Curcumin Buyer's Guide

STRONG EVIDENCE

• Curcumin has STRONG EVIDENCE for osteoarthritis (PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed)
• Curcumin has MODERATE EVIDENCE for Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed)
• Curcumin has MODERATE EVIDENCE for oral mucositis (PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed)
• Curcumin has MODERATE EVIDENCE for pruritus (PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed)
• Curcumin has MODERATE EVIDENCE for diabetes (PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed)
• Curcumin has MODERATE EVIDENCE for rheumatoid arthritis (PubMed)(PubMed)
• Curcumin has MODERATE EVIDENCE for depression (PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed)
• Curcumin has MODERATE EVIDENCE for functional dyspepsia (PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed)
• Curcumin has WEAK EVIDENCE for ulcerative colitis (PubMed)
• Curcumin has NO EVIDENCE for Alzheimer's disease (PubMed)(PubMed)
• Curcumin has NO EVIDENCE for peptic ulcers (PubMed)(PubMed)

Curcumin is beneficial for mild depression and mild inflammation but less effective for major, chronic inflammatory diseases. It has a reliable benefit for mild osteoarthritis, glycemic control and conflicting evidence for ulcerative colitis.

SuppsCheck Recommended Products

A large swath of curcumin products across the industry suffer from contamination with heavy metals, misleading labeling or contain synthetic ingredients. Labelling issues exist, as some products mix standardized ingredients including Meriva with their own extracts to create a proprietary blend. We recommend either NSF certified brands or USP Approved (for non-athletes). Due to active ingredient concerns and other safety issues, we recommend USP Approved curcumin products.

Currently, we recommend:

• Youtheory, Turmeric, Extra Strength Formula, 1,000 mg, 60 Vegetarian Capsules (500 mg per Capsule)
• Any curcumin brand (trunature, Nature's Lab, Nature Made) from Costco (All USP Approved). Trunature and Nature's Lab will last longer at 90 days and are equal in price.
• For athletes, consider Momentous Turmeric or Thorne Curcumin Phytosome

USP Approved Supplements

• Youtheory, Turmeric

NSF Approved Supplements

• Momentous Turmeric
• Thorne, Curcumin Phytosome, 1,000 mg, 120 Capsules - NSF Sport Certified Version

Informed Sport Approved Supplements

• Momentous Turmeric

Informed Choice Approved Supplements

• Transparent Labs Turmeric Curcumin C3 Complex

Other Good Options

• Sports Research, Turmeric Curcumin, 500 mg, 120 Softgels
• Jarrow Formulas, Curcumin 95, 500 mg, 120 Veggie Caps
• Life Extension, Curcumin Elite, Turmeric Extract, 30 Vegetarian Capsules
• Thorne Research, Meriva-SF (NON-NSF Version)

Other Options for those with dietary limitations 

For Athletes

Verdict

Curcumin has benefits for improving allergic rhinitis, reducing symptoms of sneezing, runny nose and congestion. It also has reliable benefits for osteoarthritis symptoms, and may help improve joint pain in athletes. We highly recommend curcumin/turmeric for these reasons.

Best Product for Athletes

We recommend Thorne, Curcumin Phytosome (NSF Version) as it is banned substance tested, as well as tested for label accuracy via NSF Certified for Sport certification. There are multiple versions of Thorne Curcumin Phytosome, some of which are not NSF Certified for Athletes.

How to take

500 - 2000 mg per day, split doses, preferably with meals

Warnings

Highly recommended to take a USP or NSF approved product here.

For Healthcare Practitioners

Mechanism of Action

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a polyphenol found in turmeric root. Turmeric includes the active constituents known as curcuminoids, which include curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, calebin and other diarylheptanoids (PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed). The turmeric root contains tumerine, tumerones and turmeronols, as well as sesquiterpenes (PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed). Other compounds include iron, potassium, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid and ukonans A-D (PubMed)(PubMed)(PubMed).
The absorption of curcumin is very inefficient in humans. Taking curcumin with food or piperine (pepper) may increase absorption. Specific formulations of turmeric on the market have increased absorption; BCM-95 has 6.93 fold higher absorption compared to plain curcumin (PubMed). Theracurmin has 27-fold increased area under the curve compared to plain curcumin (PubMed) and a 10.7 times higher maximal plasma curcumin concentration compared to BCM-95. Theracurmin had a 5.6 times higher maximal plasma curcumin concentration compared to Meriva (PubMed). TurmXtra required 10% of plain curcumin dosage to increase peak and mean plasma levels of curcuminoids, and doubled peak levels of total curcumin (PubMed)

Interactions

Drug Interactions

N/A