| Before you buy curcumin supplements, you need | | | | stomach upset. |
| to know what to look for. Otherwise you could | | | | Once the tablet passes the stomach, the nutrient |
| end up wasting your money or worse, you could | | | | is released into the upper intestine. There, it can |
| end up with more health problems than you | | | | pass through the intestinal wall and enter the |
| started with. | | | | bloodstream. Problem solved? Almost. |
| First, you need to know about "bioavailability". | | | | Safe daily dosages are in the range of 50-100mg |
| The term is used by researchers to describe a | | | | per day, but with that small amount, we want to |
| drug's or nutrient's ability to be used by the cells | | | | be sure that all of it is absorbed. |
| of the body, their ability to pass into the | | | | If your curcumin supplements contain piperine, it is |
| bloodstream. Research has shown that the | | | | included to insure that the entire nutrient is |
| antioxidant does not show up in blood serum, | | | | absorbed. Piperine is found in black pepper. It |
| even after eating large quantities. | | | | increases the bioavailability of many nutrients, |
| Where does it go? | | | | including beta-carotene, selenium, B6 and amino |
| Most of it stays in the digestive system. It is | | | | acids. |
| rapidly degraded by stomach acid. In this form, it | | | | When it comes to curcumin, it increases the |
| may still be beneficial for conditions such as | | | | bioavailability of that nutrient by 2000%. |
| ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel. | | | | Piperine has health benefits of its own. It |
| It might help prevent colorectal cancer as well, | | | | improves digestion, reduces pain, may help reduce |
| but some of the purported health benefits would | | | | asthma attacks and increases the production of |
| require that it enters the bloodstream. | | | | serotonin, one of the body's "feel good" chemicals. |
| So, even high dose curcumin supplements may | | | | Curcumin supplements, if properly designed, |
| not provide the benefits that you are looking for. | | | | reduce inflammation, support brain, heart and liver |
| That's money wasted, but high doses can also | | | | health, reduce your risk of various types of |
| cause health problems. Nausea and diarrhea have | | | | cancer, support healthy immune system function |
| been reported in clinical studies. | | | | and contribute to digestive health. |
| It may also interfere with iron metabolism, which | | | | If you are looking for the best single-ingredient |
| could cause anemia. These unwanted side effects | | | | supplement, the only one that I would |
| are not seen at low to moderate dosages, but | | | | recommend is omega3 DHA fish oil. It's good for |
| that brings us back to the problem of | | | | the brain, the heart and the joints. |
| bioavailability. | | | | But, even then, it is best to shop around for the |
| It is possible to address that problem with a tablet | | | | highest quality, if you want to see the most |
| that has an enteric coating. It is stomach acid that | | | | benefit. |
| causes the degradation or breakdown of the | | | | When it comes to antioxidants like curcumin |
| beneficial compound. | | | | supplements, there are just too many beneficial |
| An enteric coating protects it from that. The | | | | ones to choose from. Luckily, we don't have to. |
| coating would also prevent any nausea or | | | | Some supplements contain practically all of them. |