Turmeric Capsules vs Foods

Lately we’ve been getting a lot of questions asking about the most effective way to supplement your health with Turmeric.

So many, in fact, that we’ve asked Dawn to put together an article to answer as many of your questions as possible.

But, before we get into the details there are two terms which you need to know if you want to fully understand how to get the most from Turmeric:

 – Curcumin – the active molecule in Turmeric which provides numerous anti-inflammatory, heart, skin, bone, and joint health benefits.

 – Bioperine (aka Piperine– this is the active alkaloid in black pepper which helps your body digest and absorb molecules, such as curcumin, much faster (over 2,000% faster) than normal.


It is important to know that simply adding black pepper to a shake, food, or taking it with a supplement will not speed up the absorption of the Turmeric curcuminoids.

That is because when you eat whole or ground black pepper, your body still has to break the black pepper down first to free up the Piperine in order to use it. By the time that your body has freed up the piperine, the Turmeric will already be well on its way through your digestive tract and the majority of the healthy Curcumin will be lost.

If you are looking for more than just color and flavor from your Turmeric, make sure to take a Bioperine supplement just before you take Turmeric.

Let’s take a look at the different ways you can add Turmeric to your diet.


Spicing

Adding powdered turmeric root to the foods you eat has been the most popular way to incorporate Turmeric into your diet for a long time (Nearly 4,000 years, in fact). The unique semi-bitter taste of Turmeric can add some depth to the flavor of your food – without adding any calories or unhealthy flavor substitutes.

But is it enough to see any real health benefits?

According to the National Institute of Health,

“Preliminary studies found that Turmeric curcuminoids may

  • Reduce the number of heart attacks bypass patients had after surgery
  • Control knee pain from osteoarthritis as well as ibuprofen did
  • Reduce the skin irritation that often occurs after radiation treatments for breast cancer.”

However, the jury is still out on whether the amount of curcuminoids in non-extract Turmeric (powdered Turmeric spices) is enough to see these anti-inflammatory, heart and skin health benefits.

If you are going to go with this route, we recommend mixing turmeric into a shake. By dissolving powdered Turmeric into a shake, you can pack in heaps of the good stuff and offset the semi-bitter flavor with a healthy, naturally sweet fruit like a banana or an apple.


Making Tea

You can actually concentrate your Turmeric source even more by making some Turmeric Tea.

All you have to do is boil four cups of water, soak a teaspoon of powdered Turmeric in the water, then strain the tea using a fine sieve.

Make sure you add some honey or lemon, to taste, unless you are a big fan of the bitter.

Although this is not as effective as a laboratory grade Curcumin extract, Turmeric tea is still a very effective mood-elevator and anti-inflammatory.


Capsules

The fact remains, however, that not even the tea is as effective as an encapsulated laboratory-grade Curcumin extract.

The reason is that only around 2% of the Turmeric root is Curcumin.

Because Curcumin is the active ingredient behind all of Turmeric’s health benefits, this means that 98% of the Turmeric you eat isn’t actually doing anything for your health.

A laboratory-grade Turmeric Curcumin extract, on the other hand, is made up of as high as 95% Curcumin.

To put that in perspective: in order to get as much Curcumin as a single 1 gram Turmeric Curcumin capsule, you would have to eat over 7 tablespoons of powdered Turmeric.

Now, I understand that you have to make an effort to be healthy. But 7 tablespoons of a dry, powdered, bitter root? That’s just not going to happen.


So, if you’re looking for a calorie-free way to add some depth and color to your food or drinks – a few sprinkles of some powdered Turmeric may be just what you need.

But seeing as how recent research indicates that the effective dosage for Curcumin as a health supplement is 1000 mg daily, if you want to see the full benefits of Turmeric Curcumin – capsules are the way to go.

To check out our Top Turmeric Supplements of 2017 click here

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