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I’d like to give turmeric some love. As you already know, it’s been shown to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties, but that’s really just the beginning.
For years, I’ve been incorporating turmeric into my daily diet, but as I focus on healing my broken ankle bone, I’m upping my turmeric game — both in terms of consuming more of it, yes, but also (mainly) in terms of increasing its bioavailability — in other words…increasing my body’s absorption and use of it.
Turmeric’s active compound, curcumin, has low bioavailability. It’s considered hydrophobic, meaning it doesn’t mix well with water. In other words, it’s quickly metabolized by the liver and excreted from the body.
That’s not what we want. Not only do we want to CONSUME the nutrients that make us thrive and heal; we also want our bodies to be able to ABSORB and USE them. Otherwise, we’re not getting the full potential of the healthy plant foods we’re eating.
Fortunately, there are two significant ways to increase the absorption of curcumin:
It’s not that I wasn’t doing this before, and it’s not that I’m not using NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) for pain management and inflammation reduction, but I’ve definitely made some adjustments:
Prior to breaking my ankle, I was trying to eat 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric a day, but while I’m focusing on healing this break, I’m eating about a teaspoon a day. That’s specifically because its anti-inflammatory properties reduces my pain, promotes faster healing, and supports my immune system, which of course is also critical for overall health.
And let me emphasize that I eat only ground turmeric (or freshly grated turmeric root) — not a curcumin supplement. Curcumin is just ONE of the many healthful compounds of turmeric. The magic of whole plant foods is that all of the components work together to create the beneficial effect. Isolating one nutrient means missing out on the combination.
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Hey Colleen;
Like you, I’ve been consuming turmeric daily for the last 10 years. In addition to using it topically on skin and oral mucosa inflammation, I’ve been consuming a drink mix containing 2 teaspoons mixed with 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder (Navitas Cacoa and Tumeric), lions mane mushroom, and of course with added pepper to help absorption, since we aren’t what we eat, but what we absorb.
Fat as a transport is actually key for nutrient absorption in general; this is why is so good to mix avocado in with salads and other veg-only dishes that inherently are low / absent in fats (monounsaturated and saturated) to help maximize protein (amino acid), vitamin and mineral absorption.
I hope you ankle heals quickly. Have you been using an electrical bone growth stimulator?
I love your recommendations for turmeric!