It's a fair guess that you've heard a thing or two about the health benefits of turmeric. A quick internet search will provide thousands of articles touting its golden goodness. It's used for health complaints such as missing or painful periods, blood purifier, to reduce swelling, digestive complaints, liver congestion, skin diseases, inflammation, arthritis, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disorders. The list of benefits is long, but there's a catch: not all turmeric products are created equal.
To understand this better, let's start with the basics. The yellow pigment of turmeric comes from a family of compounds known as curcuminoids. Curcumin is the primary curcuminoid and is largely responsible for its impact on the human body. Extensive clinical trials on curcumin reveal that it is full of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer properties however, when taken alone, it has very low bioavailability. Here’s the translation: if you add some turmeric to your smoothie or take just any-old turmeric supplement, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to absorb it.
It’s true that some studies suggest combining turmeric with black pepper can increase absorption. And although it helps, the results are not impressive. But here's where the turmeric story has an interesting twist. As it turns out, when turmeric is combined with fenugreek seeds (who would have thought…), the curcuminoids are much more likely to be absorbed and can actually reach other parts of the body, including the brain, at much higher levels than if the turmeric was taken alone.
In fact, the increase in bioavailability was almost 50 times higher with the addition of fenugreek seeds!
With this impressive combination of two unlikely partners, the list of health benefits increases dramatically:
- Arthritis
- Type 2 diabetes
- Muscle pain from intense exercise
- Ulcerative colitis
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Lupus
- Low vitamin D
- Depression
- Lichen planus
- Reflux PMS
- Allergies
- Pancreatic cancer
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver
- BPH
- Osteopenia
Although this list is not all-inclusive, the benefits of consuming a high-quality turmeric/fenugreek combination are pretty impressive. The turmeric product we recommend can be used to maintain general health when taken at a lower daily dose (2/day) or, it can be taken at a higher dose when certain health conditions are present.
Choosing the right turmeric product can make a dramatic difference in the overall health benefits obtained. If you'd like to make turmeric part of your health and longevity protocol, let us know because we've got the good stuff!