Turmeric is well versed as being a ‘good’ supplement to take for overall health and for helping to tackle a number of issues. And then there’s Curcumin, which is slightly less well-known.
So, what is Turmeric? What is Curcumin? And most importantly, what is the difference?
Turmeric is a spice, and a member of the ginger family. It is well known for its bright yellow / orange colour, and is commonly used in many Asian cuisines. Turmeric contains Curcuminoids, which are bioactive compounds, responsible for delivering all the health benefits that we read about. Curcumin is one of these Curcuminoid compounds. In fact, 75% of the active Curcuminoids found in Turmeric are Curcumin. This why Curcumin is the STAR compound, and KEY active ingredient, found in Turmeric.
So what does Curcumin do? Firstly, it’s an anti-oxidant POWERHOUSE! Apart from reducing existing inflammation and ‘dampening down’ future inflammatory pathways, it is also well documented for reducing pain response, and many people can use it in place of NSAIDs (such as Ibuprofen). It is commonly used in the treatment of Osteoarthritis, and many Osteoarthritis sufferers report impressive results with consistent use. But the many uses don’t stop there! Studies have shown that Curcumin can protect and repair the gastrointestinal lining, and help people heal from “leaky gut” syndrome. In addition, more research is currently underway to determine how effective curcumin is in the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes, Cystic Fibrosis, Crohn’s Disease and Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Psoriasis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Gallstones.
So can you just consume Turmeric to get the BENEFITS of Curcumin?
Well, in theory, you could. But realistically, no. Curcumin actually makes up only 3% of the weight of Turmeric. So, you’d need to consume A LOT of Turmeric for your body to absorb the right amount of Curcumin to be effective. However, extracting Curcumin from Turmeric is pretty complicated and therefore, a very expensive process. Which is one of the reasons Turmeric is mosty commonly used in supplements ahead of Curcumin… to keep the costs down!
BodyShotz contains 185mg of the World’s leading water soluble Curcumin, containing a MINIMUM 95% Curcuminoids!
I have read that u need pepperine, ie black pepper ground down. Usually 20mg. I believe to help the better of absorption of the curcumiin into ur system it really needs the black pepper compound with the currumin for the best results. As this product sounds great and something I would be interested in. But this just came to mind with all I have been looking into. Thanks. Could u give me some feed back please. Philip Quinn.
Hi there!
Thank you for your message!
Black pepper is not essential for curcumin to be effective, but it can be helpful. Black pepper contains a compound, Piperine, which inhibits the metabolic breakdown of curcumin compounds in the gut and the liver. This allows higher levels of curcumin compounds to remain in the body (it increases its bioavailability). Black pepper doesn’t actually help with absorption.
You won’t need to take black pepper with BodyShotz as the Curcumin that we add to our sachets has been formulated to increase the absorption and bioavailabilty of the curcumin compounds.
We hope that helps!
The BodyShotz Team