Curcumin
Turmeric and curcumin supplements in capsules, tablets, liquid drops and powders, from standard 95 percent extracts to phytosome and liposomal forms. We explain how the forms differ and how to take them.Read more →
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Choosing a turmeric curcumin supplement: extract strength, forms and absorption
Turmeric is the dried root of Curcuma longa, a plant from the ginger family. Its deep yellow colour comes from curcuminoids, and curcumin is the main one. Culinary turmeric powder holds only about 2 to 5 percent curcuminoids. Supplements use a concentrated root extract instead, most often standardised to 95 percent curcuminoids.
That is where the confusion starts. A label that shouts 10,000 mg turmeric usually means a small amount of extract, expressed as its equivalent in raw root. Read the curcuminoid figure, not the equivalence figure. It is the only number you can compare across products in our range of herbal supplements.
Absorption decides what reaches your blood
Curcumin dissolves in fat, not in water, and the body clears it quickly. Plain extract on its own barely reaches the bloodstream. Makers solve that in three ways:
- Piperine, black pepper extract: it slows the breakdown of curcumin in the gut and liver. Cheap and effective, but it slows the breakdown of some medicines too.
- Phytosome: curcumin bound to a phospholipid, a fat from soy or sunflower, so it travels with dietary fats. This is the best documented of the three.
- Liposomal and micellar liquids: curcumin wrapped in tiny fat droplets so it mixes with water. Higher price, easier if capsules are a problem for you.
Take any form with a meal that contains some fat, and split a higher daily amount over two moments. Both steps cost nothing and often do more than paying for a bigger number on the jar.
How we choose the curcumin we stock
Curcumin is a category where the form matters more than the milligrams, so that is where we start. We carry standardised extracts with 95 percent curcuminoids, phytosome capsules and liquid micellar forms, and we say plainly which one suits whom. Products with piperine stay in the range, but we name the medicine interaction instead of advertising the 2,000 percent absorption figure. Dosages have to match what studies actually used. We buy directly from the brands, our compliance team checks every product before it goes live, and independent labs spot-check batches. Read more about how we select brands and products.
Combinations that make sense
Curcumin is usually combined with plants from the same culinary and herbal tradition, most often ginger root extract, sometimes with vitamin C or vitamin D added. We prefer short, readable formulas: three or four ingredients at a dose you can check, rather than a long list where each item sits at a token amount.
Who it suits and what to expect
Most people who buy curcumin are over 40, take it daily for months rather than weeks, and often also look at resins such as Boswellia. If you eat curry twice a week, that is flavour, not a supplement dose: the spice simply does not carry enough curcuminoids.
One honest point. Turmeric and curcumin currently have no authorised health claims in the UK or the EU, so we describe what a product contains and how it is absorbed, and we leave the promises out. Give any form a run of two to three months of consistent daily use before you judge it, and choose on extract, dose and form rather than on the loudest label.
Frequently asked questions
Turmeric is the whole dried root of Curcuma longa, the spice you cook with. Curcumin is one compound inside it, part of a group called curcuminoids. Dried turmeric contains only about 2 to 5 percent curcuminoids, so a spice jar and a supplement are not comparable. Most supplements use a concentrated extract standardised to 95 percent curcuminoids, which means the curcumin content per capsule is known and consistent between batches.
It is almost always an equivalence figure. The capsule contains a concentrated extract, for example 500 mg of a 20:1 extract, and the brand multiplies that back to the amount of raw root it came from. The number looks large, the actual extract does not change. Compare products on two figures only: the milligrams of extract and the standardised curcuminoid percentage. Everything else on the front of the pack is marketing arithmetic.
It depends on your budget, your medicines and whether you can swallow capsules.
| Form | How it improves absorption | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Standard extract, 95% curcuminoids | None added | Low budget, taken with a fatty meal |
| Extract with piperine | Slows breakdown in gut and liver | People on no regular medication |
| Phytosome | Bound to a phospholipid | Daily long-term use, best documented |
| Liposomal or micellar liquid | Wrapped in tiny fat droplets | Trouble with capsules, flexible dosing |
If you take prescription medicines, a piperine-free form is the simpler choice.
Take it with a meal that contains fat, such as one with oil, dairy, eggs or nuts. Curcumin is fat-soluble, so fat in the gut helps it dissolve and be taken up. Timing in the day matters little, but consistency does, so pick a fixed meal. If your daily amount is higher, split it over two meals rather than one, which keeps blood levels steadier. Phytosome and liquid forms already carry lipids, so they depend less on your meal.
Not necessarily. Piperine from black pepper blocks the enzymes that break curcumin down, which raises how much stays in the blood. That is genuinely useful and cheap. The same mechanism, though, also slows the breakdown of certain medicines, so a piperine formula is less suitable if you take prescription drugs daily. A phytosome or micellar form improves absorption through fat instead, without touching those enzymes. Both routes work, they simply suit different people.
There is no recommended daily intake, because curcumin is not a nutrient. There is an acceptable daily intake set at 3 mg curcumin per kilogram of body weight per day. Concentrated supplements can approach or exceed that figure, which is why the label dose matters.
| Body weight | Acceptable daily intake |
|---|---|
| 50 kg | 150 mg |
| 60 kg | 180 mg |
| 70 kg | 210 mg |
| 90 kg | 270 mg |
Longer than most people expect. Studies on curcumin usually run for eight to twelve weeks of daily use, so plan a trial of two to three months before you decide whether a product earns its place. Take it every day, at the same meal, and do not change form halfway through, otherwise you learn nothing about either one. If you are trialling it alongside training or physiotherapy, keep those steady too, so you can tell what did what.
UK guidance advises avoiding turmeric and curcumin supplements if you have gallstones, bile duct problems or liver disease. Curcumin can also have a mild blood-thinning effect, so speak to your doctor if you take anticoagulants, and stop at least two weeks before planned surgery. Rare cases of liver injury have been reported with concentrated supplements, mostly after one to four months of use, so stop and seek medical advice if you notice jaundice, dark urine or persistent nausea. Concentrated supplements are for adults.
Because no health claim for turmeric or curcumin has been authorised in the UK or the EU. Applications are still pending, so retailers may describe what a product contains, but not what it does for a body function. Italy went further and prohibited health claims on turmeric products altogether. That is why our pages talk about extract strength, curcuminoid percentage, absorption and dosing, and why we would rather explain a formula than promise you an outcome. You will find the same approach across our MOVE + RECOVER pages.
