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Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

½ Teaspoon of This Works Like Ibuprofen (Doctors Won’t Tell You)

Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

Dr. Eric Berg

Health & Fitness

4.71.7K Ratings

🗓️ 28 January 2026

⏱️ 10 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Just a half teaspoon of this natural anti-inflammatory acts as a potent ibuprofen substitute for inflammation and pain relief. Discover the best home remedies for pain and inflammation, and learn how to address inflammation at the root.


0:00 Introduction: Natural ibuprofen substitute

0:18 Curcumin, the natural anti-inflammatory

1:58 Pain relievers and ibuprofen comparison

2:08 Ibuprofen effects

3:25 Turmeric as a natural remedy vs. ibuprofen

4:32 More natural pain relief alternatives

6:15 Triggers of pain and inflammation

8:25 Preventing inflammation



Turmeric contains a potent compound called curcumin that can naturally alleviate pain and inflammation.


There are 4 biochemical pathways that act as “master switches” to turn pain and inflammation up or down:

1. Pain and inflammatory factory

2. Master inflammation on-switch

3. Inflammation megaphone

4. Backup inflammatory alarm system



Many inflammatory treatments do not address all four pathways. Ibuprofen is great at turning the pain and inflammation switch off, and does so very quickly. Unfortunately, this pathway protects the stomach and kidneys, so ibuprofen can cause stomach ulcers and kidney issues. It also doesn’t address the other inflammatory pathways, which is why people often have to take it repeatedly.


Tylenol works in the brain, affecting the central nervous system, but does not relieve any inflammation. Similar to ibuprofen, aspirin works on the first inflammatory pathway, which can also affect your stomach.


Turmeric affects 3 out of the 4 inflammatory pathways! A double-blind randomized controlled study found that taking 1500 mg of turmeric with black pepper produced results comparable to ibuprofen without the side effects.


Extra-virgin olive oil mimics ibuprofen's effects at the molecular level. Try adding it to your salad regularly! Ginger and omega-3 fatty acids also work to reduce inflammation.


Boswellia targets the 5-LOX pathway, also known as the backup inflammatory alarm system.


There are 5 primary causes that flip the inflammatory switches on, leading to pain and inflammation in the body. By addressing the root cause, you can correct the pain rather than simply managing it. The following 5 factors turn on all of the inflammatory switches:


1. Insulin resistance

2. Mitochondrial damage

3. Chronic oxidative stress

4. Leaky gut

5. Chronic infections



To prevent inflammation and address the root cause, try the following:


• Low-carb diet

• Eliminate ultra-processed foods

• Intermittent fasting/prolonged fasting

• Magnesium, vitamin D3, zinc, omega-3s



Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:

Dr. Berg, age 60, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals and author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.



Disclaimer:

Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients, so he can focus on educating people as a full-time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose, and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, prescription, or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Just one half of a teaspoon of this one thing can be comparable to ibuprofen for inflammation.

0:06.9

And that thing is turmeric.

0:09.5

I'm not talking about the turmeric that you sprinkle on your food or your eggs.

0:13.8

I'm talking more about a concentrated turmeric because turmeric is a spice,

0:18.1

but there's a certain thing in turmeric called curcumin that is really doing the magic.

0:23.1

But you can't just take turmeric as a spice and expect it to do what I'm going to show you right now.

0:29.2

So many videos complicate this topic with all these big biochemical names.

0:34.3

All you need to know is this.

0:36.2

Very simple.

0:37.2

There are four master switches or dials that will turn

0:42.0

up pain and inflammation or turn down pain and inflammation. And that's basically the gist of it.

0:48.2

This dial right here is the pain in inflammatory factory. It produces pain signals and inflammation.

0:56.5

The second dial is the master inflammation on switch. So it'll trigger hundreds of different genes in relationship to turning

1:04.4

on inflammation. It's kind of like the master circuit breaker for inflammation. And then you get the

1:09.9

third dial. This is the inflammation

1:12.2

megaphone. It's like an amplifier. It amplifies inflammation. It doesn't cause pain directly.

1:19.9

It just keeps inflammation going on and on and on. And this is why a lot of the drugs for

1:26.5

autoimmune diseases target this biochemical pathway. And this is why a lot of the drugs for autoimmune diseases target this biochemical

1:30.1

pathway. And then we have the fourth alarm right here. This is the backup inflammatory alarm system

1:35.7

that keeps screaming long after the fire is over. And I'm talking about inflammation. And this is

1:42.3

why certain treatments will address one thing, but they don't

1:45.8

address everything necessarily. And this one's really important for asthma, inflammation,

...

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