It’s a herbal that we use in our foods.  It’s used in small amounts in all of the Only Dog formulations and it’s offered as a herbal additive in the Custom Cat and Dog Meals.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is part of the ginger family.  Like ginger, turmeric has many healing properties and is known to primarily help as an anti-inflammatory or antioxidant.  It has a lot of traditional uses such as being made into a paste to heal wounds and used in cooking. 

Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin, the active ingredient.  Curcumin has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, wound healing and anti-cancer properties. It can help fight diseases like arthritis, diabetes, cancer, liver disease, kidney disease, gastrointestinal issues and more.

Well studied, turmeric has over 6,000 studies to its credit.  Research shows turmeric is an effective herbal treatment for a number of conditions:

Cancer: The American Cancer Society claims, “Curcumin interferes with cancer development, growth, and spread. Recently, curcumin has received a great deal of focus because of its ability to reduce tumor size and kill cancer cells.“

Inflammation: Chronic inflammation contributes to some common health conditions, including Cancer, arthritis, allergies, kidney disease, and digestive disease. Curcumin can suppress many molecules known to play major roles in inflammation.:

Heart Disease: Curcumin has beneficial effects on several factors known to play a role in heart disease. Plus, it’s an anti-inflammatory agent and antioxidant.

Digestive: It’s been shown in several preclinical studies and uncontrolled clinical trials as having positive effects on gut inflammation and gut permeability.  Researchers at Hamamatsu South Hospital in Japan commented that curcumin’s “inhibitory effects on major inflammatory mechanisms  […] and its unrivaled safety profile suggest it has bright prospects in the treatment of IBD.”

There are some precautions to consider when using turmeric.  Although rare, a possible side effect is constipation, especially for those cats that normally suffer from chronic constipation.   Turmeric is also a natural blood thinner, so it’s wise to check with your vet if your dog or cat is on prescription blood thinners.

The turmeric we use is organically grown in California and shipped to us fresh.  We use it regularly for a number of conditions, from digestive to arthritis and diabetes.  Turmeric is an example of how we thoughtfully design diets with the fewest healthy, natural ingredients providing the largest impact.