Circling around curcumin’s amazing benefits

Turmeric root is everywhere these days -- getting grated into curries, added to smoothies, even showing up in marinades and salads. It’s loved for its color, flavor and remarkable health benefits. They are powered by curcumin, a polyphenolic compound that is the active ingredient in turmeric. Unfortunately, curcumin is not well absorbed in the body; for its most profound health benefits, you need curcumin extract taken with a dose of piperine (black pepper extract) for optimal absorption.

That is shown in several ongoing, early-stage trials that indicate curcumin extract may help fight the development and spread of cancer and that it is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Added to that is a new pre-print of a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study that indicates curcumin extract can reduce the risk of heart disease in folks who have Type 2 diabetes and obesity. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in folks with Type 2 -- accounting for 66% of deaths. So, this is great news!

The pre-print study found that after 12 months of taking the extract, participants saw improvements in their lousy LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels, their triglyceride to HDL cholesterol ratio, waist circumference, and total body fat and visceral belly fat. Inflammation markers also fell markedly.

Before adding any supplement to your routine, talk to your doctor to make sure it doesn’t conflict with any meds you take and is right for you. And for more information on other curcumin benefits read iherb.com’s blog “Top 5 Health Benefits of Turmeric.”