The Curcumin Controversy

If you’re not familiar with curcumin, it’s a major component of the yellow-colored spice turmeric which is derived from the root of a plant in the ginger family.

Turmeric is commonly used in cooking in recipes from India and Southeast Asia, and is an important ingredient in curry dishes. It’s also a popular dietary supplement, and its use as such is a point of some controversy.

As a supplement, the primary uses of curcumin are for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and blood sugar effects. These effects are actually pretty well-documented by a considerable amount of research, yet there’s still quite a bit of disagreement as to whether or not supplementation with curcumin/turmeric is a good idea and a worthwhile investment of one’s hard-earned money.

Why the disagreement?

The first issue is that curcumin taken by itself is very poorly absorbed – in fact, almost none shows up in the bloodstream with even fairly heavy supplementation. Obviously, if you don’t absorb it, it’s probably not going to do much good, and because of this, some have declared curcumin supplements to be a complete waste of money.

But there are simple ways to dramatically improve curcumin absorption. The most common method is to add black pepper to the supplement, and this has been shown to increase absorption into the bloodstream by approximately 2000%. A particular component of black pepper, piperine, acts by suppressing a liver enzyme that detoxifies and deactivates a class of chemicals known as polyphenols, which includes curcumin.

Curcumin itself is not toxic except in extremely high doses, but some polyphenols have much greater potential toxicity and herein lies a second point of contention. Some experts have hypothesized that piperine’s effect of blocking polyphenol detoxification would lead to an inability for the liver to detoxify the toxic polyphenols and therefore create health problems.

But human biochemistry and physiology are extremely complex. We might have a good understanding of a particular chemical reaction in the body if we look at it in isolation, but have little to no understanding of what will happen in the context to the multitude of other chemical reactions occurring simultaneously. If we look beyond the “micro-view” of single chemical reactions and look more broadly at the health outcomes of using curcumin supplements with black pepper, the results have been overwhelmingly positive. So far, the proposed health risks of using such supplements have failed to materialize and the proposed health benefits have become more and more supported by the research.

With regards to the beneficial effects of curcumin with black pepper supplements on blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity, there’s a third point of controversy. Namely, that there are pharmaceuticals that have a greater effect on blood sugar. So, why bother with curcumin?

Curcumin supplementation has been shown to reduce blood sugar by 5 to 10% in diabetics, and by itself, that’s not sufficient to manage most cases of diabetes. But combined with diet and exercise, it very well might be quite beneficial for many diabetics, and might be preferable to pharmaceutical agents with a higher risk of side-effects.

Furthermore, one study found that curcumin supplementation dramatically reduced the progression from pre-diabetes to full-blown Type II diabetes. In one study of prediabetics taking curcumin and those not, with approximately 100 participants in each group, after 9 months, over 16% of those not taking it progressed to full-on diabetes, whereas not a single person in the curcumin supplementation group did!

Some have argued that curcumin does not have any statistical effect on blood sugar in those with normal blood sugar, and draw conclusions based on that – proclaiming curcumin supplementation to be a waste of money. To me that’s an odd way of looking at it. If someone has normal blood sugar control, there’s not a problem to correct. And just because it doesn’t have any effect on normal blood sugar doesn’t mean that a healthy person can’t benefit from its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and other beneficial effects!

So, although curcumin supplements do have their detractors, in my opinion, they’re actually a pretty well-supported addition to one’s health regimen. I personally take curcumin (I like Gaia Herb’s Turmeric Supreme Extra Strength) for it’s anti-inflammatory effects and it definitely seems to help reduce joint pain and muscle soreness related to my chiropractic work and strength-training.

Besides supplement pills, you can also add curcumin to your diet through the use of turmeric as a spice in food (in which case, other ingredients in the dish will likely aid its absorption). You might also want to try the curcumin-spiced beverage known as “golden milk,” which, in addition to the benefits of curcumin already discussed, also acts as a sleep aid. There are numerous recipes for golden milk online, and pre-made powders are widely available as well.

So if you’ve hesitated about taking curcumin/turmeric due to the mixed opinions about it, I suggest you give it a try.

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.