Carl at NatureCity Newsletter: Curcumin Confusion: What Supplement Companies Don’t Tell You

From the Desk of Carl Pradelli,

Co-Founder of NatureCity

From the Desk of

Carl Pradelli,

Co-Founder

Dear NatureCity Family Member,

When it comes to turmeric and curcumin, the real challenge is absorption. Because taking curcumin is one thing - getting your body to absorb and use it is another.

For thousands of years, turmeric has been known as one of nature’s most valued health spices, and modern science has shown that curcumin — the key nutritional compound in turmeric — may help support a healthy inflammation response, along with joint, cognitive, immune, mood, and cardiovascular health.

When it comes to turmeric and curcumin, the real challenge is absorption. Because taking curcumin is one thing - getting your body to absorb and use it is another.

So today I want to clear up some of the confusion around turmeric and curcumin, explain why so many curcumin supplements underperform, and show you what to look for if you want a supplement that can actually deliver.

Turmeric and Curcumin are Not the Same Thing

Turmeric is the yellow-orange spice powder used in cooking. It’s what gives curry its color and much of its characteristic flavor.

Curcumin is one of the key health compounds found inside turmeric. It’s the part believed to be largely responsible for many of turmeric’s health benefits.

So if your goal is flavoring food, turmeric is what you want. But if your goal is getting meaningful amounts of the compound studied for a healthy inflammation response, joint comfort, and healthy aging support - then curcumin is typically what matters most.

Now here’s the next challenge. Raw turmeric powder contains only about 2% to 5% curcumin.

That means if you want to get a meaningful supplemental amount — say around 500 milligrams of curcumin — you’d have to consume roughly 8 grams of turmeric powder a day, which is not very practical for most people.

That’s why, for supplementation, curcumin usually makes much more sense than turmeric powder. But that leads to the next issue.

Once curcumin is isolated from turmeric, it becomes poorly absorbed into the bloodstream during digestion. And this is where many supplement companies leave consumers in the dark.

They’ll put a large amount of curcumin on the label — maybe 500 milligrams, 1,000 milligrams, even more — and make it sound impressive.

But if absorption is poor, then more milligrams on the label do not necessarily mean more benefit in your body.

That’s one of the most important lessons in supplementation. What matters is not just what you swallow — it’s what your body can absorb and use.

Human Research Support is Key

Now before we go further, here’s another important point. Even if you choose a turmeric or curcumin supplement, you want to make sure it has human research behind it.

In other words, don’t just look for an ingredient name on a label. Look for evidence that the specific extract has actually been studied in people and shown to support the benefit you care about.

That’s important because many generic turmeric extracts may look good on paper, but don’t have meaningful human data on efficacy.

So when evaluating a turmeric or curcumin supplement, I think there are two big questions you should ask: Is it well-absorbed? Does it have human research showing efficacy and safety?

Those two questions can help you cut through a lot of the confusion.

So if regular curcumin is poorly absorbed, how do companies try to improve it?

One common method is combining curcumin with piperine, a black pepper extract. Piperine can improve curcumin absorption, and that’s why it’s used in many formulas.

But there are some drawbacks to piperine, which is why I prefer curcumin ingredients that address bioavailability in a more targeted way.

Using Turmeric Oils to Boost Absorptio

One of my favorites is BCM-95, which is the curcumin extract we use in our TrueCurcumin supplement.

What makes BCM-95 different is that instead of relying on a foreign absorption enhancer, it essentially reunites curcumin with turmeric essential oils. No foreign substances are used.

That combination can dramatically improve curcumin absorption and bioavailability. For example, when comparing absorption and sustained presence in the bloodstream, just 400 milligrams of BCM-95 has been shown to be equivalent to about 2,500 milligrams of regular curcumin. That’s a very meaningful difference.

And there’s another reason I like this approach. The turmeric essential oils in BCM-95 are known to act specifically to enhance curcumin absorption.

That’s different from certain non-turmeric bioenhancers, which may affect other substances too and can raise more questions about drug interactions.

So yes, absorption matters a lot. But absorption alone is not enough.

You also want to know whether the ingredient has actually been shown in human studies to work for the intended purpose. And that’s where I think many consumers get misled.

They see “turmeric extract” on the label and assume all turmeric extracts are basically the same. They’re not.

For example, in TrueCurcumin, we use BCM-95 because it is designed for enhanced absorption AND has a strong research foundation.

BCM-95 is considered one of the most researched bioavailable curcumin ingredients in the world, with over 90 published independent research studies and papers, along with an 18-year track record of trust and safety of use in 60 countries.

And the benefits highlighted for BCM-95 are broad and compelling.

It helps support a healthy inflammation response and antioxidant function in the body, promotes joint and muscle health, while also supporting balanced mood, cognitive function, immune function, and healthy aging.

And in TrueJoint FLX, we use an ingredient called TamaFlex — a researched combination of turmeric and tamarind — because it has been shown to be very potent for joint health in human research. That’s the kind of scientific backing you want to see.

Many generic turmeric extracts simply do not have that same level of evidence behind them.

Here’s the simple takeaway. If you see a product that just says “turmeric,” that may be great for cooking, but not ideal if your goal is meaningful curcumin support.