The component in turmeric root responsible for the many health benefits it has to offer is called curcumin. When supplementing curcumin, absorption is the name of the game.
Curcumin is extremely beneficial for our overall health, acting as a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. The problem is, we typically only absorb about 2% of the curcumin we ingest. Thankfully, many dietary supplements have found solutions to this absorption issue, increasing the bioavailability and therefore the benefits.
Here is a look at some of the top curcumin supplements on the market.
Top Curcumin Supplement Reviews
These four curcumin supplements are in no particular order. We discuss our top pick at the bottom of the article.
You can view & purchase the supplements through the Amazon links provided below each supplement. By purchasing them through the link you are helping support our site, and we would like to thank you for that in advance.
Viva Labs:
Turmeric Curcumin C3 Complex
Ingredients:
Curcumin C3® – 500 mg
BioPerine® – 5 mg
Other Ingredients: Rice flour, cellulose, ascorbyl palmitate.
Our Review:
Viva Labs – Curcumin C3 Complex incorporates two specially compounded ingredients manufactured by the Sabinsa Corporation. By pairing curcumin with their patented black pepper extract, they increased the bioavailability of the curcumin by up to 2000%. [1]
Our one problem with the Viva Labs Curcumin C3 Complex is the fact that they use rice flour as a filler ingredient. We are never a fan of unnecessary filler ingredients, and rice flour is often found to contain GMO’s.
[box]Purchase Viva Labs Curcumin – HERE[/box]
Life Extension:
Super Bio-Curcumin®
Ingredients:
BCM-95® Bio-Curcumin® – 400 mg
Other Ingredients: Vegetable cellulose, rice flour, vegetable stearate, silica.
Our Review:
Life Extension – Super Bio-Curcumin® uses BCM-95®, a patented formulation proven to enhance absorption by almost 7x. [2]
Rice flour is used as a filler ingredient, an unnecessary filler ingredient we generally avoid whenever possible. The process used to formulate the BCM-95® includes extracting essential oils using steam. There is a concern that the heat used to extract the essential oils could damage the molecular structure, however this is just an assumption.
[box]Purchase Life Extension Curcumin – HERE[/box]
Natural Factors:
CurcuminRich™
Ingredients:
Theracurmin™ – 300 mg
Other Ingredients: Microcrystalline cellulose, vegetarian capsule, magnesium stearate, silica.
Our Review:
Natural Factors – CurcuminRich™ uses Theracurmin™ which uses a proprietary dispersion technology to increase absorption. Putting the curcumin through a wet-grinding mill to produce particles 100x smaller than regular curcumin powder. This process increases absorption by up to 27 times. [3]
Microcrystalline cellulose is a refined wood-pulp used as a filler ingredient. While we are never a fan of filler ingredients, it is a step above rice flour.
[box]Purchase Natural Factors Curcumin – HERE[/box]
Dr. Mercola®:
Curcumin Advanced
Ingredients:
MicroActive® Curcumin – 500 mg
Other Ingredients: Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, polyglycerol oleate, silicon dioxide, metolose, medium chain triglycerides, sodium alginate.
Our Review:
Dr. Mercola® – Curcumin Advanced uses MicroActive® Curcumin. A self-emulsifying system which forms micro-particles of curcumin, making it water soluble. This increases absorption by up to 9.7x, first releasing curcuminoids in the stomach, and then later in the small intestine. [4]
The Curcumin Advanced formula incorporates fat-based ingredients, which is a bonus considering curcumin is typically solely fat soluble. However the micro-particles in MicroActive® Curcumin are supposed to be water-soluble as well.
[box]Purchase Dr Mercola’s Curcumin – HERE[/box]
The Final Word
While none of the above curcumin supplements are “perfect”, they all address the absorption issue in a different way. They far exceed the typical benefits of a curcumin supplement.
Our first choice would probably be Dr. Mercola’s Curcumin Advanced formula, however we would also recommend pairing it with a Piperine supplement to further enhance absorption.
If you think we missed one of the top contending curcumin based supplements, please let us know in the comments and we will take a look.
Top Fish Oil Supplements Reviewed
What about Theracurmin? This brand name was the study of a UCLA study, which said good things about it. I wonder how it compares to the ones you mention in this article.