Dr. Kale’s Turmeric Tips
Turmeric has long been touted as one of the most powerful herbs to help healing in the human body. Curcumin, one of the most active compounds in turmeric, has been shown to exhibit antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties throughout the body.
Thousands of articles support the use of curcumin to assist with conditions such as inflammation, arthritis, diabetes, gastrointestinal issues, and even cancer! Increasing your consumption of turmeric on a daily basis is great for overall health, but what is most important is how our body uses it. Meaning it is all about the bioavailability!
Nutrient bioavailability, simply put, is the body's ability to absorb or have available the particular nutrients from the food or supplements we consume. Because the liver is constantly working to metabolize our nutrients, it is important to optimize how much curcumin is circulating in the body to benefit the most from its effects.
The quick and simple tips to optimize turmeric consumption for the body!
1) Consume turmeric as a whole food (fresh or dried into powder)
The whole food provides natural oils that can increase bioavailability up to 8x as much as normal.
2) Eat with healthy fats
Turmeric is fat-soluble and is therefore absorbed better with fat consumption. Try a healthy oil such olive or avocado oil.
3) Heat it up
By cooking with turmeric (especially in oil) you also increase the ability of the body to absorb it up to 12x as much.
4) Spice it up
Adding black pepper has not only been combined for hundreds of years with turmeric but more recently we have discovered that its active compound piperine, can increase its absorption rate up to 2000%.
5) Not all supplements are created equal
Look for a high standardization of curcuminoids, somewhere around 95%. As mentioned above make sure it also is combined with piperine or bioprene to boost that absorption. Quality and third party verification are also extremely important with supplementation but there is a lot of information to cover so we'll save that for the next article!
Interested in learning more?
Click here for more information on healthy supplementation of turmeric!
Medical disclaimer
The information and reference guides in this website are intended solely for the general information for the reader. The contents of this web site are not intended to offer personal medical advice, diagnose health problems or for treatment purposes. It is not a substitute for medical care provided by a licensed and qualified health professional. Please consult your health care provider for any advice on any exercise, medication, nutrition, or supplementation.