Loss of Appetite and the "Magical" Turmeric Paste

This 47 year-old lady of Javanese descent came to see me complaining of being constantly hungry but had no appetite to eat. She had lost some weight over one and a half year and now feeling quite agitated.  She also had gastric pain especially at nights. I ran a battery of tests on her but could not find anything major except for a low haemoglobin of 10.1 g/dL and a low BMI of 19 (underweight).

She spoke rapidly and appeared impatient. I looked for signs and symptoms of an active thyroid and did a blood test to assess her thyroid function.

Yellow-stained palm 

Something about her appearance intrigued me. Her face seemed to have a yellowish tint around the cheeks, nose and forehead. Then I noticed her hands were stained yellow. I asked her what she had been making and she said she made turmeric paste mixed with honey (Jamu Kunyit) as a health concoction. She has been making and taking this paste for the last two years to boost her health, strengthen her reproductive organ,pelvic muscle, make her slim and skin flawless! Now, this seemed to coincide with the start and the continuation of her anorexic ( no appetite) problem.

Yellow-tint facial skin

My nurse then related her own experience of taking this same paste during her confinement, apparently this turmeric paste is supposed to contract the uterus faster and strengthen the muscle around the pelvic region. She took it for a couple of months and found that she had lost her appetite and consequently her weight. She felt awful: nauseous and a strange taste in her mouth.  She stopped taking it upon realising the adverse effects. Such is the "magic" of the turmeric paste!

The following claims have been made on the use of turmeric:

Thirteen ways a 100% certified organic-based Turmeric can spice up your whole person:

Turmeric rhizomes and powder

1. Boosts your antioxidant protection against free radicals*
2. Helps promote your healthy skin*
3. Supports your overall eye health*
4. Provides you immune system support*
5. Aids your skeletal system and joint health*
6. Encourages your healthy liver function*
7. Helps you maintain healthy cells with support against free radicals*
8. Balances the health of your digestive system*
9. Aids you in support of healthy blood and your circulatory system*
10. Helps you maintain normal cholesterol levels to support your cardiovascular system*
11. Assists your neurological system's healthy response to stress*
12. Promotes a healthy female reproductive system*
13. Helps you maintain blood sugar levels already within the normal range

Source: Mercola.com

The pronounced benefits of turmeric seem wonderful  but where are the evidence to support its use by a large number of people? Moreover the processing of this herb may introduce other inorganic products which may be harmful to the liver and kidney when consumed on a regular basis. Can a manufacturer guarantee a 100% product purity? Is the dosage weight-dependent? what are its contraindications? What about adverse side-effects? What about the inclusion of other items such as honey, ginger and tamarind in a home-made paste (jamu)? Could the turmeric mixture become toxic to our excretory organs?

Despite all the alleged benefits, the home-made herb concoction has adversely affected my patient's appetite and the worst consequence is, she feels hungry but has no desire to eat: how paradoxical? I advised her to stop consuming the concoction and gave her multivitamins to promote her appetite and she has an appointment to see me later to review her condition.

Everyday I am learning new things from my patients some of whose practices never fail to fascinate me.