An Ingredient Geek’s Guide to Turmeric-Curcumin

What Works, What Doesn’t

Turmeric-curcumin is one of today’s hottest health foods and supplements. Sadly, it’s not doing much for you unless you get the right kind. As an ingredient geek, I’m here to break down the science and help you make informed decisions about your supplements.

The Importance of Being a Supplement Ingredient Geek

Some people are geeks. You’re probably geeky too about something. A geek is someone obsessively interested in and knowledgeable about a particular thing. When it comes to supplements, being a geek is crucial. These are substances you pay for and put into your body to get an effect. I’m a supplement ingredient geek, and here’s what you need to know about turmeric and curcumin supplements.

What’s Curcumin and What Does It Do?

Curcumin is a diarylheptanoid, a type of polyphenol. It comes from the orangy spice turmeric and has been heavily studied and refined by modern science. But its roots go back centuries in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine. Curcumin’s benefits are many, so many that it sounds a little too good to be true, but they’re all backed by science and tons of studies.

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Curcumin’s Benefits

Here’s a quick rundown of what curcumin can do:

* It’s a natural anti-inflammatory and pain reliever.
* It mildly boosts testosterone, controls excess estrogen, and kills baby fat cells.
* It improves heart health, dissolves arterial plaques, and protects arteries against high blood pressure.
* It reduces the risk of diabetes and blocks many viral infections.
* It aids in muscle recovery and performance.
* It improves strength and endurance.
* It improves erections and sexual functioning.
* It helps keep you from regaining fat after dieting.
* It modulates various signaling pathways that promote longevity.
* It helps you fight the effects of excess stress.

The Problem with Turmeric and Raw Curcumin

Now, will you get all those benefits from eating turmeric-spiced curry or even taking standard curcumin supplements? Well, that’s where we need to get geeky. Eating turmeric-seasoned foods or drinking teas or bright orange smoothies doesn’t do squat. Turmeric doesn’t contain enough curcuminoids, the active ingredient, to do much. And the good stuff you do get from eating tons of turmeric isn’t very bioavailable – you don’t absorb much.

The Science Behind Turmeric and Curcumin

Regular curcumin isn’t soluble in the acidic pH of the stomach. When it reaches the neutral or alkaline environment of the large intestine, most of it is converted into inactive waste (glucuronidation). That’s how your body rids itself of most things it considers pollutants. What little raw curcumin that makes its way intact through the large intestine is further broken down by the bacteria in your colon. The now smaller amount that survives this gauntlet gets absorbed into the bloodstream, but then it gets metabolized by liver cells and excreted through bile.

The Problem with Ordinary Curcumin Supps

Supplement scientists have been trying for years to extract the active ingredient of curcumin and get enough of it in you to have an effect. First, they added piperine, a black pepper extract. That prevented some of the digestion problems and boosted curcumin absorption 20-fold over raw curcumin. Next came combining curcumin with fats (liquid droplet nano micelles) and spray drying it. These curcumins had 27 times the bioavailability of pure curcumin. This is where scientists really started seeing curcumin’s benefits in studies. But an ingredient geek doesn’t stop there.

The Science Behind Micellar Curcumin

Recently, science perfected curcumin supplements. Neuroscientists at UCLA invented a “solid lipid curcumin complex” and patented it as Longvida Optimized Curcumin. Without using synthetic polysorbates or emulsifiers, it increased curcumin’s bioavailability by at least 95 times over raw curcumin. This micellar technology encapsulates curcumin in micelles – tiny spherical structures formed by amphiphilic molecules. The curcuminoids survive initial hydrolysis and deliver free curcumin and its metabolites to the brain and throughout the body via the lymphatic system. Take one dose and high levels of curcumin are detected in the bloodstream within an hour and for a day later. That means a single daily dose is all you need.

Conclusion

As an ingredient geek, I only use this form of curcumin. It’s sold as Micellar Curcumin. The only drawback? It costs more than standard curcumin… but it actually works. A less expensive curcumin/turmeric supplement doesn’t exactly save you money if it’s not doing anything, right?

FAQs

Q: What is curcumin?
A: Curcumin is a diarylheptanoid, a type of polyphenol, that comes from the orangy spice turmeric.

Q: What are the benefits of curcumin?
A: Curcumin has been shown to have numerous benefits, including being a natural anti-inflammatory and pain reliever, mildly boosting testosterone, improving heart health, reducing the risk of diabetes, and more.

Q: Why doesn’t eating turmeric do much for me?
A: Turmeric doesn’t contain enough curcuminoids, the active ingredient, to do much. And even if you do get some curcumin from eating turmeric, it’s not very bioavailable – you don’t absorb much.

Q: What’s the difference between ordinary curcumin supplements and micellar curcumin?
A: Ordinary curcumin supplements may have some benefits, but they may not be as effective as micellar curcumin, which has been shown to increase curcumin’s bioavailability by at least 95 times over raw curcumin.

Q: Is micellar curcumin worth the extra cost?
A: Yes, micellar curcumin is worth the extra cost because it actually works. A less expensive curcumin/turmeric supplement doesn’t exactly save you money if it’s not doing anything, right?