Naturopathic Doctors Look Bad After California Woman Dies From Turmeric Injection

A San Diego woman, Jade Erick, 30, recently died of cardiopulmonary arrest after receiving an intravenous injection of turmeric, a common spice in Indian food. Until the medical examiner’s investigation of Erick’s death is complete, the identity of the person who injected the herbal solution into her body will not be known. But local naturopathic doctors have rallied to defend this esoteric medical treatment.

Kristine Reese, N.D., and Hadas Hilewitz, N.D., claimed that intravenous turmeric can be effective for certain conditions but made it clear they don’t offer it themselves. Mark Stengler, N.D., told ABC 10 News that he knows of doctors in the area who give turmeric intravenously, but also does not do it himself.

Reliable evidence for using turmeric for any medical condition is scanty at best. There have been preliminary studies on intravenous turmeric in combination with conventional chemotherapy, but no firm conclusions can be drawn. In other words, intravenous turmeric poses unnecessary risks.

Naturopathic doctors frequently offer treatments that have not been fully vetted for safety or effectiveness, and many therapies used in naturopathic practice have been disproved by rigorous trials. This is likely the result of naturopathic education blurring the line between treatments backed by good evidence and practices using “natural” substances that turn profits.

I searched for doctors in the San Diego area offering intravenous turmeric, which goes by curcumin after the main chemical constituent in the plant's root, and found three clinics advertising its use that staff or are run by naturopathic doctors. A one-hour IV infusion of turmeric costs $200, which would also require an initial visit to establish care at a price between $200 and $400 at Livv Natural Health.


In the days since Jade Erick’s death, one of these naturopathic doctors, Kim Kelly, N.D., at a different clinic, has purged his website and Facebook page of advertisements for intravenous turmeric. But based on a now archived blog post for his website and a promotional piece in the San Diego edition of Natural Awakenings, he began offering intravenous turmeric in September 2016.

In the blog post on intravenous turmeric, Kelly writes that numerous clinical trials have been completed showing positive effects on a variety of serious health conditions, including cancer, inflammatory bowel diseases, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and blood disorders. He explicitly writes, “The safety, tolerability and nontoxicity of curcumin at high doses have been well established by human clinical trials.” His assessment is absolutely false.

Kelly and the other naturopathic doctors advertising intravenous turmeric did not respond to interview requests for this article.

Friends of Jade Erick report she was being treated for eczema. I reached out to Dr. Jeanette Jacknin, M.D., who is board certified in dermatology and runs a “holistic” clinic in the San Diego area. She told me that she is not familiar with the use of intravenous turmeric for eczema and that this treatment does not make sense for any dermatology patient.

Jade Erick’s death should not be seen as an isolated incident at the hands of a rogue practitioner. Naturopathic doctors across California advertise intravenous therapies with dangerous substances, including hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet light and ozone gas. And their descriptions of these substances delivered directly into the blood raise serious concerns about their medical training and ability to serve as state-licensed doctors.

On his website, Kim Kelly, N.D., erroneously claims, “When H2O2 [hydrogen peroxide] runs through your veins, the oxygen surrounds the disease, causing its cells to suffocate and die.” With more twisted logic, he argues that hydrogen peroxide delivered into the body will give white blood cells a “boost” by replenishing their own oxidative compounds used to fight infections. According to Kelly, “H2O2 is considered a food, so it is natural and it is also effective.”

Putting hydrogen peroxide into the blood stream is not safe or effective for any medical condition. Patients have died receiving this treatment. In 2004, Dr. James Shortt, M.D., lost his medical license in South Carolina and settled a wrongful death lawsuit after one of his patients died from intravenous hydrogen peroxide. Physicians in other states have faced similar disciplinary actions for giving intravenous hydrogen peroxide.

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