Turmeric And Curcumin – The Ultimate Guide May 21, 2018 by Edward Morgan
Turmeric And Curcumin – The Ultimate Guide In India, turmeric has been recognized as
a medical superfood for literally thousands of years, but when people in other parts of
the globe came to learn about it, for the most part, they knew it as just the spice
which added flavor and color to curries.
Over recent years, however, there has been a (re)discovery of natural, plant-based health
and traditional medical practices such as ayurvedic medicine and this has led to a new
appreciation of turmeric and curcumin.
While we see this as a positive, we also get the feeling that there is a lot of confusion
around the topic of turmeric and curcumin, so we have put together this guide to help
clear it up.
Let's start with some basics
What exactly is turmeric?
From a botanical perspective, turmeric is more properly known as curcuma longa and is
a member of the zingiberaceae plant family.
In practical terms it's a compact bushy plant, which thrives in regions where there
is a combination of warm temperatures and plenty of rainfall, hence it's mainly found
in Asia, particularly India.
It's cultivated principally for its rhizomes (roots), which can be eaten raw or cooked
from fresh, but are more often dried and ground into powder or used for the production of
turmeric oil.
Then, what is curcumin?
Chemically, curcumin is what is known as a phenol.
These are natural chemical compounds produced to serve a purpose related to the environment
in which an organism is found, for example they may help to ward off common diseases
or to discourage predators.
As you may have guessed from this, these phenols often have properties which are very beneficial
to humans, particularly in terms of health.
At current time, curcumin is mainly recognized as an antioxidant, hence its use in anti-ageing
beauty products.
It has long been used in ayurvedic medicine for its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial
properties and is currently being studied by scientists to measure its potential as
an immunomodulatory and chemosensitizing agent.
In particular, it is of great interest as a potential treatment for cancer.
What is the difference between turmeric and curcumin?
We've looked at turmeric and we've looked at curcumin, so let's clarify the difference
between them.
In short, curcumin is the main bioactive component of turmeric and hence makes a significant
contribution to the health benefits offered by turmeric.
Indeed, from a health and wellness perspective the presence of curcumin is arguably the single,
biggest difference between turmeric (which has it) and ginger (which does not although
it does have other health benefits).
NB: bioavailability is essentially a measure of how easy it is for the body to absorb a
substance.
We'll talk about it in more detail later.
While curcumin is arguably the best-known component of turmeric, it actually only accounts
for 2-5% of the content of a turmeric rhizome.
Most of the rest of the content is carbohydrate (about 70%) and there is also some protein
(about 7%) along with a range of vitamins, minerals, essential oils and resin.
The importance of these extra elements should not be underestimated, in fact, scientific
research has indicated that even without the presence of curcumin, turmeric offers significant
medical benefits.
What health benefits does turmeric offer?
It's anti-inflammatory
This is probably the single, most recognizable benefit of turmeric and why it is recommended
to people with arthritis.
It provides pain relief
Turmeric and pain relief may be a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation in that turmeric
is often suggested as a pain-relieving solution for joint pain, particularly arthritis.
Given that turmeric is recognized as having anti-inflammatory properties, it is to be
expected that as it reduces the inflammation which is causing the pain, so the pain itself
will be relieved.
It would be interesting to see further studies into turmeric's pain-relieving properties
in other situations.
It is an antioxidant
Let's explain this in simple terms.
Oxidation is any chemical reaction caused by the addition of oxygen.
In everyday life, ordinary rust is probably the most visible example of oxidation.
It's when iron turns to iron oxide.
The reason rust is often associated with wetness rather than just with oxygen is because oxygen
is transported in water (H2O), often alongside chemicals which damage the iron and make it
more vulnerable to oxidation.
In the human body, oxidation is a process which may result in the production of free
radicals, which can cause great damage to cells, proteins and DNA.
Free radicals are associated with serious illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis
cancer and Parkinson's disease to name but some.
At this point in time, scientists are getting very excited about the potential for using
turmeric to prevent or at least manage diabetes.
Even those who already have diabetes may benefit as turmeric may prevent their liver from being
damaged by strong drugs.
It can assist with digestion
Practitioners of ayurvedic medicine have long recommended turmeric to promote good digestion.
Now Western science has realized they were right.
Since turmeric has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, it helps your digestion.
In fact, turmeric may even benefit those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Turmeric curcumin side effects While turmeric curcumin has many benefits
and is perfectly safe for most people, people on blood-thinning drugs such as Warfarin (also
known as Coumadin) should definitely take medical advice before consuming turmeric in
anything more than the smallest of doses as it has blood-thinning properties.
Even if you are not taking blood-thinning drugs, be alert to any signs that cuts are
bleeding more than normal.
This is extremely rare but does occasionally happen.
If you are going to experience issue with turmeric, they are much more likely to be
related to your digestion.
Even though turmeric is generally beneficial for the digestive system, if you've ever
eaten it or even just smelled it, you'll know that it's a strong spice and basically
it seems to be a bit too much for some people.
Having said that, if you introduce it into your diet gradually, you're much more likely
to adapt to it easily and avoid any issues.
There is a slight possibility that turmeric may stimulate contractions in pregnant women.
There are plenty of stories about women in the late stages of pregnancy eating curry
(which contains turmeric) to try to induce labour.
While these have long been thought of as old wives' tales, there is now evidence to suggest
that turmeric could be useful in the treatment of menstrual problems so the issue of turmeric
and pregnancy may come under the heading of "watch this space".
Turmeric and curcumin, the marketing and the facts
As ancient wisdom has been put under the microscope of modern science, we've developed a far
greater and clearer understanding not just of what plants do, but of how they do it,
in other words what chemical compounds, specifically, are responsible for the medical benefits offered
by healing plants such as turmeric.
This has brought the healing power of curcumin to mainstream attention and has created a
kind of self-fulfilling marketing prophecy.
Basically all the medical and (health) media attention devoted to curcumin specifically
has led to a situation where modern customers are just as likely to be looking for curcumin
as they are for turmeric.
From a sales perspective, therefore, it is vital that all packaging and product descriptions
contain both terms so that customers can find what they need either on a shelf or through
a search engine.
At the same time, however, this approach can give the impression that turmeric is all about
curcumin and actually this is very far from being the truth.
In actual fact, even though science is validating the health-giving properties of curcumin,
it is also highlighting the fact that even when the curcumin content is removed, turmeric
still offers a wide range of medical benefits.
For example, one study investigated curcumin-free turmeric (CFT) components and concluded that
there was evidence to indicate that they not only had anti-inflammatory properties but
could also be beneficial in the treatment of both cancer and diabetes.
Another study compared curcuminoids- and oil-free aqueous extract of turmeric with curcuminoids
and turmerones (volatile oil) and concluded that the former "showed considerable anti-inflammatory
effects against acute and chronic inflammation and the effects were comparable to those of
curcuminoids and turmerones.".
This second study was supported by a third study into an aqueous based extract of turmeric
and its polysaccharide fractions in the presence and absence of mitogens.
(Mitogens are substances which trigger mitosis or cell division).
It found that in addition to having anti-inflammatory properties, it also demonstrated immune-stimulatory
activity.
Cutting to the chase, while curcumin is great, turmeric has a whole lot more to offer.
In fact, arguably the strongest reason for taking turmeric curcumin supplements has less
to do with the increase content of curcumin and more to do with a combination of bioavailability,
consistency and convenience.
Let's look at all of these starting with the issue of bioavailability, which we mentioned
earlier.
Turmeric, curcumin and bioavailability Bioavailability is essentially a measure of
how easy it is for the human body to make use of a substance.
For example, refined sugar is one of the most bioavailable substances there is.
You eat it and it's available to you in the form of energy pretty much straight away,
so much so that you can experience a "sugar rush".
At the other end of the scale, parents and pet owners will be well aware of the fact
that both children and pets can swallow items that were never intended for them to be eaten
and hence have zero bioavailability.
When this happens, you basically just have to hope that they pass through their bodies
and come out the other end undigested, otherwise it's a (potentially expensive) trip to the
doctor or veterinarian.
While turmeric is definitely a legitimate foodstuff (for humans at least), it has low
bioavailability.
In practical terms this means that most of the turmeric you eat will be wasted and pass
through your body undigested.
Given turmeric's many benefits, this is, of course, a great shame and so people, such
as nutritionists and scientists have looked for ways to address this.
Basically, there are three possibilities.
Increase your intake of turmeric
On paper this looks reasonable and simple, but in real life the situation may be rather
different.
At the end of the day, turmeric is not only a food (meaning there's a physical limit
to how much of it you can eat), but it's also a strong-tasting food, which has a bearing
on how it can be used, for example we doubt many people would willingly sprinkle it on
their breakfast cereal in the morning.
Focus on the bit of the turmeric you want
If you specifically want curcumin, then, mathematically speaking, it makes a lot of sense to extract
the 2-5% curcumin content from the turmeric and make this available as a stand-alone health
product.
There is, however, more to life than math.
First of all, curcumin itself has low bioavailability so although you're improving the situation
in the sense that you're getting your body to focus on digesting the curcumin rather
than all of the turmeric, you're arguably not really resolving it.
Secondly, while curcumin may be the headline attraction of turmeric, as we've already
mentioned, turmeric comes with a whole range of extra benefits in addition to curcumin
and it seems a pity to pass them over
Improve the bioavailability of turmeric and/or curcumin
You've probably heard the expression "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts",
well it can hold true for food too.
Sometimes eating foods in combination can make it easier to absorb the nutrients from
one or both of them.
Turmeric curcumin with Bioperine
In the case of turmeric and curcumin, the addition of simple black pepper can improve
bioavailability by up to 200%.
This improvement has been traced back to the relationship between turmeric and curcumin
and a specific component of black pepper called piperine.
Piperine has been used as the foundation for a patented product called bioperine, which
is often included in the best turmeric supplements in order to improve the bioavailability of
turmeric and curcumin.
Turmeric curcumin with fats
Curcumin does not readily dissolve in water, but it does dissolve in fat (the technical
term is lipo solvent).
This means that edible oils could be used to help with the initial process of breaking
down curcumin to make it easier for the body to digest.
Now that we've clarified the issues surrounding turmeric curcumin and bioavailability, let's
look at the issue of consistency.
Turmeric curcumin and consistency One of the single, biggest reasons people
have issues with weight control is that they do not keep proper track of what they eat
and so they wind up consuming not only more calories than they thought but also more "empty
calories" than they thought, empty calories meaning calories without any nutritional value,
sugar being probably the single, biggest culprit here.
Similarly, one of the single, biggest reasons, people fail to get the most out of any health
and wellness product, be it a fresh superfood or a supplement, is because they fail to use
it regularly and consistently so they can accurately judge its effect on their body
and/or mind.
If you're using fresh foods, such as fresh turmeric, this means you have to keep tabs
on portion sizes.
If you're using supplements, it basically means you have to stick to the same brand
and dose for a while to give it a chance to do its work.
We have to add a slight caveat here and say that regardless of whether you're using
fresh superfoods or a supplement, it's important to go to a quality supplier so you get consistently
good products, otherwise your results will be influenced by the changes in the quality
of the food or supplement you are eating/taking.
Convenience Let's be honest, while interest in healthier
living seems to be growing all the time, many people live very fast-paced ("always-on")
lifestyles and frankly convenience matters to a lot of us.
In terms of turmeric and curcumin, we'd define convenience as getting an appropriate
turmeric curcumin dosage reliably and with minimal hassle.
For the sake of clarity, let's go over these points.
An appropriate turmeric curcumin dosage will depend on your reasons for taking turmeric
in the first place, basically are you just trying to add an extra element to a healthy
diet or do you actually need relief from a condition such as arthritis?
Reliably means you can get a consistent enough does, which again, depends on your situation.
If you use a specific measure of turmeric powder every day, then your dosage should
stay within the same sort of ball park.
If, however, you take a supplement every day, then your dosage should be exact.
The former situation is more appropriate for general healthy eating and the latter for
treating medical conditions.
With minimal hassle means exactly that.
In very blunt terms, human nature being what it is in everyday life, the easier it is to
do something we know is good for us, the more likely it is that we will do it.
All that said, let's have a look at the various ways to take turmeric and curcumin
and see how they stack up in these terms.
Turmeric curcumin dosage and how to get it Fresh turmeric
It may be just us, but the fact that we continually see turmeric powder, turmeric oil and turmeric
curcumin supplements makes it easy to forget that turmeric is still sold fresh and raw
as a foodstuff, or at least it can be, depending on where you live.
If you are a city dweller with access to Asian food stores, you have a decent chance of finding
it, elsewhere probably rather less so.
If you can get fresh turmeric and you like the taste then you can certainly go ahead
and enjoy it, you'll find plenty of recipes on the net and if you're into smoothies
and juicing, then a piece of turmeric root can, quite literally, spice up your drink
as well as adding plenty of nourishment.
At the same time, however, you do have to be aware that when you're simply buying
fresh ingredients and preparing them at home, it's nearly impossible to be as accurate
and/or consistent with your dosage as you can be with supplements, which are produced
in carefully-monitored conditions.
If you're simply looking to add turmeric to your diet as part of healthy eating then
this may not bother you at all, but if you're looking to use turmeric to treat a particular
condition then it may be more of an issue.
Turmeric powder
We suspect that all but those living in the remotest of areas should be able to find turmeric
powder in a store somewhere near them and even those who live in remote locations should
be able to get it on the internet.
Turmeric powder offers a higher level of convenience than fresh turmeric for the simple reason
that it's intended for longer-term storage, but otherwise it can be thought off in much
the same terms.
If you like turmeric by all means, use it in cooking (and/or juicing), just be aware
that you have far less control over either the overall quality or the specific levels
of active ingredients.
Turmeric oil
Similar comments apply to turmeric oil as for turmeric powder, however for once we'll
allow ourselves to go ever so slightly off topic and toss
in the fact that turmeric oil may be a great choice for anyone who wants to use turmeric
externally.
While this article is mainly about turmeric consumed as
a food (or supplement), it actually offers a lot of benefits when applied to the body
in the form of an oil, so if you're in to making your own toiletries and/or beauty products,
then turmeric oil could be well worth a look as
a potential ingredient.
Turmeric curcumin supplements
High quality turmeric curcumin supplements tick all the boxes of providing an appropriate
level of turmeric curcumin dosage, accurately, reliably and conveniently.
The best supplements also address the issue of turmeric, curcumin and bioavailability,
usually by blending the turmeric with substances which make it more digestible, usually through
the addition of piperine/bioperine and/or a fat.
We are, however, aware that choosing the right supplement can be
a bit of a challenge due to the sheer number of
the out there and the great variation in their quality.
With that in mind, we've compiled a list of what we feel are the top ? turmeric
and curcumin supplements, which we're happy to recommend.
So if you do decide that turmeric and curcumin supplements are the right choice for you in
general, we hope this list will save you the effort of working your way through the huge
range of options out there and help you choose the exact one that's appropriate for you
personally in your own unique situation.
For more infomation >> CON LUGAR - T2 / Ep. 3 Amor de lejos - Duration: 21:12. 
For more infomation >> Príncipe Harry llora con emocionante homenaje a su madre. Diana estuvo presente en toda la boda - Duration: 2:00. 
For more infomation >> Conoce a Louis Spencer, el guapo primo soltero de Harry que te puede convertir en Condesa - Duration: 2:11. 
For more infomation >> Javier Ruiz ni se inmuta cuando Monedero llama "sinvergüenza" a Eduardo Inda y solo reacciona - Duration: 4:35. 
For more infomation >> Inmigración: 4 Puntos Más Importantes Sobre el Permiso de Trabajo - Duration: 5:12. 
For more infomation >> La espectacular magia de las amatistas - Duration: 7:06. 
For more infomation >> Gente De Barrio (Moscas Perro) - SemBeliall - Duration: 5:11. 
For more infomation >> Big Tango - Rap sin filtro Prod.CoberDFC (Video oficial) - Duration: 3:17. 
For more infomation >> "Lo reanimaron": el dato desconocido sobre el nacimiento del hijo de Agustina Kämpfer - Duration: 2:50. 
For more infomation >> Las mejores canciones de Nicky Jam - Nicky Jam Sus Mejores Éxitos 2018 - Duration: 52:05. 
For more infomation >> Luis Miguel Sus Mejores Éxitos - Mejor álbum De La Canción De Luis Miguel - Duration: 1:12:01. 
For more infomation >> Hug a turtle 🐢 - Duration: 0:50. 
For more infomation >> ПУЛОВЕР КРЮЧКОМ. РАЗБОР УЗОРА+СХЕМА. || Crochet. PULLOVER. ANALYSIS OF THE PATTERN - Duration: 17:38. 
For more infomation >> Tiktok VN, TQ | Người đẹp Tik tok | girls dancing |【抖音】上百万双击视频 | 美女抖音集合 #20 Tik tok TQ - Duration: 4:14. 
For more infomation >> #Cartabianca- Mauro Corona il reddito per i più poveri -Martina ''il PD polverizzato''-Berlusconi - Duration: 11:24. 
For more infomation >> Chome Extensions I Can't Live Without - Duration: 5:41. 
For more infomation >> Emerald Valley #13-8 - Duration: 4:05. 
For more infomation >> 이명희, 자기들이 먹다 남은 족발 우리한테 줘 경비원 ♥ 오늘의 뉴스 - Duration: 5:42. 
For more infomation >> Hillary's Relative Has Come Forward With Sick Insider Info About Her Saved Until This Exact Moment - Duration: 5:25. 
For more infomation >> 心理測試：測你能馴服哪種男人？ - Duration: 5:45. 
For more infomation >> 로맨스 패키지 107호 女, 한혜진 닮았다 전현무도 인정 ♥ 오늘의 뉴스 - Duration: 2:37. 
For more infomation >> রাগ বেরে যাচ্ছে কারণ কি জানেন || how to control bad times of life || Motivational Video in Bangla - Duration: 3:17. 
For more infomation >> 고현정-신은경, 안방극장의 돌싱녀 파워 - Duration: 9:02. 
For more infomation >> Tayo and Train Sing Along S...
For more infomation >> Diferentes sucos naturais para desintoxicar o organismo - Duration: 5:14. 
For more infomation >> Últimas notícia de hoje : RENAN: MEIRELLES "NÃO VAI PASSAR DO PRÉ, PELAS MALDADES COM O POVO" - Duration: 2:18. 
For more infomation >> Antonio Padellaro non capisco perchè il leader non debba essere di maio o salvini -Buttafuoco - Duration: 5:58. 
For more infomation >> Israel está em coalizão com ISIS e Al-Qaeda (Legendado PT-BR) - Duration: 6:27. 
For more infomation >> The Rachel Maddow 5 23 2018 Msnbc News Today mueller Trump Team payment - Duration: 1:11:06. 
For more infomation >> Últimas notícia de hoje : MINISTRA DO TCU QUER LIBRA FORA DE SANTOS EM 2 ANOS EM VEZ DE 20 - Duration: 1:47. 
No comments:
Post a Comment