Yes, You Can Take Too Much Turmeric

“I guess there can be too much of a good thing,” was the perfect response from my sister when I texted the family group chat that I had finally got a determination from the hospital. 

I had severe acid reflux after chugging turmeric shots like they were tequila and I was in undergrad.

This all started when we lived in Thailand in 2017. I have really, really bad menstrual cramps, especially during ovulation. Feel free to diagnose me in the comments. No MD required. I went to a doctor there and was prescribed turmeric capsules and rest. I thought it was so bizarre to be prescribed a spice and rest by a doctor. So very non-western. Even more bizarre? It worked.

So began my love affair with turmeric, and marketing campaign that everyone stop whatever they were doing to ingest more of it. Digestion issues? Take turmeric. Arthritis? Get some turmeric. Period cramps? You need turmeric. Take the pills, drink the golden milk, order the shot. Just get the turmeric. I was about it.

Imagine my validation when we moved to Bali in 2018 and their traditional drink Jamu was introduced to me as a cure all. It consists of you guessed it, turmeric, tamarind, and some other ingredients based on who’s making it. But turmeric is the star of the show. Jamu is used to treat digestion issues, arthritis, menstrual cramps and more.

Fast forward to the start or 2025. I had been drinking turmeric shots and Jamu regularly, especially when on my period or ovulating to occasionally substitute for pain medication. I don’t like taking ibuprofen as frequently as I feel I need it while cramping. Turmeric is naturally anti-imflammatory, so it helps tremendously. I had the bright idea to eliminate ibuprofen altogether, relying solely on turmeric shots for pain relief. Here’s where things get sticky.

Turmeric is a spice. You can’t forget that. And maybe you’re one of God’s favorites (like my husband Jarrell), who puts hot sauce on everything and orders his Indian food at the spiciest level possible. I am not. I am the one who ended a monthlong stay in India chugging Pepto Bismol straight out the container. This is not hyperbole. I am not being silly. I was literally gulping Pepto Bismol from the bottle for the final two days in Goa. My body would not, and could not, process the potency of spices in India.

So, me taking turmeric – in the most concentrated form (shots) with high frequency (because of the cramps) was bad. Me taking them when my cramps were the most painful (at night), and then immediately lying down to try to get back to sleep, was when things went from bad to worse. The worst thing you can do when experiencing acid relux is to lie down, because the acid rises to your esophagus.

The Symptoms

Everything about this is clear in retrospect but was so confusing and subtle in real time. One night, I woke up with cramps and reached for one of the two turmeric shots on my nightstand. Yes, that’s how much I was taking turmeric shots. I would keep them on my nightstand like pain meds to take in the middle of the night. Anyways, I took one and laid down. I rolled over and felt a cramp-like discomfort in my chest. It lasted through the night but eventually subsided.

The internet told me this was acid reflux, and that turmeric could be the cause, so I stopped taking them. But the damage was literally done.

One day soon after, I was going to meet some friends for coffee, and in the car had a sudden pain in my throat when swallowing. I have finnicky sinuses, so I thought it must be the car air conditioning irritating them or something. At the café, I ordered two pots of tea trying to soothe my throat, but there was no relief. It wasn’t a typical sore throat you feel at the back of your mouth. The pain was deep in my esophagus, almost as though it was coming from my neck.

I went home and the pain got worst. I woke up and it was unbearable. On a scale of 1-10 of pain, I was at about a 7.5. We went to a hospital, which is kind of the equivalent of urgent care in the states. They drew blood to ensure there was no infection (there wasn’t, thankfully) and determined it might be an ear infection, because I could feel the discomfort in my ear when swallowing. So, the general doctor recommended ear drops, and an anti-inflammatory pill, with the recommendation that if the pain did not lessen, I should see the ENT (Ear, Neck, Throat) doctor.

I went home, followed the instructions, and woke up the next morning at an 8.5 on the pain scale. And the scariest part was the next day was Nyepi, the Day of Silence in Bali. Everything closes (including all medical facilities in the city we live in), and no one can leave their house. If I did not get help that day, I would be stuck in the house in pain, and that terrified me.

We went back to see the ENT doctor and she determined there was nothing wrong with my ear, but she worried if I’d recently had any stomach problems. It all clicked immediately. I told her about the turmeric. She then felt confident it was acid reflux.

An IV of fluids, pain meds, and stomach neutralizers later, and I was down to a 4.5 in pain. Two weeks later, I am still recovering, but feeling much better as I officially resign as the marketing director for turmeric. Ha!

And that’s the story of how I ended up in the hospital in Bali, because as my sister said, there can be too much of a good thing. And that goes for my favorite spice. Yes, you can take too much turmeric. Don’t be like me. 

This is such an Amirah story.

Note: Since publishing this post, I've got a lot of messages from people saying they are going to quit taking their turmeric gummies or drinking their morning golden milk. No! Don't do that! Turmeric is great for you in moderation! And powder form is much more digestible than shots of turmeric. Please, take the turmeric (in moderation)!

XOXO