Herbal supplements were supposed to make them healthier. Instead, they got sick

‘There’s something like 100,000 herbal and dietary supplements out there. Most of them don’t cause harm that we know of … but none of these things are tested or validated or regulated.’ Composite: Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty Images

Fernanda Thompson was a healthy 40-year-old when she began taking turmeric in 2020. Online, people were saying the pungent yellow spice could make everyone a little bit healthier. So she began putting half a teaspoon, about 2.5 grams, into her morning smoothie, hoping to reap the benefits of curcumin, the compound responsible for turmeric’s anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant halo.

“It was Covid time,” says the Florida resident, who is a stay-at-home mom, and she wanted to boost her immunity. “I was healthy. And then I guess I tried to be healthier,” she says.