HOW TO MAKE TUMERIC/CURCUMIN MORE EFFECTIVE

evertheoptimist said:

I have read something
I have read something (coming out of MD Anderson) to the effect that 8 grams of curcimin a day is a safe dosage. I even read up to 12 gram (I believe it was Blaylock's claim).

I am taking about 6-7 grams a day. Till now, I did not mix it with olive oil: so all this time I was taking curcumin, it was not very effective, based on what I am just reading on this thread..... Sigh....

Taking raw curcumin, which is the active spice of Tumeric, can be made many times more effective by adopting some well known strategies.

(1) Mix curcumin with high quality fish oil, there is a great synergy between the two. Solubility is an issue as less than 1% of curcumin is soluble in fish oil.

(2) Mix Piperine with the curcumin, around 1% by weight. Also Quercetin is helpful and if you mix curcumin 94%, Quercetin 5% and Piperine 1% you have the right ratios. If you have cancer and are treating it with curcumin etc then the price of some precision scales is but a small price.

(3) There is a product already on the market that combines phospholipids from marine sources, complexed to curcumin, quercetin and piperine. It has many times the potency of a single Meriva capsule.

MoJoe

It should be noted that Curcumin loses a lot of efficacy when heated at 70 degrees centigrade or higher, as does Piperine. When combining note that the ratio of piperine to curcumin is  1%, higher is definetly not better. Add curcumin to all fats taken during the day, butter, oils etc. A ratio here is 0.5% of curcumin to fats. Tumeric is definetly inferior to curcumin and should not be used.  My friend adds 0.5% to his gin, just don't spill it on the carpet. Bio-Mer markets curcumin complexed to a marine phospholipid.

MoJoe    

daisy366 said:

Vola, don't forget pepper
Thanks for your recipe. I also like to add cinnamon to cereal or anything that needs sweetening.

However if you take turmeric without black PEPPER, it is hardly worth taking. With pepper turmeric is 2000 times as effective! I guess this could go in the tea too but try to ingest it somehow.

Toasted turmeric olive oil, flax seed, 1/2 apple, skim milk in 1 1/2 scoop of protein powder, try as break fast . I try with diff frfruits

regards 

ajay

ps: you may add any thing u want, Ppowder helps in taste and also helps in weight/ diabetes and ----- control

robert1699 said:

tumeric
I think folks may be getting gm (grams) and mg (micrograms) mixed up. Turmeric's effect start from the lowest dosage 1mg (a teaspoon of turmeric is roughly 2,270 mg. (Aqua-calc.com is a wonderful site for converting measurements).. So one teaspoon of turmeric would give you a dose of roughly 2.27 grams of turmeric. A penny weighs 2.5gm so an equal weight of turmeric would give you a solid dose of 200mg of curcumin more or less. The amount of active ingredient in herbs is always a "depends". (the mskcc.org site, Memorial sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has some interesting herb useage/doage stuff and in the case of turmeric covers the contra-indications very well, as long as you keep in mind no answer applies to everyone). I buy my turmeric at an Indian food store here in Nebraska for about $4 for 7oz.
Black pepper (active ingredient piperine) really increases the absorption of the active ingredient in turmeric, curcumin. Sadly i can not find any studies that compare different oils effect's on bioavailability except that oil increased the bioavailabity. I use organic coconut oil, I know many sites say olive oil, but why not flaxseed oil, canola , etc.? One thing to keep in mind with turmeric is at it's highest concentration in the body is somewhere around 30min to one hour after you take it. So in theory, dosing every couple of hours would keep things at what every level you are trying to reach/maintain.
The way I use it is to make a paste. I start with 1 tablespoons of coconut oil, heated in the microwave, 1/8 teaspoons of black pepper, then mix in enough turmeric to make a paste. Then I let that set for at an hour or so. Then, when I want to use it, I mix one teaspoon of paste in 1/4 cup of hot Acari Green Tea (I use the "Republic of Tea" brand, i think you could use acari berries to make a tea or heat acari juice) add 1 teaspoon of honey, and soy milk, a 1/4 cup more or less. I like the woody taste of the turmeric.

The reason I joined this group was that I saw it was suggested that Microwaving is used for heating.

Turmeric contains many valuable compounds and herbal compounds are often delicate. Microwaving is like entering a very rough earthquake.

In general, it has been proven that Microwave heating damages the food and weakens the immunity  - throw the oven out!

Heating is necessary for dissolving important components. Some are water and some are oil soluble. 

The unsaturated oils including flaxseed oil, canola oil, soy oil, maize oil, sunflower oil etc  turn into free radicals when heated - don't use at all in cooking  - they turn the food carcinogenic. They should be totally excluded from cooking in Cancer cases and also by the rest for preventing cancer. People who used these foods in cooking had significantly higher rates of all kinds of cancer.

How to do: The ancient asian cultures give an indication:  they traditionally dissolve all spices in a about two tablespoons wather along with as much of oil - ghee preferably or coconut oil - these are resistant to heat. The water has two important roles: it prevents the temperature from rising above 100 and dissolves the important water-dissoluble components. Cook for some 3-4 minutes.

I have seen no studies about this but I highly respect the profound knowledge o Asian cultures - being myself a western medicine trained M.D. who turned into an Ayurveda&integrative medicine doctor.

This is a terrific topic, thanks muchos for the discussion.  I've been using turmeric regularly/daily for a while now.  My life flow seems to parallel that of my mom's (with the exception of birthing and such as I'm a guy, mid 60's now).  In her mid/late 70's mom began to show signs of Alzheimer's, now twenty years later she's moved on.  Considering the parallels, I'm trying to get in front of that train to stop it in it's tracks.

Through online research I've discovered the possible effects of turmeric so have incorporated it into my daily routine, and wanted to share here.  First, in a reply inquiring about heat and curcumin, I've also read elsewhere that too much heat can reduce the effective qualities of turmeric.

I start each day with a cup of green tea, using water from my Mr. Coffee (no coffee, just the water).  While the tea is steeping I squeeze a lemon, add some inulin (no S in inulin), add a quarter TSP of turmeric and cayenne.  As with the pepper theme I've read that cayenne helps with the absorption of turmeric.  Oh yeah, and a dash of stevia - for the lemon.  Then I blend with the green tea.  I've gotten to where I really like my spicey eye opener and don't think I can get a day started without it.

Two points here...  Either the drink will assist to allay the onset of Alzheimer's, or I'll never know the difference - my consolation.

Also, the part of winter I like most is making soup, as in more turmeric.  It's not a big deal, olive oil, some veggies, brown rice, spices and LOTS of turmeric and cayenne.  I'll wait until the soup is a minute or so from turning off the heat (a low heat) to add the spice.  Again, don't want heat to reduce the qualities of the turmeric, or any thing else.

Best of wishes to you all, looking forward to survival.

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade here, but want to point out that Tumeric/curcumin does interact with numerous medications (such as tylenol, advil, aspirin, anticoagulants to name a few) and a number of chemo drugs in a manner that make them less effective. One site that cautions about this is Memorial-Sloan Kettering at https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/turmeric. It can't be emphasized enough to always check with your oncologist first before adding any supplements to your treatment regimen; the last thing anyone wants to do is render their chemo less effective.

It's not really fair to generalize that "most doctors will discourage you from taking supplements while on chemo because most don't know much about them". Many doctors are quite open to their use these days where they are at least shown to do no harm and studies exist that show promise of positive effect even if more study needs to be done before they could be considered for adding to stanard practice. You just need to do your homework to present it to doctors when you want to add it into your treatment. Doing so will also help you to better understand what you might be asking for and to be selective in what is worth trying. If you are fortunate to be working with a naturopathic doctor, he can help you by pointing you to the evidence he uses in making his reccomendations. It's really in your own best interest to understand as much of the science existing about supplements as you can before ingesting them. In this instance, curcumin does not meet this standard during chemotherapy. If you need a naturopathic source to refer to, Life Extension has a lengthy article on chemotherapy that specifically recommends chemotherapy patients wait 3 weeks after their last dose of chemotherapy before taking high dioses of curcumin: www.lifeextension.com/protocals/cancer/chemotherapy/page-05. Scroll down to the section titled "Why Agents That Inhibit Angiogenesis and Block Signal Transduction Are Failing" to the 2nd paragrapgh where they recommend waiting until 3 weeks after chemotherapy to take high doses of curcumin.  It's an anti-oxident, that by it's anti-cancer effects, diminishes the effectiveness of chemotherapy because those drugs are designed to prefer cells that are highly active, namely cancer cells, and anti-oxidents are agents that impact this level of axtivity and put normal cells at higher risk of damage by chemo drugs while making cancer cells less susceptible. It's why  you should probably avoid any anti-oxident use during chemotherapy without certainty that there won't be negative interference with treatment.

I don't mean to give the impression that I'm against naturpathic assistance during chemotherapy.I'm highly in favor of it and interested in looking into the anti-cancer diet information I'm finding on these discussion forums.  I'm currently taking B vitamins, getting B12 shots and glutamine, with my oncologists blessing, and also using hypothermic gloves and mittens to protect against and mitigate side-effects with positive results, but there are existing studies that show their value and safety just as there is evidence that indicates that using curcumin and other anti-oxidents during chemotherapy might impact its effectiveness. I tend to be a very skeptical and cautious person, and so prefer to rely on scientific study rather than anecdotal or testimonial evidence, especially when dealing with my health. This applies to medical science, too, as I've been questioning pelvic radiation after chemotherapy even though it's SOP for the stage 3a, grade 3 uterine cancer I have. My oncologist is starting to agree that progesterone therapy and close monitoring may be the better path for me after chemotherapy before revisiting radiation for any recurrance after I raised a lot of concerns about it's value with such scattershot targeting in hopes but not certainty of eliminating undetectable cancer cells. Too many permanent, life-altering side effects for uncertain need or benefit even if statistically it's considered to raise odds of cure. What point is a cure if remaining living is ruined by chronic, disabling pain, increased risk for other cancers andn other disability? I definetly need the chemo and progesterone, but radiation seems to be more for added insurance by it's unspecific targeting and not worth the risks of creating serious new issues for me at this point.

I apologise if this post seems lecturing to some. I just think that if you are undergoing chemotherapy as I am, there are others who would also want to be aware of issues that might impact it and judge for themselves whether or not taking curcumin or other anti-oxidants is worth potentially lessening the effectiveness of what they are going through. To know better is to do better, so hence I jumped into this discussion to raise a point of concern.

MAbound said:

Yikes!

Tethys41, I really was hoping to just put out a concern about this particular supplement that wasn't mentioned in earlier posts in this thread, not get into an argument over naturopathic medicine vs western medicine. Both have value and are not necessarily mutually exclusive of being used in concert with each other. You obviously have very strong feelings about the results you have achieved (congratulations, by the way!) and want to share that with others. We all need to hear about it, but perhaps toned down a bit. It never hurts to have different aspects of an issue presented for people to consider in making their own decisions. I'm sure your naturopathic oncologist wouldn't disagree with me about that.

I was hoping that by pointing to a specific spot in the LifeExtension article on chemotherapy it would get someone interested in reading the article from the beginning to see how they came to that recommendation. It's rather lengthy and somewhat technical, but it does present and discuss the two options of not taking curcumin during chemo or going ahead and taking it and why they arrived at the recommendation that was their bottom line. There are many citations at the end of the article that would be useful for digging deeper. Whenever there's disagreement or opposing views, it's always a good idea to investigate further from different kinds of sources to get the whole picture about what you are considering.

I truly take to heart the experiences of others as I take on my journey and know I have a lot more to learn, but I have a strong science background that has trained me to ask questions that always lead to more questions. I don't give a lot of weight to annecdotal or testimonial evidence; I just use it as a starting point for learning more. I may be a "newbie" to this website, but I'm not trying to discredit or discourage anyone from investigating any options open to them, far from it as I was only trying to raise a point of concern that bears weighing into treatment decisions. That hardly qualifies as a sinister, pre-meditated plot "trying to dissuade patients from investigating and learning about their options" and I take strong exception to being accused of that. It was very disrespectful. If anyone is guilty of being closed-minded about other options, I think Tethys41 needs to look in the mirror.

I'm truly sorry that this upset you Tethys41 and my intent is to end this here as I think we have both have said our piece. I'm still interested in what you have to offer from your experiences and don't want there to be hostility between us. We are all on this journey together with each of us on different parts of the path. How we use what we learn here will always be a matter of individual decision making and everyone won't always be in agreement with what others chose to do. That has to be respected and supported.

The thing is, there is not one size that fits all.  Several women on this old thread are, sadly, dead.  Chemo almost killed me by causing my liver to shut down. My gynocologist/oncologist has quit doing routine scans and using radiation as a frontline treatment unless he cannot surgically get all the cancer he can see because of the sometimes, horrendous side effects.  Yet, other doctors continue to do this.  Some women choose, after their hysterectomy, to have no further treatment and go on to live many years; others go through all the recommended treatment and still face recurrence.  We each have to do what's best for us.  

I agree 100% you need to speak with your doctor if you're taking anything not specifically prescribed.  Get a second opinion if you're not happy with your doctor's recommendation.  However most women don't have access to a variety of treatment options.  

Right now successful cancer treatment is in its infancy and who knows when the next breakthrough will happen?  I take Metformin for T2 diabetes.  It is showing promise in treating UPSC recurrence.  There are women who swear by it and as long as I take it anyway, I am going to continue, but would I take it if I didn't have T2?   Probably not.

Love, 

Eldri

I know that sounds absurd, but when I am looking for the supplements I find over and over capsules with X amount of curcuma longa root and then a WAY lesser amount of 95% standardized curcuminoids and then the 10 mg of bioperine.  Should I be looking for a capsule with  only or mostly the 95% standardized curcuminoids and bioperine? 

I don't even know if there IS a supplement with only the curcuminoids.. is there?

Thanks

onesong said:

from a known herbalist's perspective: turmeric

From the perspective of herbalists, many times the 'whole herb' is more beneficial than it's parts.  In a recent class by K.P. Khalsa, a well known herbalist, turmeric use was discussed and this was his take on it (not verbatim).  Turmeric is best taken as a whole herb, rather than isolating the 'curcurmin' out of it.  His daily practice is to take 3 Tablespoons of dried turmeric in water.  The discussion included whether it needed cooked, additional additives, etc. and his take was that the best way to use and avail our bodies of this natural medicine is in whatever way we will actually use it.  So here is the way I take it (and my thoughts on why). 

1 1/2 T. of turmeric, 1 tsp virgin coconut oil, 1 tsp raw honey, 1/8 tsp black pepper.  I mix all until it becomes a paste, pour a few ounces of boiling water over it, mix to remove remaining lumps and add enough cool filtered water to drink it.  I down it quick, much like one might a stiff drink, and follow it with some water.  I do this in the morning and again at night.

The coconut oil is better than olive oil only because most/much of the olive oil in our groceries is now being found to be of questionable quality and some isn't olive oil at all.  Coconut oil kills fungus, yeast etc.  which is beneficial as well.  The honey has healing properties by itself, but also allows the turmeric to be rapidly taken up by cancer cells which we know use up 'sugars/glucose' in our bodies faster than the healthy cells. Black pepper helps with absorption.  Just my take on it, no scientist but from my understanding-the reason I'm doing what I do. K.P. Khalsa has a website and offers classes etc. for reasonable cost. (I AM NOT affiliated with him, just value his judgement and expertise!)  

Thank you SO much! I find I am learning all over again how to eat, what to look for etc. I am trying very hard to be a healthier person. I see my friends and friends of friends that have all manner of things happening to them. Big pharma is such an evil conglomerate of business and faux healthcare!! So odd at my age to no longer trust most of the types of people I was taught were the ONES that could be trusted! Perhaps the same old song and dance has been done since man began our journey... still odd and difficult to know what to do anymore. THANKS again for your honesty and help!