TURMERIC (Curcuma longa)

Curcumin , a term commonly used to refer to the three main curcuminoids found in turmeric - curcumin , demethoxycurcumin , and bisdemethoxycurcumin - are polyphenolic pigments and active compounds found within the turmeric rhizome.

First identified by Harvard scientists in 1815, curcumin is now known to be responsible for the many therapeutic benefits of turmeric. Curcumin inhibits inflammatory responses in various signaling pathways, which means that it helps to suppress the body’s tendency to cause inflammation. It’s also believed that curcumin acts as a powerful antioxidant, counteracting damaging particles that can be produced by the body as a byproduct of toxic or inflammatory stressors.

Absorption

The challenge with any curcumin supplement is absorption, as turmeric is poorly soluble in its natural state and not well absorbed into the body.

The curcumin content of turmeric also isn't very high – most turmeric's curcumin content makes up only 3% by weight. To put that into perspective, approximately 30kg of turmeric root is needed to produce 1kg of curcumin.

There's a school of thought out there that says we need to feed pepper alongside turmeric to help absorption. Not so. Yes it acts as a catalyst to get digestion in motion, same as if you eat/feed bitter herbs, but turmeric is actually fat-soluble so needs fat in the diet to get it absorbed into the bloodstream via the fatty-acid receptors in the GI tract.

Solution? Administering as a tincture does all the hard work for you, giving you a ready-to-absorb, potent source of organic curcumin, at the highest-strength maceration, for immediate absorption straight into the bloodstream and to the body’s cells.

Clinical Citations

• Study: Curcumin: A Review of Its’ Effects on Human Health
• Discussion on Curcumin and its therapeutic opportunities. Henrotin Y, et al., SpringerPlus, 2013
• Study: Reduced inflammatory and muscle damage biomarkers following oral supplementation with bioavailable Curcumin
• Discussion on efficacy and safety of Curcuma domestica extracts. Kuptniratsaikul V, et al., Clinical interventions in aging, 2014
• Study: Curcumin improves intestinal barrier function: modulation of intracellular signaling, and organization of tight junctions