‘High-Dose Turmeric Supplement Nearly Killed Me:’ NJ Mom Hopes Her Story Will Save Others
Katie Mohan was just trying to feel a little healthier when she picked up a bottle of turmeric supplements at Costco in the spring.
Katie Mohan with her husband, Gene, and the 2,250 mg turmeric supplements by Youtheory that she said nearly caused liver failure.
Mohan snaps a selfie during early stages of jaundice.
Mohan teaching at the Bar Method in Bernardsville.
What happened instead nearly killed her.
And now, the 57-year-old Morristown mom of three is warning others after a high-dose turmeric supplement landed her in NYU Langone’s liver transplant unit.
“I was taking this to just kind of be a little healthier,” said Mohan, a longtime fitness instructor at The Bar Method in Bernardsville. “I had no idea these were signs of liver damage.”
Mohan began taking 2,250 mg of turmeric with black pepper extract in March to ease chronic wrist pain, she told Daily Voice in a phone call Sunday, July 13. The product was made by Youtheory and did not include a warning label, she said.
Within weeks, she started experiencing waves of nausea, constant fatigue, and unusually dark urine. Then came the jaundice.
“I thought maybe I ate something weird, or had a UTI,” she said. “I just didn’t feel right.”
It wasn’t until she read an
NBC News
story about another New Jersey resident with nearly identical symptoms that the pieces clicked. He had been taking the same turmeric dosage with black pepper.
“That was what clued me in to what could be going on,” Mohan said. “I threw the bottle out right away.”
Mohan had a doctor’s appointment already on the calendar for early June. But when the office called to reschedule, she told the nurse she was getting worse and went to urgent care instead.
That decision may have saved her life.
Her liver enzyme ALT, which had been in the low 20s just two months earlier, had skyrocketed to 1,953 — nearly 60 times the normal range.
Mohan was sent to Morristown Medical Center and later transferred to NYU Langone, where she was monitored by the hospital’s liver transplant team.
Doctors ruled out all other causes: hepatitis, autoimmune disease, infections, and drug interactions. A liver biopsy showed “severe active hepatitis.”
A doctor at NYU told Mohan the turmeric was the cause. The black pepper extract, added for absorption, had made the dose even more toxic.
“He said they’re seeing an increase in liver injuries caused by supplements,” Mohan said.
Upon further research, Mohan saw the same: “Turmeric in particular, because it’s all over social media, there’s no regulation, and so many people are taking it.”
Mohan was released after six days in the hospital — four at Morristown, two at NYU. She had to cancel a family trip to Ireland, scale back her workouts, and take the summer easy.
More than a month later, she says she’s still recovering.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” she said. “But that night in the hospital, I really thought I was going to die.”
According to
Johns Hopkins Medicine
, turmeric may offer benefits for inflammation, arthritis, anxiety, and cholesterol when taken in moderation. But
Jefferson Health
and the
Cleveland Clinic
both warn that too much, especially with black pepper, can overwhelm the liver.
The Cleveland Clinic recommends no more than 500mg to 1,000mg per day. Mohan had been taking more than double that.
“My whole point in talking about this is: I don’t want this to happen to anybody else,” she said. “If there had been a label, I would’ve chosen a different brand — or none at all.”
