Silversword, I didn't say you were wrong, I said tumeric is not all that spicy. It doesn't matter who said it was spicy, what matters is that now people who read this post will know that that is not true. If that isn't a contradiction... I didn't say you were wrong... what matters is that people...will know that that is not true. Spicy does not necessarily mean hot. It can mean piquant, pungent, heavily spiced... etc. To some people, it is a bit over the top. Obviously someone at BBC thought it was spicy. You don't. That doesn't mean you're right and they are wrong. A "little peppery" to you may mean HOT to another person. For someone so concerned with getting it accurate to the umpteenth degree this personal opinion being given as blanket truth is misleading. I find it a little more than irritating that this forum is constantly bogged down with your opinion that you and only you have the correct answers. Sometimes there is no correct answer. Is turmeric spicy? Depends on who is eating it. I think a more accurate statement would have been for you to say "I don't find turmeric particularly spicy". What matters to me is that researchers are saying the compound in turmeric may prevent Alzheimer's. This is interesting to me. It could have led to a discussion on regional diets and their effects on the brain and body. It could have led to a discussion of favorite uses of turmeric. Instead it turned into another pi**ing contest. For me, it's boring. It's tiring. It's less than educational. And it isn't any fun. I don't dislike you Brendan, I just have a hard time paying attention to anything you say because it comes across as so condescending.

I am always amazed when people turn so...hateful and angry when someone says "be careful" or disagrees with them. Lucy isn't welcome here? She should be shunned? What happened to educating and enlightening people who may or may not be aware of all the facts? Or for that matter how about excepting that other people have differences of opinion? No instead we get nasty comments about her being a nut. Of course if she WERE mentally ill, which I doubt, that means that we should lock her up so we don't have to see her. Wait that's to expensive better put her down, for good! Come this way, time for your shower... kfgesq you really are a moron. Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry I can tell you the drugs you are taking, no matter what they are, have risks. The same is true of herbs. No one would argue that strong mint tea will help soothe a head cold. However I have seen studies that are done by third parties who do NOT have an agenda pro or con that show that some of the herbs that people recommend for weight loss, depression etc have absolutely zero effect on these issues and in some cases they actually ARE quite dangerous. I know people like to believe that herbs=natural=good, but they don't. Neither does medication=scientific=good. Arguing about ALL herbs or ALL medications is not sensible. Even things which are now widely demonized like celebrex have there place. I used celebrex and nothing since has worked as well. I never had any side effects or problems with it. Ibuprofen doesn't work nearly as well and frankly even having tried them long term NO herb helped even a little. Other people have found Ibuprofen worked just as well for them and still other have the best results from herbs. My two cents.

Drinking cranberry juice might be helpful in controlling UTIs. Taking cranberry supplement pills probably won't be. âÂÂThere is an active ingredient in cranberries that can prevent adherence of bacteria to the bladder wall, particularly E. coli,â says urologist Courtenay Moore, MD. âÂÂBut most of the studies have shown that juice and supplements donâÂÂt have enough of this active ingredient, A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs), to prevent bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract.â Overall, clinical studies on the efficacy of cranberry juices and extracts for the prevention of UTIs are conflicting. In 2012, the Cochrane Data Base identified 24 studies comparing cranberry products (juice or extracts) to control or alternative treatments. The review found that compared with placebo, cranberry products did not significantly reduce the occurrence of UTIs. The effectiveness of cranberry was not significantly different to antibiotics for women. Also, because supplements are not regulated by the FDA, it is not known how much of the active ingredient each product contains. Therefore, many of the products may not have enough of the active ingredient to be effective in preventing bacterial adherence to the bladder wall." I drink a concentrated cranberry juice (much stronger than the usual bottled cranberry cocktail), although not for UTI prevention. I don't know what its PAC content is, though it's likely significantly higher than in cranberry juice cocktail mixes. Here is a link that might be useful: cranberry juice and UTIs

I can honestly say that I know how you feel, Noni... I didn't admit to myself that I was so damaged until I started going to the chiropractor, to try keeping some kind of alignment to relieve the extra pain. After hearing him "ooh" and "oh, my" my films, I asked him how bad he thought it all was. He said I won't ever be fixed, per se, but we can maybe slow down the degeneration a bit by fine tuning on a regular basis. I don't know what I would do without my doctors, and without my very understanding husband. They said "no" to steroids, "no" to anything that doesn't truly help, and "yes" to diet. So, I maintain through a mostly organic, natural diet, and I use a heavy duty pain mask. That's it. No newfangled medications with more side effects than good effects. I detoxified my body of the poisons associated with today's commercial food source, and I eat only natural, organically grown foods. It does help... a lot more than you might think. I also take food grade DE, which helps... and purified fish oil. It sounds like you are at the point my husband was at many years ago. He had been through everything possible, including spinal cortisone shots, which are only temporary... and moved on to nerve block shots. The nerve block helped his neck, but did nothing for his back. The only thing left is surgery, and the odds are not good enough to think about it. The odds include permanent paralyzing. His problems are from massive trauma, though... where yours and mine are from incurable issues... yours, specialized arthritis... mine, lupus plus trauma results. There's nothing to be done. We have to learn what works the best for us, and for me that's maintaining a natural diet and covering the pain. I just do what I can do, and try hard not to think about things negatively. I only do what my body allows me to do... though I sometimes can't help overdoing it to get things done. And I enjoy as much of life as I possibly can... I stop to smell every rose. :-) I know my issues aren't temporary, but I don't have any time line stating what will happen, either! We are certainly lucky that we get to enjoy Mother Nature's bounty, aren't we?! Nothing is over until we say it is... and I'm not quite ready to give up! I suspect you aren't, either! :-) I admit that winter is a bit depressing... and I'd be frustrated by greenhouse loss and deer damage, too... but I just keep plugging away at it, one thing at a time. I have faith that good karma will, indeed, wash over us... life can't be all bad. I do know how you feel, though... I struggle every day, too. We're not alone, and we are lucky to have our families, who understand us and help us so much... and such great friends who share their gardens and bulbs and help us get through the cold months. I hope you're getting the good vibes I'm sending, cause I'm sending tons... :-) Can you run a dehumidifier and extra fans in your greenhouse? That might help a little more. I know I have some modifications to make to mine before next spring... the fans I have are not enough, and I need a mist system, or something resembling one. I have all winter to figure it out. We've reached those dark, rainy, depressing days signaling that autumn is almost over and winter is right around the corner. I still have to roll up a few sections of soaker hose and get them stored, and I still need to dig up my Colocasia bulb and store it. I also need to dump some mulch on certain areas of the beds, and put the potted roses inside the garage for their dormancy, but that needs to wait until temperatures dip lower. I think we're both wrestling with the inevitable fact that we can't do as much as we once could. It's so frustrating, I know. I feel betrayed by my own body. I can't lift, can't move certain things, can't even open jars which were so easy only a few years ago. I feel weak, and I don't like to ask for help. It seems silly, when I should be able to do all these things myself. Right now, at this very moment, I'm having my breakfast of coffee and meds, and I'm useless until they take effect. Then, the pain resides, and I have a false sense of normalcy for a while... so I'll use that time to get as much work done as possible... until it's time for the next dose, and so on. And I'm thankful that modern medicine can help to some small extent. I wish we lived closer, Noni... I'd love to help you with your Dahlias and Hippis, and you could help me with my roses... and together, we'd conquer the issues that plague all gardeners! :-)