Turmeric and gallstones, and what curcumin does to your gallbladder

Most lists of who should be careful with turmeric include people with gallstones, usually in a single line with no explanation, so here's the reason behind it.

Turmeric and gallstones is a question about bile. Curcumin makes the gallbladder contract, and in a small trial of 12 healthy volunteers, 40mg of curcumin halved its volume within two hours. That's normal digestion for most people, but medicines advisers at NHS Wales advise avoiding turmeric if you have gallstones.

Key takeaways

• Curcumin, the main compound in turmeric, makes the gallbladder squeeze, much as a fatty meal or a glass of milk does.
• For most people that's an ordinary part of digestion and nothing to worry about.
• If you have gallstones, a squeezing gallbladder can push a stone into a bile duct, which is what causes gallstone pain.
• NHS Wales advises avoiding turmeric and curcumin with gallstones, a bile duct problem, or liver disease.
• The gallbladder responded to amounts of curcumin found in food, so a turmeric shot isn't exempt, and your GP or pharmacist is the person to ask.

What are gallstones?

Small stones that form in the gallbladder, and many people have them without knowing.

Gallstones are defined as small, hard stones, usually made of cholesterol, that form in the gallbladder, the small pouch under the liver that stores bile. Bile is the fluid that helps you digest fat. The NHS page on gallstones says they're common and often cause no symptoms at all. Problems start when a stone gets stuck in one of the ducts that carry bile out of the gallbladder.

According to the NHS, you're more likely to get gallstones if you're over 40, a woman, or overweight, if you eat a diet high in fat and low in fibre, if you've lost weight quickly, or if you have diabetes or Crohn's disease.

What's the link between turmeric and gallstones?

Curcumin makes the gallbladder contract, and with gallstones, that squeeze can cause pain.

Your gallbladder contracts after you eat to push bile into your gut. Researchers in Indonesia measured this with ultrasound in a trial where 12 healthy volunteers took 20mg of curcumin or a placebo, on separate days, without knowing which. With curcumin, gallbladder volume fell steadily, by 29% at two hours, significantly more than on placebo. A follow-up trial in another 12 volunteers found the effect grew with the dose, with 20mg, 40mg, and 80mg shrinking the gallbladder by 34%, 51%, and 72% at two hours.

For a healthy gallbladder, that's simply bile doing its job. With gallstones, though, the advice from NHS Wales is plain: turmeric extracts can trigger biliary colic, the pain of a stone pressing into a bile duct, in people with gallstones.

Is turmeric any different from other foods?

Not very. Fat, milk, and coffee make the gallbladder contract too.

Researchers at the University of Nottingham used MRI scans to compare everyday drinks in a study of eight healthy adults. A yoghurt drink with 80mg of curcumin came fourth of the ten drinks tested, a smaller effect than earlier ultrasound studies had found, close to a mug of coffee and well behind a glass of semi-skimmed milk. Two of the authors worked for Johnson & Johnson, which supplied the test drinks.

The researchers found that how strongly the gallbladder contracted tracked how much fat a drink carried. So turmeric isn't unusual here. It's one of several things in an ordinary diet that get bile moving, which is why the advice for people with gallstones often includes eating less fat as well.

Who should avoid turmeric?

Anyone with gallstones, a blocked or inflamed bile duct, liver disease, or any other gallbladder or bile duct problem.

That's the list the Welsh Medicines Advice Service gives for turmeric and curcumin. It also notes that turmeric is usually well tolerated, and that most of its side effects are mild. The caution is about a specific group, rather than a reason for everyone to worry. Our guide to turmeric and liver health covers the liver side of that list.

If you have gallstones, or think you might, speak to your GP or pharmacist before taking turmeric in any regular form. That includes supplements, extracts, and shots.

Does a turmeric shot count?

Yes. We'd rather be straight with you about that.

With medicines, the usual point is that interactions mostly relate to concentrated curcumin extracts, and a juiced shot carries far less curcuminoid than a capsule. That point doesn't help much here. Ground turmeric averages around 3% curcumin, according to an analysis of turmeric powders and supplements, so the 40mg that halved the gallbladder in the Indonesian trial is in a little over a gram of the spice. That's an amount you'd find in food. A daily shot taken for its turmeric belongs on the list of things to check with your GP if you have gallstones.

Can turmeric prevent gallstones?

There's no evidence that it does in people.

The idea comes from animal research. In a 1992 study in mice fed a diet designed to cause gallstones, adding curcumin to the diet cut the share of mice that developed them from 100% to 26%. No human trial has tested whether turmeric prevents gallstones, and for anyone who already has them, the advice to avoid it still applies.

What does gallstone pain feel like?

Sudden, severe pain in the middle of your tummy or under your right ribs, lasting from 30 minutes to several hours.

The NHS describes it as constant pain that can come with feeling or being sick. See a GP urgently, or call 111, if you have tummy pain that lasts longer than 30 minutes or keeps coming back. Call 999 or go to A&E if:

• the pain is sudden and severe
• the pain spreads to your back and you're being sick
• you have a very high temperature, or feel hot, cold, or shivery
• your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow

If you need to go to A&E, don't drive yourself. If a stomach upset is what you're noticing after turmeric, our guide to turmeric and an upset stomach covers the more common causes.

What about after gallbladder removal?

Ask your GP or surgical team, as there's no research on turmeric after the operation.

Removing the gallbladder, called a cholecystectomy, is the most common treatment for gallstones that cause symptoms. The NHS guidance on recovery says to eat smaller meals for the first few days, then get back to a normal, healthy diet. Whether turmeric fits that for you is a question for the team who looked after you.

Which shot is right for everyone else?

For anyone without a gallbladder or bile duct problem, the one with the most turmeric.

Raw Turmeric Original has raw turmeric root at 30%, the highest in our range, cold-crushed with whole watermelon, pineapple, and lemon, with magnesium and vitamin C added. It carries our trade-secret BioMax Uptake Blend®, which includes black pepper, at a 0.1% inclusion. In the first clinical trial of our blends, independent researchers at Nottingham Trent University gave it to professional footballers and found lower inflammation and less soreness after matches. We're clearly not a neutral party.

Our guide to turmeric side effects covers what to expect more generally.

The takeaway

Turmeric and gallstones don't mix well, because curcumin makes the gallbladder contract, and with gallstones that squeeze can bring on pain. For a healthy gallbladder it's an ordinary part of digestion, much like a fatty meal or a glass of milk. If you have gallstones or a bile duct problem, NHS Wales advises avoiding turmeric, so speak to your GP or pharmacist first.

For everyone else, a Raw Turmeric Original with breakfast is an easy way to make turmeric a daily habit.

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