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Curry Spice May Suppress Urge to Gamble

Q. All my life my knees have ached at night. I would use Aleve, arthritis-strength aspirin or Tylenol and usually woke up and had to take more about 3 am.
I read in your column about using turmeric for arthritis pain and I bought some turmeric capsules. I took one with milk and a cookie at bedtime and slept pain-free all night and every night since then. It is almost miraculous.
There is another interesting effect. I used to enjoy playing the slot machines. With video slot machines in bars and restaurants here in Oregon, I was playing the slots once or twice a week. I felt I was a little too interested in the slots but I’d still find myself spending more on them than I intended.
Since that first capsule of turmeric, I have had no interest whatsoever in gambling. It was like flipping off a switch.
I’d think this was simply an odd coincidence, but I recall reading about a prescription drug with the opposite effect. It triggered a gambling compulsion that went away when the drug was discontinued.
Gambling is hard to kick, so I thought you might be interested in my experience. Turmeric has been a godsend to me on two fronts.

A. We are intrigued with your story. Studies show that turmeric, the yellow spice in curry, has anti-inflammatory activity. We have never seen any previous indication that it would help against gambling!
We discuss the pros and cons of arthritis pain relievers and a number of non-drug options including turmeric in our Guide to Alternatives for Arthritis. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (no. 10) stamped (63 cents), self-addressed envelope: Graedons’ The People’s Pharmacy®, No. AA-2, P. O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. You can also download it for $2 at www.peoplespharmacy.com.

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About the Author
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist who has dedicated his career to making drug information understandable to consumers. His best-selling book, The People’s Pharmacy, was published in 1976 and led to a syndicated newspaper column, syndicated public radio show and web site. In 2006, Long Island University awarded him an honorary doctorate as “one of the country's leading drug experts for the consumer.”.
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