Turmeric: cool the burn and tame the discomfort

             Muscle aches, pain, soreness and swelling are all-to-common to us active folk. The common link: inflammation, a natural part of the body's healing and recovery process. And while your body's doing its thing, we have ways to cool the burn of inflammation and reduce pain from exercise—quickly and safely.

             Turmeric (Curcuma longa), from a root that's a member of the ginger family, has been used for thousands of years in India and Southeast Asia for its culinary and medicinal properties. This bright yellow-orange root gets its vibrant hue from antioxidant compounds called curcuminoids. Curcumin is the primary, and best-researched, curcuminoid, and is responsible for turmeric's powerful anti-inflammatory properties.

             It's thought to work by suppressing cytokines, proteins that play a part in the body's inflammation response, and dozens of studies show curcumin reduces inflammation, decreases pain and muscle damage from exercise, and eases symptoms of arthritis.^{[1], [2], [3], [4], [5]}  
Bonus: taking curcumin may also improve performance by reducing muscle damage and inflammation caused by physical activity.^[6] And the benefits go far beyond pain relief; other studies suggest curcumin may play a role in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases linked with inflammation, like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders.^{[7], [8]}

             Here's the catch: curcumin is poorly absorbed by the body, and can pass through the gut undigested—so you don't get the benefits. It's also rapidly metabolized and may be eliminated from the body before it has a chance to impact inflammation. But research shows black pepper significantly enhances absorption and bioavailability of curcumin. In one study, BioPerine—a patented, standardized black pepper extract we use in our proprietary recovery blends—increased bioavailabilty of curcumin by 2,000 percent.^[9]

Learn more on our Turmeric page.

[1] Chainani-Wu N. Safety and anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin: a component of tumeric (Curcuma longa). J Altern Complement Med. 2003 Feb;9(1):161-8.

 [2] Rahmani AH et al. Role of curcumin in disease prevention and treatment. Adv Biomed Res. 2018; 7: 38.

 [3] Suhett LG et al. Effects of curcumin supplementation on sport and physical exercise: a systematic review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2020 Apr 13;1-13.

[4] Chandran B et al. A randomized, pilot study to assess the efficacy and safety of curcumin in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. Phytother Res. 2012 Nov;26(11):1719-25.

 [5] Panahi Y et al. Mitigation of systemic oxidative stress by curcuminoids in osteoarthritis: results of a randomized controlled trial. J Diet Suppl. 2016;13(2):209-20.

 [6] Fernández-Lázaro D et al. Modulation of exercise-induced muscle damage, inflammation, and oxidative markers by curcumin supplementation in a physically active population: a systematic review. Nutrients. 2020 Feb; 12(2): 501.

 [7] He Y et al. Curcumin, inflammation, and chronic diseases: how are they linked? Molecules. 2015 May 20;20(5):9183-213.

 [8] Kulkami SK et al. An overview of curcumin in neurological disorders. Indian J Pharm Sci. 2010 Mar-Apr; 72(2): 149–154.

 [9] Shoba G et al. Influence of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of curcumin in animals and human volunteers. Planta Med. 1998 May;64(4):353-6.