The benefits of supplementing Curcumin

By Zoe Garlington

The benefits of supplementing Curcumin and why it is often combined with black pepper

Curcumin is well known and likely in your kitchen cupboard. But why take it as a supplement? Often found in turmeric, curcumin is a powerful antioxidant and its health benefits include anti-fungal properties, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. Having a diet high in antioxidants is beneficial as they can fight against an array of diseases.

Unfortunately the absorption rates into the bloodstream of curcumin alone are quite poor, which is the main downside to a curcumin supplement. It is common to see this supplement consumed with black pepper; the reason being because black pepper contains piperine. Piperine can be isolated outside of black pepper and some of the best curcumin supplements contain piperine alone. Piperine works by naturally increasing the absoption of the curcumin by 2000%.

Curcumin is similar in anti-inflammatory properties to ibuprofen, this means it has the potential to reduce inflammation in disease related instances. There are often two types of inflammation; acute and chronic. Some causes of chronic inflammation for instance are not always linked to disease and can be from prolonged stress and autoimmune disorders. Another form of chronic inflammation is injury, which can occur even if the injury has healed. Acute inflammation is short term and the body will return to its normal state, which can alsobe caused from injury or illness.

Due to its anti-inflammatory properties curcumin is often seen in a ‘gym’ environment due to its ability to tackle exercise induced inflammation which can mean a quicker recovery and better performance.

In relation to benefits relating to anti-inflammatory, there have been studies to look at curcumins relationship to lower rick of heart disease, depression, preventing cancers, treating Alzheimer’s and arthritis patients. Obviously all of these terms are generalised statements and need to be researched in greater detail, however this supplement holds some very promising benefits.

How should you take this supplement?

Curcumin can be taken at any point throughout the day, however one thing to consider is that curcumin is fat soluble; meaning that it will start to break down with the consumption of fat and oil. Thus, it could be beneficial to take these with a meal which is high in fat.

It is important to note that all benefits of this supplement hold limited validity due to ongoing research. If you are looking to potentially adding this supplement for a specific reason, I would suggest looking into further research down one of these subject headings.