Turmeric (Curcumin) Dos and Don’ts With Dr. Kim

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Turmeric is a fabulous spice, most well-known for its anti-inflammatory powers; its antioxidant effects benefit all of the body, including the brain. While it fights seemingly everything from arthritis to atherosclerosis to Alzheimer’s and more, it also boosts brain-derived neurotrophic factor, looks after your cardiovascular health, holds back diabetes, reduces the risk of cancer, fights depression, slows aging, and basically does everything short of making you sing well too.

Dr. Leonid Kim goes over the scientific evidence for these, and also talks about some of the practicalities of taking turmeric, and safety considerations.

For the most part, turmeric is very safe even at high doses (up to 8g at least); indeed, at smaller doses (e.g. 500mg) it largely does the same job as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, with fewer problems.

It also does the job of several antidiabetic medications, by increasing uptake of glucose (thus reducing blood sugar levels) while simultaneously decreasing the glucose secretion from the liver. It does this by regulating the AMPK signalling pathway, just like metformin—while again, being safer.

Dr. Kim also looks at the (good!) evidence for turmeric in managing PCOS and undoing NAFLD; so far, so good.

Dosage: he bids us pay attention whether we’re taking it as turmeric itself or as curcumin standardized extract. The latter is the active compound, and in principle more powerful, but in practice it can get metabolized too quickly and easily—before it can have its desired effect. So, turmeric itself is a very good choice.

Absorption: since we do want it to be absorbed well, though, he does recommend taking it with piperine (as in black pepper).

You may be thinking: isn’t this going to cause the same problem you were just talking about, and cause it to be metabolized too quickly? And the answer is: no! How piperine works is almost the opposite; it protects the curcumin in the turmeric from our digestive enzymes, and thus allows them to get absorbed without being broken down too quickly—thus increasing the bioavailability by slowing the process down.

Lipophilia: no, that’s not a disease (or a fetish), rather it means that curcumin is soluble in fats, so we should take it near in time to a meal that contains at least a tablespoon of oil in total (so if you’re cooking a curry with your turmeric, this need is covered already, for example).

Supplement provenance: he recommends picking a supplement that’s been tested by a reputable 3rd party, as otherwise turmeric can be quite prone to impurities (which can include lead and arsenic, so, not great).

Contraindications: for some people, curcumin can cause gastrointestinal issues (less likely if taking with meals), and also, it can interact with blood-thinners. While taking aspirin or curcumin alone might help avoid circulatory problems, taking both could increase the bleeding risk for some people, for example. Similarly, if taking curcumin and metformin while diabetic, one must watch out for the combination being too effective at lowering blood sugar levels, and thus causing hypoglycemia instead. Similar deal with blood pressure medications.

There’s more in the video though (yes really; we know we wrote a lot but it’s information-dense), so do check it out:

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Want to know more?

You can also check out our related articles:

Why Curcumin (Turmeric) Is Worth Its Weight In Gold
Black Pepper’s Impressive Anti-Cancer Arsenal (And More)

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    Stop wasting time with ineffective stretching methods. Get specific, effective techniques for flexibility, strength, and mobility goals. No age limit. Stretch scientifically with this book.

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  • 7 Ways To Boost Mitochondrial Health To Fight Disease

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    Fatigue and a general lack of energy can be symptoms of many things, and for most of them, looking after our mitochondrial health can at least help, if not outright fix the issue.

    The Seven Ways

    Dr. Jonas Kuene suggests that we…

    • Enjoy a good diet: especially, limiting simple sugars, reducing overall carbohydrate intake, and swapping seed oils for healthier oils like avocado oil and olive oil.
    • Take supplements: including coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid, and vitamins
    • Decrease exposure to toxins: limit alcohol consumption (10almonds tip: limit it to zero if you can), avoid foods that are likely high in heavy metals or pesticides, and check you’re not being overmedicated (there can be a bit of a “meds creep” over time if left unchecked, so it’s good to periodically do a meds review in case something is no longer needed)
    • Practice intermittent fasting: Dr. Kuene suggests a modest 16–18 hours fast per week; doing so daily is generally considered good advice, for those for whom this is a reasonable option
    • Build muscle: exercise in general is good for mitochondria, but body composition itself counts for a lot too
    • Sleep: aiming for 7–9 hours, and if that’s not possible at night, add a nap during the day to make up the lost time
    • Get near-infrared radiation: from the sun, and/or made-for-purpose IR health devices.

    For more info on these (including the referenced science), enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Take care!

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  • Which Plant Milk?

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    Plant-based milks—what’s best?

    You asked us to look at some popular plant milks and their health properties, and we said we’d do a main feature, so here it is!

    We’ll also give a quick nod to environmental considerations at the end too (they might not be quite what you expect!). That said, as a health and productivity newsletter, we’ll be focusing on the health benefits.

    While we can give a broad overview, please note that individual brands may vary, especially in two important ways:

    • Pro: many (most?) brands of plant milks fortify their products with extra vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin D and calcium.
    • Con: some brands also add sugar.

    So, by all means use this guide to learn about the different plants’ properties, and/but still do check labels later.

    Alternatively, consider making your own!

    • Pros: no added sugar + cheaper
    • Cons: no added vitamins and minerals + some equipment required

    Almond milk

    Almond milk is low in carbs and thus good for a carb-controlled diet. It’s also high in vitamin E and a collection of minerals.

    Oat milk

    Oats are one of the healthiest “staple foods” around, and while drinking oat milk doesn’t convey all the benefits, it does a lot. It also has one of the highest soluble fiber contents of any milk, which is good for reducing LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.

    See for example: Consumption of oat milk for 5 weeks lowers serum cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in free-living men with moderate hypercholesterolemia

    Coconut milk

    Coconut has a higher fat content than most plant milks, but also contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). These raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

    Read the study: How well do plant based alternatives fare nutritionally compared to cow’s milk?

    Hemp milk

    Being made from hemp seeds that contain a lot of protein and healthy fats (including omega-3 and omega-6), hemp milk packs a nutritious punch. It’s carb-free. It’s also THC-free, in case you were wondering, which means no, it does not have psychoactive effects.

    Pea milk

    It’s very high in protein, and contains an array of vitamins and minerals. It’s not very popular yet, so there isn’t as much research about it. This 2021 study found that it had the nutritional profile the closest to cow’s milk (beating soy by a narrow margin) and praised it as a good alternative for those with a soy allergy.

    This is Research Review Monday so we try to stick to pure science, but for your interest… here’s an interesting pop-science article (ostensibly in affiliation with the pea milk brand, Ripple) about the nutritional qualities of their pea milk specifically, which uses particularly nutrient-dense yellow peas, plus some extra vitamin and mineral fortifications:

    Read: Ripple Milk: 6 Reasons Why You Should Try Pea Milk

    Soy milk

    Perhaps the most popular plant milk, and certainly usually the cheapest in stores. It’s high in protein, similar to cow’s milk. In fact, nutritionally, it’s one of the closest to cow’s milk without involving cows as a middleman. (Did you know three quarters of all soy in the world is grown to feed to livestock, not humans? Now you do).

    And no, gentlemen-readers, it won’t have any feminizing effects. The human body can’t use the plant estrogens in soy for that. It does give some isoflavone benefits though, which are broadly good for everyone’s health. See for example this research review with 439 sources of its own:

    Read: Soy and Health Update: Evaluation of the Clinical and Epidemiologic Literature

    Quick note on flavor: nut milks have the flavor of the nut they were made from. Coconut milk tastes of coconut. The other milks listed above don’t have much of a flavor—which in many cases may be what you want.

    Note on environmental considerations:

    A lot of us try to be as socially responsible as reasonably possible in our choices, so this may be an influencing factor. In a nutshell:

    • Oats and Soy are generally grown as vast monocrops, and these are bad for the environment
      • They are still better for the environment than cow’s milk though, as for example most soy is grown to feed to cows, not humans. So including cows in the process means four times as much monocrop farming, plus adds several other environmental issues that are beyond the scope of this newsletter.
    • Almonds are particularly resource-intensive when it comes to water use.
      • Still nowhere near as much as cows, though.
    • Peas are grown in places that naturally have very high rainfall, so are a good option here. Same generally goes for rice, which didn’t make the cut today. (Nor did hazelnuts, sorry—we can only include so much!)
    • Hemp is by far and away the most environmentally friendly, assuming it is grown in a climate naturally conducive to such.
    • Making plant milk at home is usually most environmentally friendly, depending on where your ingredients came from.
    • Literally any plant milk is much more environmentally friendly than cow’s milk.

    See the science for yourself: Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers

    See also (if you like graphs and charts): Environmental footprints of dairy and plant-based milks

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  • Parent Effectiveness Training – by Dr. Thomas Gordon

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    Do you want your home (or workplace, for that matter) to be a place of peace? This book literally got the author nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Can’t really get much higher praise than that.

    The title is “Parent Effectiveness Training”, but in reality, the advice in the book is applicable to all manner of relationships, including:

    • romantic relationships
    • friends
    • colleagues
    • …and really any human interaction.

    It covers some of the same topics we did today (and more) in much more detail than we ever could in a newsletter. It lays out formulae to use, gives plenty of examples, and/but is free from undue padding.

    • Pros: this isn’t one of those “should have been an article” books. It has so much valuable content.
    • Cons: It is from the 1970s* so examples may feel “dated” now.

    In addition to going into much more detail on some of the topics covered in today’s issue of 10almonds, Dr. Gordon also talks in-depth about the concept of “problem-ownership”.

    In a nutshell, that means: whose problem is a given thing? Who “has” what problem? Everyone needs to be on the same page about everyone else’s problems in the situation… as well as their own, which is not always a given!

    Dr. Gordon presents, in short, tools not just to resolve conflict, but also to pre-empt it entirely. With these techniques, we can identify and deal with problems (together!) well before they arise.

    Everybody wins.

    Get your copy of “Parent Effectiveness Training” from Amazon today!

    *Note: There is an updated edition on the market, and that’s what you’ll find upon following the above link. This reviewer (hi!) has a battered old paperback from the 1970s and cannot speak for what was changed in the new edition. However: if the 70s one is worth more than its weight in gold (and it is), the new edition is surely just as good, if not better!

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  • What Size Breakfast Is Best, By Science?

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    “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, the popular wisdom goes. But, what should it consist of, and how much should we be eating for breakfast?

    It has been previously established that it is good if breakfast is the largest meal of the day:

    Mythbusting Breaktime

    …with meals getting progressively smaller thereafter.

    Of course, very many people do the inverse: small (or skipped) breakfast, moderate lunch, larger dinner. This, however, is probably more a result of when eating fits around the modern industrialized workday (and thus gets normalized), rather than actual health considerations.

    So, what’s the latest science?

    A plucky band of researchers led by Dr. Karla-Alejandra Pérez-Vega investigated the importance of breakfast in the context of heart health. This research was done as part of a larger study into the effects of the Mediterranean Diet on cardiovascular health, so if anyone wants a quick recap before we carry on, then:

    The Mediterranean Diet: What Is It Good For? ← the answer, by the way, is “pretty much everything”

    …and there are also different versions that each use the Mediterranean Diet as the core, while focussing extra on a different area of health, including one to make it extra heart-healthy:

    Four Ways To Upgrade The Mediterranean ← most anti-inflammatory / gut-healthiest / heart-healthiest / brain-healthiest

    What they found

    In their sample population (n=383) of Spanish adults aged 55–75 with pre-diagnosed metabolic syndrome who, as part of the intervention of this 36-month interventional study, had now for the past 36 months been on a Mediterranean diet but without specific guidance on portion sizes:

    • Participants with insufficient breakfast energy intake had the highest adiposity (which is a measure of body fat expressed as a percentage of total mass)
    • Participants with low or high (but not moderate) breakfast energy intake had the larger BMI and waist circumference over time
    • Participants with low or high (but not moderate) breakfast energy intake had higher triglyceride and lower HDL (good) cholesterol levels
    • Participants who consumed 20–30% of their daily calories at breakfast enjoyed the greatest improvements in lipid profiles, with lower triglycerides and higher HDL (good) cholesterol levels
    • Participants with lower breakfast quality (lower adherence to Mediterranean Diet) had higher blood pressure levels
    • Participants with lower breakfast quality (lower adherence to Mediterranean Diet) had higher blood sugar levels
    • Participants with lower breakfast quality (lower adherence to Mediterranean Diet) had lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (which is an indicator of kidney function)
    • Participants with higher breakfast quality (higher adherence to Mediterranean Diet) had lower waist circumference, higher HDL cholesterol, and better kidney function

    You can see the paper itself here in the Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging:

    Breakfast energy intake and dietary quality and trajectories of cardiometabolic risk factors in older adults

    What this means

    According to this research, the heart-healthiest breakfast is:

    • not skipped
    • Mediterranean Diet adherent
    • within the range of of 20–30% of the total calories for the day

    Want to make it even better?

    Consider:

    Before You Eat Breakfast: 3 Surprising Facts About Intermittent Fasting

    Enjoy!

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  • ADHD medication – can you take it long term? What are the risks and do benefits continue?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that can affect all stages of life. Medication is not the only treatment, but it is often the treatment that can make the most obvious difference to a person who has difficulties focusing attention, sitting still or not acting on impulse.

    But what happens once you’ve found the medication that works for you or your child? Do you just keep taking it forever? Here’s what to consider.

    What are ADHD medications?

    The mainstay of medication for ADHD is stimulants. These include methylphenidate (with brand names Ritalin, Concerta) and dexamfetamine. There is also lisdexamfetamine (branded Vyvanse), a “prodrug” of dexamfetamine (it has a protein molecule attached, which is removed in the body to release dexamfetamine).

    There are also non-stimulants, in particular atomoxetine and guanfacine, which are used less often but can also be highly effective. Non-stimulants can be prescribed by GPs but this may not always be covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and could cost more.

    How stimulants work

    Some stimulants prescribed for ADHD are “short acting”. This means the effect comes on after around 20 minutes and lasts around four hours.

    Longer-acting stimulants give a longer-lasting effect, usually by releasing medication more slowly. The choice between the two will be guided by whether the person wants to take medication once a day or prefers to target the medication effect to specific times or tasks.

    For the stimulants (with the possible exception of lisdexamfetamine) there is very little carry-over effect to the next day. This means the symptoms of ADHD may be very obvious until the first dose of the morning takes effect.

    One of the main aims of treatment is the person with ADHD should live their best life and achieve their goals. In young children it is the parents who have to consider the risks and benefits on behalf of the child. As children mature, their role in decision making increases.

    What about side effects?

    The most consistent side effects of the stimulants are they suppress appetite, resulting in weight loss. In children this is associated with temporary slowing of the growth rate and perhaps a slight delay in pubertal development. They can also increase the heart rate and may cause a rise in blood pressure. Stimulants often cause insomnia.

    These changes are largely reversible on stopping medication. However, there is concern the small rises in blood pressure could accelerate the rate of heart disease, so people who take medication over a number of years might have heart attacks or strokes slightly sooner than would have happened otherwise.

    This does not mean older adults should not have their ADHD treated. Rather, they should be aware of the potential risks so they can make an informed decision. They should also make sure high blood pressure and attacks of chest pain are taken seriously.

    Stimulants can be associated with stomach ache or headache. These effects may lessen over time or with a reduction in dose. While there have been reports about stimulants being misused by students, research on the risks of long-term prescription stimulant dependence is lacking.

    Will medication be needed long term?

    Although ADHD can affect a person’s functioning at all stages of their life, most people stop medication within the first two years.

    People may stop taking it because they don’t like the way it makes them feel, or don’t like taking medication at all. Their short period on medication may have helped them develop a better understanding of themselves and how best to manage their ADHD.

    In teenagers the medication may lose its effectiveness as they outgrow their dose and so they stop taking it. But this should be differentiated from tolerance, when the dose becomes less effective and there are only temporary improvements with dose increases.

    Tolerance may be managed by taking short breaks from medication, switching from one stimulant to another or using a non-stimulant.

    boy looks frustrated, sitting at table with adult
    Medication is usually prescribed by a specialist but rules differ around Australia.
    Ground Picture/Shutterstock

    Too many prescriptions?

    ADHD is becoming increasingly recognised, with more people – 2–5% of adults and 5–10% of children – being diagnosed. In Australia stimulants are highly regulated and mainly prescribed by specialists (paediatricians or psychiatrists), though this differs from state to state. As case loads grow for this lifelong diagnosis, there just aren’t enough specialists to fit everyone in.

    In November, a Senate inquiry report into ADHD assessment and support services highlighted the desperation experienced by people seeking treatment.

    There have already been changes to the legislation in New South Wales that may lead to more GPs being able to treat ADHD. Further training could help GPs feel more confident to manage ADHD. This could be in a shared-care arrangement or independent management of ADHD by GPs like a model being piloted at Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District, with GPs training within an ADHD clinic (where I am a specialist clinician).

    Not every person with ADHD will need or want to take medication. However, it should be more easily available for those who could find it helpful.The Conversation

    Alison Poulton, Senior Lecturer, Brain Mind Centre Nepean, University of Sydney

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Nicotine Benefits (That We Don’t Recommend)!

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    It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

    Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

    In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

    As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!

    So, no question/request too big or small

    ❝Does nicotine have any benefits at all? I know it’s incredibly addictive but if you exclude the addiction, does it do anything?❞

    Good news: yes, nicotine is a stimulant and can be considered a performance enhancer, for example:

    ❝Compared with the placebo group, the nicotine group exhibited enhanced motor reaction times, grooved pegboard test (GPT) results on cognitive function, and baseball-hitting performance, and small effect sizes were noted (d = 0.47, 0.46 and 0.41, respectively).❞

    ~ Chi-Cheng Lu et al.

    Read in full: Acute Effects of Nicotine on Physiological Responses and Sport Performance in Healthy Baseball Players

    However, another study found that its use as a cognitive enhancer was only of benefit when there was already a cognitive impairment:

    ❝Studies of the effects of nicotinic systems and/or nicotinic receptor stimulation in pathological disease states such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia show the potential for therapeutic utility of nicotinic drugs.

    In contrast to studies in pathological states, studies of nicotine in normal-non-smokers tend to show deleterious effects.

    This contradiction can be resolved by consideration of cognitive and biological baseline dependency differences between study populations in terms of the relationship of optimal cognitive performance to nicotinic receptor activity.

    Although normal individuals are unlikely to show cognitive benefits after nicotinic stimulation except under extreme task conditions, individuals with a variety of disease states can benefit from nicotinic drugs❞

    ~ Dr. Alexandra Potter et al.

    Read in full: Effects of nicotinic stimulation on cognitive performance

    Bad news: its addictive qualities wipe out those benefits due to tolerance and thus normalization in short order. So you may get those benefits briefly, but then you’re addicted and also lose the benefits, as well as also ruining your health—making it a lose/lose/lose situation quite quickly.

    See also: A sensitization-homeostasis model of nicotine craving, withdrawal, and tolerance: integrating the clinical and basic science literature

    As an aside, while nicotine is poisonous per se, in the quantities taken by most users, the nicotine itself is not usually what kills. It’s mostly the other stuff that comes with it (smoking is by far and away the worst of all; vaping is relatively less bad, but that’s not a strong statement in this case) that causes problems.

    See also: Vaping: A Lot Of Hot Air?

    However, this is still not an argument for, say, getting nicotine gum and thinking “no harmful effects” because then you’ll be get a brief performance boost yes before it runs out and being addicted to it and now being in a position whereby if you stop, your performance will be lower than before you started (since you now got used to it, and it became your new normal), before eventually recovering:

    The effects of nicotine withdrawal on exercise-related physical ability and sports performance in nicotine addicts: a systematic review and meta-analysis

    In summary

    We recommend against using nicotine in the first place, and for those who are addicted, we recommend quitting immediately if not contraindicated (check with your doctor if unsure; there are some situations where it is inadvisable to take away something your body is dependent on, until you correct some other thing first).

    For more on quitting in general, see:

    Addiction Myths That Are Hard To Quit

    Take care!

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