-] [email protected] 2 points 12 hours ago

all very valid questions! also kilograms but never mega- or gigagrams?

[-] [email protected] 12 points 13 hours ago

I have to have taken that dose in the form of curry before

[-] [email protected] 6 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Oh yeah, it's basically a big teaspoon. Which isn't uncommon in a recipe of turmeric curry for two.

The issue here is that she took it straight in capsule form, every day, for several weeks.

[-] [email protected] 48 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

This is what happens when people can’t get the healthcare that they need, and when Congress deregulates supplements.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

And we have “wellness” influencers convincing you all you need is random supplements and to eat healthy and “brain retraining” and you’ll feel great TM.

[-] [email protected] 17 points 17 hours ago

i dont think thats the only reason, some people believe in pseudoscience more readily than actual medicine. supplements have always been unregulated for decades.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 12 hours ago

People wouldn't believe in pseudoscience so much if they could just go to the hospital without hesitation or worry about the costs.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 7 hours ago

In Germany this isn't true. The pseudoscience is thriving and in part supplemented by public health care. Homeopathy was a part of the anti-science campaign of the nazis and is still practised.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 9 hours ago

You can probably check this by looking at how often this kind of thing happens in:
a) Countries with a normal free-to-use national health system
b) America

[-] [email protected] 1 points 7 minutes ago

As someone that has lived in both, I am sad to report that there isn't much difference.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 14 hours ago

Or they think that something you use by the teaspoon in cooking is inherently safe when used daily.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 17 hours ago

To add another layer to that, even if you believe in pseudoscience you should also have the basic understanding that absolutely anything and everything can be harmful if you exceed the appropriate dose. I can't understand why most people don't understand this

[-] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago

But you are still using "logic" there, while she was using "trust", in the perceived authority source of a combination of "doctor" + "government" (they wouldn't allow selling of something that could be dangerous).

[-] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

People can die of drinking too much water, I see your point but I die on my hill

[-] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

As too did she.

Misinformation is dangerous. Disinformation even more so.

Capitalism sometimes kill, literally.

[-] [email protected] 18 points 16 hours ago

Stop following Dr Oz, he's a quack!

[-] [email protected] 28 points 18 hours ago

she had seen a doctor on Instagram suggesting it

Yeah.

[-] [email protected] 14 points 18 hours ago

The Instagram Doctor didn't bother to read the Wikipedia article on tumeric. I did yesterday because my mom has been taking it and heard about this.

It's not an anti-inflammatory and is a mild allergen. Some folks have immune systems that don't like it in other words. And liver failure is what happens to those folks when they take to many tumeric supplements.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 18 hours ago

Did she get it from onnit?

[-] [email protected] -1 points 13 hours ago

This is why I want AI available to everyone. I want for people like this to ask AI if it's safe and for AI to tell her no. There's not enough doctors to go around, so we need something to fill the gap and provide common sense advice.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

You think that a woman who took 10x the recommended dose of something would listen to an AI instead of a label designed explicitly for this supplement?

Or are you saying that we should encourage folks to get advice from an AI and respect it as they would a medical professional?

Also, what do you mean, "available to everyone?"?? Its baked into google???

Also.. Gemini seems to recommend 2000 mg at the top end of the range.... Idk man, that's real close to what she was taking daily. Seems bad!

Gemini probably sucks for this but I don't think AI is a great idea for this anyway.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 8 hours ago

I'm not talking about a general commercial AI, I'm talking about a vetted, specifically trained AI that would be able to escalate queries to tele-operators.

Again, we don't have the doctors to go around, we need to figure how to fill the gap in medical care. Especially with aging populations. We can turn up our nose at AI, but it can save lives, even if it's just freeing up doctors to work on more urgent tasks.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 7 hours ago

We still have pamphlets and texts vetted by professionals.

Ai is not needed when people can just consult health care providers websites. In fact I doubt people will trust AI over their "own research".

The problem is quacks trying to sell snake oil.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

who the hell can we trust to make a babysitter life coach AI for vulnerable people

[-] [email protected] 0 points 12 hours ago

Honestly, the government. I was speaking to a GP and they were saying so much of their time is lost doing basic commonsense consultancy with patients. If we can free them up for more important things like chasing up care that patients need and providing support, it's a win for everyone.

Is it probable? Likely not. But it's definitely something we should aspire towards. Everyone deserves the best possible care and figuring out how to do that with dwindling resources is imperative.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 8 hours ago

By government, you mean RFK?

[-] [email protected] 1 points 8 hours ago

I'm not American 💁🏾‍♂️

[-] [email protected] 5 points 13 hours ago

Sir this is Lemmy. I'm gonna need you to start hate-antromorphizing AI and refuse to even engage with it.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 13 hours ago

You're right, my bad! 😅

this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2025
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