Ginger and Turmeric Shots: Do They Work?

For most healthy adults, ginger and turmeric are likely safe in normal amounts for a few months^{1, 2}, but no trial has tested a plain ginger and turmeric shot. In one trial of the pair together, 60 people with knee osteoarthritis took a turmeric, black pepper and ginger capsule, which lowered an inflammation marker (prostaglandin E2) about as much as naproxen over 4 weeks³.

Most of the evidence comes from turmeric or ginger taken alone, as capsules or tablets. See our pages on ginger and turmeric for the full evidence on each. If you take a blood thinner or diabetes medicines, are pregnant, or have liver or gallbladder disease, check with a clinician first^{4, 5, 6}.

The honest answer is that nobody has tested a plain ginger and turmeric shot, so the benefits are inferred from capsules, tablets and one multi-ingredient drink. Here is what those studies show.

Ginger alone

A 2025 meta-analysis of 29 randomized trials found that ginger supplements lowered CRP by 0.86 mg/L, TNF-α by 1.90 pg/mL and IL-6 by 1.15 pg/mL. The authors warned that the trials differed widely and the results should be read cautiously⁷. An earlier meta-analysis of 16 trials in 1,010 people found lower CRP, hs-CRP and TNF-α but no significant change in IL-6⁸.

Turmeric alone

A meta-analysis of 66 randomized trials found that turmeric or curcumin lowered CRP by 0.58 mg/L, TNF-α by 3.48 pg/mL and IL-6 by 1.31 pg/mL. IL-1β did not change significantly⁹. Our study summary covers this analysis.

Ginger and turmeric head to head

In a triple-blind trial of 144 COVID-19 outpatients, three 500 mg tablets a day of turmeric or ginger for 5 days both lowered CRP and ESR compared with placebo. The two herbs did not differ from each other¹⁰. The trial did not give them together, so it cannot show whether combining them adds anything.

Ginger and turmeric in a drink

The trial closest to a shot tested a 60 mL drink containing turmeric, ginger and black pepper plus six other ingredients, including pomegranate, CoQ10 and niacinamide. In 86 healthy adults, taking it twice a day for 90 days lowered LDL cholesterol by 19 mg/dL, while LDL rose by 21 mg/dL on placebo¹¹. It was a single-center trial, and with nine ingredients the result cannot be credited to ginger or turmeric.

Joints

A meta-analysis of nutrient trials in osteoarthritis found that 12 curcumin trials (724 patients versus 714 controls) improved pain and function against placebo, but not against active treatments such as NSAIDs. Three ginger trials (166 patients versus 164 controls) reduced pain¹². Our pages on turmeric for joint pain and ginger for joint stiffness go into the detail.

Ginger's effect on body weight in trials is borderline, and no trial supports ginger-and-turmeric shots as a weight-loss tool. A meta-analysis of 14 trials in 473 overweight or obese adults found that ginger lowered body weight (standardized mean difference -0.66, confidence interval -1.31 to -0.01) and fasting glucose. It did not significantly change BMI, triglycerides or LDL cholesterol¹³.

One end of that interval sits almost on zero, so the true effect may be very small. For turmeric, an analysis of 50 trials found that curcumin supplements lowered body weight by 0.59 kg (about 1.3 lb) on average, though 21 of the trials were at high risk of bias¹⁴. A shot does not replace changes in food or activity. See weight loss support for supplements that have been tested for this goal.

Ginger helps some kinds of nausea, but both herbs can upset the stomach. The NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says ginger may help nausea and vomiting in pregnancy and has not helped most motion sickness studies². A meta-analysis of 12 trials in 1,278 pregnant women found that ginger reduced nausea (mean difference 1.20 points) but did not significantly reduce vomiting episodes¹⁵. Our ginger for nausea page covers the doses used.

For stomach lining problems, see ginger for gastritis. Oral ginger can cause abdominal discomfort, heartburn, diarrhea and mouth or throat irritation². Oral turmeric can cause nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, stomach upset, diarrhea or constipation¹. A concentrated shot taken on an empty stomach may cause symptoms more often than food amounts, though no trial has compared them.

It makes turmeric better absorbed: piperine from black pepper raises curcumin levels in blood, and that is why many turmeric products include it. In a small study, a 2 g dose of curcumin alone gave undetectable or very low blood levels in healthy volunteers. Adding 20 mg of piperine increased curcumin bioavailability by 2000%¹⁶. Whether better absorption brings more benefit is less clear: NCCIH says more research is needed on how bioavailability affects curcumin's effects¹.

Higher absorption also raises the safety question, covered below. NCCIH notes that combining curcumin with piperine is one way to improve its bioavailability¹, and that highly bioavailable formulations may harm the liver¹. The knee osteoarthritis trial of the pair also included black pepper, so its result applies to the three together, not to ginger and turmeric alone³.

The main risks are stomach upset for both herbs, rare liver injury for turmeric, and interactions with some medicines, covered in the next section. NCCIH says conventional oral turmeric is likely safe in recommended amounts for up to 2 or 3 months, and that liver damage has been reported with highly bioavailable products¹.

The US Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network reviewed its cases from 2004 to 2022 and found 10 linked to turmeric, all since 2011 and 6 of them since 2017. Eight were women and the median age was 56. Five patients were hospitalized and 1 died of acute liver failure. Injury began 1 to 4 months after starting, and 3 of the 7 products tested also contained piperine. Seven patients carried the gene variant HLA-B*35:01, which is far more common in these cases than in the general population¹⁷.

These were supplements, not kitchen-made shots, and 10 cases is a small number, but they show that turmeric is not risk-free at supplement doses. The authors concluded that turmeric liver injury appears to be increasing in the US, perhaps because of how it is used or more combination with black pepper¹⁷. In France, the national food safety agency has received 15 reports of hepatitis possibly linked to turmeric or curcumin supplements, and Italy has recorded about 20 cases¹⁸. Stop and call a clinician if you notice fatigue, nausea, poor appetite, dark urine or jaundice¹.

Pregnancy is a second caution. NCCIH says turmeric supplements during pregnancy may be unsafe, while ginger supplements may be safe, and little is known about either while breastfeeding^{1, 2}. The European Medicines Agency does not recommend turmeric medicines in pregnancy or breastfeeding, because their safety has not been established⁵. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, ask your clinician before taking turmeric in more than cooking amounts⁴.

Gallbladder disease is a third. Because turmeric may increase bile secretion, the European Medicines Agency does not recommend turmeric medicines for people with gallstones, a blocked bile duct, cholangitis, liver disease or any other biliary disease⁵. France's food safety agency likewise advises people with bile duct disease not to take turmeric supplements¹⁸.

The main interaction to check is with blood thinners, and the evidence for both herbs is mixed. A systematic review of 149 articles on 78 foods, herbs and supplements listed ginger among those linked to increased bleeding risk with warfarin; for ginger, 3 case reports described a stronger warfarin effect¹⁹. Yet a randomized crossover trial in 12 healthy men found that 7 days of ginger before and after a 25 mg dose of warfarin did not change INR (ratio 1.01, 90% CI 0.93 to 1.15) or warfarin clearance²⁰.

That trial used healthy volunteers and one warfarin dose, so it does not rule out an effect in people on long-term treatment. For turmeric, the same review rated the evidence as inconclusive: a case report of a stronger warfarin effect, a case series of a weaker one and no effect in a cohort study¹⁹. New Zealand's medicines regulator has warned since 2018 that turmeric and curcumin products can interact with warfarin, and in 2022 it reported INR spikes in a patient on warfarin who took a turmeric tonic and ate a diet high in turmeric²¹. In practice:

• Warfarin or another blood thinner: ask your prescriber before daily shots. Health Canada's monograph for concentrated turmeric products tells people who take blood thinners to ask a practitioner first⁴, and on warfarin your INR may need checking more often²¹.
• Diabetes medicines: ginger lowered fasting glucose in the weight trials above¹³. NCCIH advises people who take diabetes drugs to tell their health care providers about any herbal supplements they use⁶.
• Cancer drugs or immunosuppressants: France's food safety agency warns that curcumin may interact with these and with anticoagulants, making them less safe or less effective, and advises people taking them not to use turmeric supplements without medical advice¹⁸.
• Any prescription medicine: NCCIH advises talking to a clinician before using herbal products, because some herbs and medicines interact².
• Other turmeric products: count capsules and shots together. Health Canada's monograph caps concentrated turmeric products at 1,500 mg of curcuminoids a day⁴.

No trial has tested a homemade shot, so there is no evidence-based recipe or dose. Most trials gave capsules or tablets: three 500 mg tablets a day for 5 days in the COVID-19 trial¹⁰, and a turmeric, black pepper and ginger capsule twice a day for 4 weeks in the knee osteoarthritis trial³. The multi-ingredient drink was taken as 60 mL twice a day for 90 days¹¹.

A practical approach based on that evidence:

• Base: fresh or powdered ginger and turmeric blended or juiced with water, with black pepper if you want better curcumin absorption (see the liver caution above). Keep the amounts modest.
• Timing: no trial compared times of day. If a shot upsets your stomach, take it with a meal.
• Frequency: NCCIH describes up to 2 or 3 months of conventional turmeric as likely safe¹. Beyond that, the data is thin, so review longer use with a clinician.
• Who should ask first: anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding, takes blood thinners, diabetes medicines or other regular medicines, or has liver or gallbladder disease (see above). Turmeric's safety as a medicine under age 18 has not been established⁵.

No study has measured how much curcumin or gingerol a homemade shot delivers, so it is unclear how it compares with the doses used in capsule trials. Expect modest effects at best.

Supplements in this guide

• Ginger
• Turmeric
• Curcumin

Related conditions

• Frequent Nausea
• Gastritis
• Joint Stiffness & Arthritis
• Chronic Inflammation

We searched PubMed, the NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and regulator guidance for trials, reviews and safety advice on ginger, turmeric and the two together, covering inflammation, osteoarthritis, weight, nausea, liver safety, drug interactions, gallbladder disease and pregnancy. We read 14 journal records, 3 NIH fact sheets and 4 documents from health agencies in Canada, the European Union, New Zealand and France, and cite all of them. We prioritized meta-analyses and randomized trials in adults. We found no trial of a plain ginger and turmeric shot; the few trials of the two together were small and mostly added other ingredients, so the evidence for shots is indirect. Searched 14 October 2026.

1. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Turmeric: Usefulness and Safety. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/turmeric
2. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Ginger: Usefulness and Safety. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/ginger
3. Heidari-Beni M, et al. Herbal formulation "turmeric extract, black pepper, and ginger" versus Naproxen for chronic knee osteoarthritis: A randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. Phytother Res. 2020;34(8):2067-2073. doi:10.1002/ptr.6671
4. Health Canada. Natural health product monograph: Concentrated turmeric extracts and isolates (curcuminoids/curcumin). 2025. https://webprod.hc-sc.gc.ca/nhpid-bdipsn/atReq?atid=curcumin.curcumine2&lang=eng
5. European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. European Union herbal monograph on Curcuma longa L., rhizoma (Revision 1). 2018. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-monograph/final-european-union-herbal-monograph-curcuma-longa-l-rhizoma-revision-1_en.pdf
6. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Diabetes and Dietary Supplements: What You Need To Know. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/diabetes-and-dietary-supplements-what-you-need-to-know
7. Rjabi S, et al. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of ginger supplementation in adults: a GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Inflammopharmacology. 2025;33(12):7197-7216. doi:10.1007/s10787-025-01994-6
8. Morvaridzadeh M, et al. Effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale) on inflammatory markers: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Cytokine. 2020;135:155224. doi:10.1016/j.cyto.2020.155224
9. Dehzad MJ, et al. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin/turmeric supplementation in adults: A GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Cytokine. 2023;164:156144. doi:10.1016/j.cyto.2023.156144 Our study summary.
10. Saleh Z, et al. A Triple-blind randomized controlled trial on the effects of turmeric versus ginger on inflammatory biomarkers in patients with COVID-19. Sci Rep. 2025;15(1):30793. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-16092-4
11. Messier H, et al. Efficacy and Safety of a Multi-Ingredient Liquid-Based Botanical Nutraceutical for Improving Markers of Metabolic Health: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. J Diet Suppl. 2026;23(4):519-534. doi:10.1080/19390211.2026.2691821
12. Mathieu S, et al. A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Nutritional Supplementation on Osteoarthritis Symptoms. Nutrients. 2022;14(8). doi:10.3390/nu14081607
13. Maharlouei N, et al. The effects of ginger intake on weight loss and metabolic profiles among overweight and obese subjects: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2019;59(11):1753-1766. doi:10.1080/10408398.2018.1427044
14. Unhapipatpong C, et al. The effect of curcumin supplementation on weight loss and anthropometric indices: an umbrella review and updated meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2023;117(5):1005-1016. doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.03.006
15. Viljoen E, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect and safety of ginger in the treatment of pregnancy-associated nausea and vomiting. Nutr J. 2014;13:20. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-13-20 Our study summary.
16. Shoba G, et al. Influence of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of curcumin in animals and human volunteers. Planta Med. 1998;64(4):353-6. doi:10.1055/s-2006-957450
17. Halegoua-DeMarzio D, et al. Liver Injury Associated with Turmeric-A Growing Problem: Ten Cases from the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network [DILIN]. Am J Med. 2023;136(2):200-206. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2022.09.026
18. ANSES, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety. Adverse effects associated with the consumption of food supplements containing turmeric. June 2022. https://www.anses.fr/en/news/adverse-effects-associated-consumption-food-supplements-containing-turmeric
19. Tan CSS, et al. Warfarin and food, herbal or dietary supplement interactions: A systematic review. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2021;87(2):352-374. doi:10.1111/bcp.14404
20. Jiang X, et al. Effect of ginkgo and ginger on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin in healthy subjects. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2005;59(4):425-32. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2125.2005.02322.x
21. Medsafe, New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority. Warfarin: eat, drink and be wary. Prescriber Update 43(4):60-61. December 2022. https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/PUArticles/December2022/Warfarin-eat-drink-and-be-wary.html