What to look for, and what to avoid when shopping for a Turmeric supplement.
Touted as one of the most effective spices for managing inflammation and joint pain, Turmeric has experienced a huge surge in popularity in recent years to become one of the best-selling supplements: but does it live up to the hype?
The anecdotal evidence suggests that may be the case, with a number recent studies also reporting that it may be beneficial in helping to ease joint pain, muscle pain and inflammation, aiding in mobility, reducing the intensity of medical conditions such as arthritis, gout, and sciatica, supporting your immune system, and even helping to encourage internal healing by protecting cells from oxidative stress.
However if you think that by drinking a daily Turmeric latte or sprinkling some powder in your curry you'll be reaping the rewards of this magical spice, then we have some bad news for you. The potency and efficiency of standard Turmeric powder found on supermarket shelves is extremely low, so if you're looking for some of the potential health benefits that Turmeric reportedly offers you'll need to find yourself a Turmeric supplement. This is where it gets complicated as not all Turmeric supplements are created equal so you will need to choose carefully.
Many Turmeric supplements often just contain standard food grade Turmeric which is considerably lacking in curcuminoids, (the isolated active compound responsible for the array of benefits that turmeric reportedly offers for joint health, inflammation and your immune system).
There are certainly no shortage of brands to choose from, and with so many Turmeric supplements on the market it can be difficult to know which products are worth your money and which are just a waste of time. That's why Superfood Reviews have compiled months of extensive research into Turmeric into this handy guide to help you choose wisely and find the best product for you.
What Is Turmeric?
Turmeric is a potent spice with a vibrant, bright yellow-orange colour. It is the primary component of curry powder and has been used in India for thousands of years as a traditional medicinal herb in Ayurvedic medicine. The root is the most commonly used part of the Turmeric plant which is also part of the ginger family.
Most people's relationship with Turmeric usually begins in the supermarket as it's commonly used for cooking and helps to give curries their rich, earthy taste.
Recently, science has started to back up claims that Turmeric contains active compounds which may have medicinal properties called curcuminoids - the most important one being curcumin.
It is widely believed that curcumin has antioxidant capabilities and so may help to reduce inflammation and help to protect cells from oxidative stress. For this reason it is now frequently included in supplements designed to provide relief from joint pain, arthritis or inflammation.
Several studies have also suggested that curcumin may also offer some support to your immune system, keep your digestive system healthy, support a healthy heart, provide relief from symptoms of depression and help to safeguard your body against long-term, degenerative health conditions by supporting your cells.
A number of studies have also suggested that Turmeric Extract is the most beneficial option if you're looking to receive optimal health benefits from Turmeric as it contains a significantly higher percentage of the active compound curcuminoids.
Why Take A Turmeric Supplement?
Studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that taking a high quality Turmeric supplement on a regular basis:
May help to provide relief from joint pain and inflammation*
May help with arthritis and gout*
May help with sciatica and nerve pain*
May help to protect cells from oxidative stress*
May support the immune system*
May help relieve stiff joints and immobility*
May boost levels of the brain hormone BDNF*
May help to support a healthy gut*
May be useful in treating chronic diseases*
May help to support healthy joint function*
May lower the risk of cardiovascular disease*
May support cognitive function*
Turmeric Supplements: What to Look For
With so many options out there it can be extremely hard to distinguish which brands are effective and which are just trying to take your money.
Fortunately, Superfood Reviews has done the homework for you, so that you don't risk wasting your hard-earned money on low value, misleading, or potentially dangerous products.
When it comes to finding a high quality Turmeric supplement that delivers results you should look for the following things:
1. Premium Turmeric Extracts
The best Turmeric supplements are ones formulated with high strength Turmeric Extracts such as CURCUGEN™. Typical Turmeric Extract with 95% curcuminoids is around 20x stronger than the standard food grade Turmeric used in some supplements, the best available Turmeric Extract in the market right now, CURCUGEN™ contains 98.5% curcuminoids and is 39x more effective. Meaning it also has a far higher percentage of curcuminoids which makes all the difference if you're looking for the potential health benefits.
2. Black Pepper
Turmeric is a potent antioxidant but unfortunately suffers from poor bioavailability when consumed on its own. Studies show that black pepper extract (which contains bioperine) may significantly increase the bioavailability of curcumin by as much as 2000% making it far easier for your body to absorb.
This means that you should always look to purchase a Turmeric supplement containing black pepper or your body will likely miss out on absorbing the majority of the active ingredient curcumin which provides the real benefits.
3. No Unnecessary Ingredients
The best Turmeric supplements on the market are the ones composed of natural, healthy, non-synthetic ingredients. By cutting out the fillers, you can be sure you're getting 100% premium, highly concentrated ingredients in their purest form, with no unnecessary artificial additives or synthetics.
4. Liquid Delivery
Curcumin is fat soluble which means water insoluble and has poor inherent bioavailability - which means absorption into the body is harder. Therefore, the most effective form of consuming Turmeric Curcumin is in liquid form, which has the best absorption rates into the body compared to capsules or edibles. As much as possible, finding a liquid supplement would be the best way to reap the benefits.
5. Money Back Guarantee
It's important that any manufacturer stands behind their product and is willing to give your money back if you aren't happy with the results. Some products available offer a money-back guarantee which protects you in case things don't work out as expected.
What You Need To Avoid
1. Unnecessary Ingredients
With so much misinformation out there today, it’s better to stick to ingredients that have been clinically-proven to support optimal joint health and avoid products containing ineffective doses of the latest flashy or trendy ingredients. These are often just marketing schemes that add no real value. Instead focus on finding a high quality ingredients in your product as this is what will really make the difference.
2. Harmful Artificial Binders, Unnecessary Additives, or Synthetic Fillers.
You want to ensure you’re getting 100% premium, highly concentrated ingredients in their purest form, with no unnecessary synthetic fillers, added artificial additives, or synthetic fillers. Look out for artificial colourings like iron oxide, polyethylene glycol (PEG), carrageenan, mineral oil, titanium dioxide, and petroleum byproducts, just to name a few.
3. Fake Reviews
Millions of people look to marketplaces before purchasing their products, but most don’t realize that up to 60% of their reviews are written by individuals paid to leave positive feedback. Risking your health with reviews that are likely false is too dangerous a game to play when you’re choosing an ingestible supplement.
4. Prioritise Quality Over Price
It's vital to prioritize quality when searching for a Turmeric supplement, even if that means paying a little more for a high-quality, safe, and clinically recommended formula. Your health is far too valuable to take such a gamble.
Top 5 Turmeric Supplements
After doing a lot of research into the Turmeric supplement space and looking at all the options that were available…my go-to brand is The Purest Co’s Ginseng Turmeric Superjuice.
I believe their quality is one of the best in the market, coupled with the fact that I could not find any other concentrated turmeric drink! In my research, I found out that the best absorption rate comes from liquids, rather than pills or powders. While the Ginseng Turmeric Superjuice from The Purest Co is not the cheapest option in the market, it’s probably the most effective!
Additionally, before purchasing the Ginseng Turmeric Superjuice, I read up on a lot of reviews and customers have had really good things to say about the supplement and how it has helped them with their joint pain and inflammation.
We here at Superfood Reviews have done the research to find out what the best option for cholesterol management supplements in the market is. We have graded each choice through a stringent grading based on the following criteria:
Our evaluation criteria:
PROS
Potent formula with 250mg of patented extract CURCUGEN™
With black pepper BioPerine® and ginseng extract for absorption
No unnecessary ingredients, additives or fillers
30 day, 100% satisfaction guarantee Rigorously tested and certified for quality
Suitable for vegans and vegetarians
Made in an FDA-approved, HACCP-certified facility in Taiwan
Manufactured to GMP standards
Highly rated for customer service
Free express delivery on all local orders
CONS
Only available online
Regularly out of stock due to high demand
BOTTOMLINE
With a pure and potent liquid formula and the best customer feedback scores on our list, Ginseng Turmeric Superjuice by The Purest Co is easily our Number 1 pick.
The high strength formula delivers 250mg of premium Turmeric extract CURCUGEN™ per serving as well as black pepper and ginseng for enhanced absorption and efficacy.
This product was extremely popular with our readers and contains no unnecessary fillers, synthetic additives, hidden or artificial ingredients.
The company was highly-rated for customer service and offers a 30-day, risk-free, money-back guarantee which shows they are willing to stand behind the quality of their product.
When compared to other top competitors, Ginseng Turmeric Superjuice was unrivaled in effectiveness, quality, safety and value which makes it our top choice as the best Turmeric supplement on the market today.
*Results are based on the Superfood Reviews Ranking System and do not necessarily reflect typical results from the use of these products. Please visit product websites for more information.
PROS
500mg of Turmeric Extract per serving
Well-respected UK manufacturer
Widely available
With Longvida Optimised Curcumin®
Suitable for vegetarians and vegans
Contains ginger root
Made in the United Kingdom
CONS
Contains maltodextrin and soy
No black pepper
BOTTOMLINE Cell Active Circumin Plus by Cytoplan is a quality option from a well-established and popular manufacturer.
This is a high strength formula with 500mg of branded Longvida Optimised Curcumin® per serving which the manufacturer claims is "up to 285 times more bioavailable" and has some promising reviews.
The vegan-friendly formula also includes ginger root extract - however the omission of black pepper was quite surprising - and we also noticed that the formula contains both soy and maltodextrin and so it may be unsuitable for some people.
Overall though, this is a good quality product that found favour with our readers and is also made in the United Kingdom to GMP standards - just like our top choice.
*Results are based on the Superfood Reviews Ranking System and do not necessarily reflect typical results from the use of these products. Please visit product websites for more information.
PROS
500mg of 95% Turmeric Extract per serving
Well-established retailer of 25 years
Widely available
No artificial flavours or preservatives
Free from added sugars and non-GMO.
Made in the United Kingdom
CONS
No complimentary ingredients
Powders aren’t great with absorption rates
BOTTOMLINE
Higher Nature has been in the supplements business for more than 25 years and has firmly-established itself as one of the UK's most well-respected supplement manufacturers.
This product is widely available, non-GMO and free from unnecessary ingredients and fillers.
The formula is clean and potent - containing both 95% extract and as well as Turmeric powder (although as previously mentioned it's the 95% extract that's going to offer the real benefits here). We would have ideally liked to see some of the powder sacrificed in exchange for more of the highly potent 95% extract instead.
However, we were concerned by Higher Nature's limited returns policy which only offers you a refund if you return your items back to them unopened and unused.
*Results are based on the Superfood Reviews Ranking System and do not necessarily reflect typical results from the use of these products. Please visit product websites for more information.
PROS
525mg of Turmeric extract per tablet
From the UK's largest manufacturer
Provides 210mg of circuminoids
With Black Pepper and Vitamin D
Suitable for vegetarians and vegetarians
No artificial colours or preservatives
Pricing is reasonable
Good if you find capsules difficult to swallow
CONS
Tablets generally aren't as bioavailable
No discounts for multiple purchases
Mixed reports of effectiveness
No money back guarantee
BOTTOMLINE
Coming in at number 4 in our list is Ultra Turmeric by Vitabiotics which is a popular offering from the UK's largest vitamins and supplement manufacturer that is widely available on the high street.
The vegan-friendly formula delivers 525mg of Turmeric Extract in the form of tablets rather than capsules (which some people may prefer if you have difficulty swallowing capsules). It also contains decent doses of black pepper to help with absorption, as well as Vitamin D to support your immune system.
On the downside, tablets aren't usually as bioavailable as capsules and because Turmeric has relatively low bioavailability already, we think you might be better off with a capsule-based product in terms of effectiveness.
It's also worth noting that Vitabiotics doesn't appear to offer a money back guarantee so you won't be protected if things don't work out as you expected.
*Results are based on the Superfood Reviews Ranking System and do not necessarily reflect typical results from the use of these products. Please visit product websites for more information.
PROS
Peach-flavoured gummy vitamins
Impressive taste
450mg of Turmeric Extract per serving
Contains ginger root
Suitable for vegans and vegetarians
Well-established manufacturer
CONS
3 gummies per serving.
Lower dosage of Turmeric Extract
Contains sugar, fructose and additives
No multiple bottle discounts
BOTTOMLINE
Turmeric Curcumin & Ginger Gummies by Nature's Truth come with a real novelty factor - delivering their turmeric 95% extract in the form of peach-flavoured gummies that proved to be a real hit with our readers for their taste.
Each serving of 3 gummies provides 450mg of Turmeric Extract as well as 75mg of ginger root. While the unique gummy format will be popular with some, it does unfortunately also make the product unavoidably quite high in sugar content and additives so it's definitely not the cleanest way to get your daily dose of Turmeric if that's something that matters to you.
The amount of Turmeric Extract per serving is also lower than some of its competitors(especially as each serving is 3 gummies rather than 2) and there are also no discounts for multiple bottle purchases so if you plan on taking this long-term it may start to get quite expensive.
CONCLUSION
With ample research and testing, the Superfood Reviews conclude that the Ginseng Turmeric Superjuice from The Purest Co is the number one choice in the market today. While there are a number of cheaper options, we feel that because of the more effective liquid form paired with a generous amount of turmeric & its complimentary ingredients, the turmeric drink deserves the top spot.
The Purest Co's Ginseng Turmeric Superjuice is of high quality, made with premium and natural ingredients, and the only concentrated turmeric drink available today. On top of all that, its effectiveness and positive reviews about joint pain & inflammation relief, assures you that you're getting your money's worth.
