But what are the best turmeric forms to use, depending on the situation? Turmeric and curcumin, its active component, one of the most common herbs and spices in the world, comes in its natural source as a root. People throughout Asia have been using turmeric spice for centuries in their food. It’s what gives the yellow color in curries.
Turmeric Curcumin Has Numerous Health Benefits
But at the same time, turmeric curcumin also has numerous hea.lth benefits Depending on your situation, you can use one of the many different forms of turmeric. If you have questions relating to your situation, you can ask a dietitian about it.
Here Is a Chart of Turmeric Products You Can Use at Home:
Last update on 2024-12-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This Is a List of Different Turmeric Products, for Use in Specific Situations
Gummies, an easy to take form for your turmeric supplement
A face mask, to improve your complexion
Soup, a quick way to have a spicy meal while ingesting it for overall health
A face serum, similar use as a mask, but instead you just rub it in to your skin
Soap which contains turmeric, so your skin gets the benefits while washing
As a beverage
Capsules, the most common way people take turmeric curcumin for supplementation
As a powder, especially with the right combination of black pepper, which evidence suggests aids absorption into your body
“….turmeric and curcuminoids, when extracted from the root, and used in a liquid form with liposomal enhancement, may be the best way for your body to absorb them.”
However, from a supplement point of view, turmeric and curcuminoids, when extracted from the root, and used in a liquid form with liposomal enhancement, may be the best way for your body to absorb them.
“Depending on your situation, you can use one of the many different forms of turmeric”.
We’ll talk about these in this article, but first, let’s ask the first question:
Are People Becoming More interested in Turmeric?
Take a look at this graphic from Google Trends showing the increase in searches for “Turmeric”, since 1004. Interest in Turmeric has increase 24X since 2004!
What Is Turmeric?
Turmeric is a flowering plant. Photo courtesy of Lucien Monfils
Turmeric is a flowering plant and root herb related to ginger.
The origin of the plant Curcuma longa L., which belongs to Zingiberaceae family is India….has a long history of use in food as a spice, mainly as an ingredient in many varieties of curry powders and sauces, where curcumin from turmeric is a main colouring substance (1)
Not only does it give foods a bright yellow color, it has a distinctive flavor and is used in curries. But that’s not all!
What Are Turmeric’s Benefits?
For centuries, Ayurvedic Medicine of India has recognized turmeric’s benefits for these health conditions, to name just a few(2):
Turmeric curcumin may alleviate rheumatoid arthritis(7)
At this point, you’re probably thinking, ‘Well, that’s all great, but…..”
If I Take Turmeric, How Can It Help Me?
Since For-Knees is all about taking better care of your knees, what you need to know is that turmeric, and its main ingredient curcumin has anti inflammatory properties. That means, pain relief. And how should you take it?
What Are the Best Ways to Use Turmeric?
Turmeric comes in many forms, both natural as well as processed.(3) Here are some examples:
Image courtesy of the National Institute of Health, US Government
Various curcumin-based products include capsules, tablets, ointments, energy drinks, soaps, and cosmetics.
Natural Turmeric Root (which you can use both in cooking as well as for its health benefits. (It’s a good idea to use black pepper with it, because its active ingredient, piperine, makes the active ingredient, curcumin help your body absorb it better. Also known as ‘bioavailable’.
Turmeric Powder, that is turmeric in its dried form.
Turmeric pills and capsules
Turmeric gummies, that is, in a candy like chewable form
Turmeric as a salve or ointment, which you can apply directly where you want it to go on your body
You can even buy turmeric soap, and even turmeric drinks, beauty creams and
As a bottle of liquid turmeric extract, which may also be more bioavailable
Please note that turmeric contains curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric(4). Here is what one study said:
Curcumin (4) is the major active component of turmeric, a yellow compound originally isolated from the plant Curcuma longa….
Furthermore, traditional Indian medicine has considered curcumin a drug effective for various respiratory conditions (asthma, bronchial hyperactivity, and allergy) as well as for other disorders including anorexia, coryza, cough, hepatic diseases, and sinusitis [1,2].
Extensive research over the past 30 years has shown that it plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of various pro-inflammatory chronic diseases including neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, autoimmune and malignant diseases.
This means that taking turmeric curcumin in supplement form, may help you relieve symptoms in various ways. Often, black pepper or black pepper extract as piperine can help your body absorb it.
However, taking turmeric supplements usually means taking pills and capsules. there are two reasons NOT to do that. First, if you’re already taking a lot of pills or capsules as vitamins or other supplements, it can get to be a bit much, right?
You may also find that when you take too many pills at once, they’re hard to digest.
Is It Better to Take Turmeric Powder or Capsules?
Whether you take turmeric as a powder or capsules is a matter of preference. For years, I have taken turmeric in its natural powder form as part of my diet. I cooked various dishes with it, made salad dressing, turmeric lattes and turmeric fruit or veggie shakes. And made sure that I was taking it along with some vegetable oil since it’s oil soluble.
I also added black pepper, which may improve absorption of the curcumin by your body, that is, bioavailable. Fresh turmeric root is also good in soups and other cooked dishes. And it doesn’t lose it benefits when heated.
“…black pepper or black pepper extract as piperine can help your body absorb it”
But what if you don’t like the taste of it? In that case, take the pill. But remember to use pills that include bioperine/black pepper, so your body absorbs it better. Or take it in an enhanced form, such as in its liposomal form.
What if you don’t want to be bothered with making drinks or soups from scratch? What if you want to incorporate turmeric into you daily skin health routine, and don’t want to mix up a bunch of turmeric powder, which can get messy?
And what if you simply want the pure health benefits with maximum absorption?
Bioavailability and Liposomal Encapsulation
Purathrive Micelle Liposomal Curcumin Gold with Algal DHA and Ginger
How Are Turmeric or Curcumin Best Absorbed?
The simple fact is that your body does not absorb turmeric or curcumin very well (4). A lot of the potential benefit of turmeric or turmeric curcumin taken as food, loses a lot of its potency during digestion. So what is the solution to this problem? Covering the curcumin with a coating that gets to the optimum place in your body where you can absorb it.
The formulation silica-coated flexible liposomes loaded with curcumin (CUR-SLs) and curcumin-loaded flexible liposomes (CUR-FLs) without silica-coatings have been designed and found that the bioavailability of CUR-SLs and CUR-FLs was 7.76- and 2.35-fold higher, respectively, than that of curcumin suspensions.(4)
Do you get that? This means that the tiny curcumin particles are covered in a special process, to survive being digested in your stomach, so that they can be absorbed later in your intestines. The Liposomal Turmeric or Curcumin comes in a liquid form, that you can just add to your favorite food, or simply take orally with a glass of water. Just a few drops does the trick!
In our opinion, this highly liposomal concentrated liquid form is the highest quality turmeric supplement or curcumin supplement.
Other Considerations
It’s important to note whether the turmeric you’re using, either as a powder or in a processed form is totally safe.
GMO issues
Unfortunately, nowadays, many foods may be made with GMO’s. For example, in the US, many common foods are now GMO (12). And some studies show that GMO may have an adverse effect on health. For this reason, to its credit, the large spice and herb company, McCormick committed to making its products NON GMO as of 2016.(5)
Is Your Turmeric Contaminated with Lead?
A recent news story stated that some turmeric powder sold in Bangladesh had a dye added to it, to make the powder more colorful and attractive (6) However, the suppliers may or may not have known that they were using the highly toxic compound. lead chromate.
While most turmeric sold in the US is properly sourced, it’s something to consider, especially if you buy from a local Indian or South Asian food store. Of course, supplements don’t have that problem.
Conclusion–So, What’s the Best Turmeric, and Which Form Should You Get?
Depending on what your objectives are, there are many ways to get the benefits of turmeric curcumin. If you like the taste of turmeric and want the benefits, then cooking with it as a spice, or drinking it as a latte or in shakes is a great way to use it. Just be aware of the issue of absorbtion into your body.
You can use it externally for your skin and even use it directly to improve joint health.
Finally, if you simply want the convenience of the benefits of turmeric and curcumin, you can take it as pills or capsules. For maximum absorption, however, in its purest extract form, use it in its liposomal form. For more detailed information about Liposomal Supplements, go here.
