I must say I am also confused on this. If I understand correctly, there are supplements with piperine, and also liposomal formulations which include Meriva and Longvida. Over on truttmd.com he recommends the latter, adducing studies that show it crosses the blood-brain barrier whereas he claims Meriva is far less effective. So what is the science now saying on the best way to take curcumin and on the dosages to obtain anti-cancer and neuroprotective effect?
The problem that I can see with longvida and meriva is that there are curcumin with phospholipids, so it do not contain aromatic tumerone, the other curcumoid in turmeric. Curcumin and tumerone have some overlapping functions, in that they both can inhibit inflammation (via decreaseing NFkappa B). However, they also have separate functions, tumerone has a specific effect increasing the neural stem cell population in the subventricular zone of the brain, curcumin does not have this effect. For this reason, I think taking turmeric with piperine is ideal (despite the fact that the curcumin concentration is not that high in turmeric). All curcumoids are able to cross the BBB, without needing liposomes. That is not to say that liposomal formulation of curcumin and turmerone would not be awesome, but it does not exist yet. In addition, there are many different curcumoids in turmeric and we have known about the positive anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin for some time but are just starting to uncover protective mechanisms of other curcumoids in turmeric (such as tumerone). There may still be others that we have not revealed yet.
I see, thank you. Perhaps I should roll with both for a bit. You are suggesting a turmeric supplement with piperine rather than simply the root (e.g. juiced) together with a piperine supplement, is that correct? Or would the latter perhaps be just as good?
In general, it would be awesome to have a site which brings together in a synthetic form all the latest info on supplements, both for general health and particular conditions, and even reviews or recommendations of particular products from a medically qualified (and of course independent) perspective. I’m down with a regular donation to keep it going :)
First off, just want to mention that is is not medical advice and that you should always consult your physician. But yes, I think the latter would be just as good. Remember that piperine increases the half-life of all xenobiotics (ie. pharma drugs, other polyphenols, EGCGs). For that reason, one should not take piperine with other drugs because it may also keep in in the system longer than has been tested.
Your suggestion is a good idea. It would take me some time as I try to be comprehensive. I’ll start with the stuff that I take and work from there…
Sure, we’re all biohacking adults here… ;) I mention what I do to my physicians, they have no interest whatsoever of course. I am not sure mainstream medicine completely gets the trade-off that individuals face in trying some of this stuff out (and surely many people do much more stupid things when they can’t get proper holistic care for their conditions). I am also going to see if I can do anything with the oleoresin which seems promising as it concentrates both the curcuminoids and the sesquiterpenes. Will certainly be careful, start with conservative amounts. My philosophy is to go with high doses for a limited period like a week, then a maintenance amount for say three while monitoring insofar as possible the inflammatory biomarkers. This seems way more sensible than maintaining an intermediate dose for months or years, which according to this paper could be associated with toxicity:
Makes sense to me: doing weird and untested things to your body for prolonged periods isn’t likely to be a good idea unless you really have no alternative. You gotta treat it with love, not have it in a constant state of wondering WTF you are doing to it. Interactions should definitely be a concern too, but I’m not on any prescription medicines. I’m not sure why prolonging the half-life of polyphenols might be a bad thing, but will be careful there also. Will report back if I find anything interesting.
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I must say I am also confused on this. If I understand correctly, there are supplements with piperine, and also liposomal formulations which include Meriva and Longvida. Over on truttmd.com he recommends the latter, adducing studies that show it crosses the blood-brain barrier whereas he claims Meriva is far less effective. So what is the science now saying on the best way to take curcumin and on the dosages to obtain anti-cancer and neuroprotective effect?
The problem that I can see with longvida and meriva is that there are curcumin with phospholipids, so it do not contain aromatic tumerone, the other curcumoid in turmeric. Curcumin and tumerone have some overlapping functions, in that they both can inhibit inflammation (via decreaseing NFkappa B). However, they also have separate functions, tumerone has a specific effect increasing the neural stem cell population in the subventricular zone of the brain, curcumin does not have this effect. For this reason, I think taking turmeric with piperine is ideal (despite the fact that the curcumin concentration is not that high in turmeric). All curcumoids are able to cross the BBB, without needing liposomes. That is not to say that liposomal formulation of curcumin and turmerone would not be awesome, but it does not exist yet. In addition, there are many different curcumoids in turmeric and we have known about the positive anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin for some time but are just starting to uncover protective mechanisms of other curcumoids in turmeric (such as tumerone). There may still be others that we have not revealed yet.
I see, thank you. Perhaps I should roll with both for a bit. You are suggesting a turmeric supplement with piperine rather than simply the root (e.g. juiced) together with a piperine supplement, is that correct? Or would the latter perhaps be just as good?
In general, it would be awesome to have a site which brings together in a synthetic form all the latest info on supplements, both for general health and particular conditions, and even reviews or recommendations of particular products from a medically qualified (and of course independent) perspective. I’m down with a regular donation to keep it going :)
First off, just want to mention that is is not medical advice and that you should always consult your physician. But yes, I think the latter would be just as good. Remember that piperine increases the half-life of all xenobiotics (ie. pharma drugs, other polyphenols, EGCGs). For that reason, one should not take piperine with other drugs because it may also keep in in the system longer than has been tested. Your suggestion is a good idea. It would take me some time as I try to be comprehensive. I’ll start with the stuff that I take and work from there…
Sure, we’re all biohacking adults here… ;) I mention what I do to my physicians, they have no interest whatsoever of course. I am not sure mainstream medicine completely gets the trade-off that individuals face in trying some of this stuff out (and surely many people do much more stupid things when they can’t get proper holistic care for their conditions). I am also going to see if I can do anything with the oleoresin which seems promising as it concentrates both the curcuminoids and the sesquiterpenes. Will certainly be careful, start with conservative amounts. My philosophy is to go with high doses for a limited period like a week, then a maintenance amount for say three while monitoring insofar as possible the inflammatory biomarkers. This seems way more sensible than maintaining an intermediate dose for months or years, which according to this paper could be associated with toxicity:
http://personal.us.es/mlopezlazaro/2010.%20Int%20J%20Cancer.%20The%20dark%20side%20of%20curcumin.pdf
Makes sense to me: doing weird and untested things to your body for prolonged periods isn’t likely to be a good idea unless you really have no alternative. You gotta treat it with love, not have it in a constant state of wondering WTF you are doing to it. Interactions should definitely be a concern too, but I’m not on any prescription medicines. I’m not sure why prolonging the half-life of polyphenols might be a bad thing, but will be careful there also. Will report back if I find anything interesting.