The benefits of turmeric, due to its active ingredient curcumin, have been demonstrated by modern Western medical research and centuries of empirical evidence from India and China.

The problem with turmeric's curcumin is that it has a hard time getting past the stomach and into the small intestines where it can be absorbed into the blood.

So before purchasing turmeric powder or extracted curcumin capsules, it's important to know a couple of tricks for getting the most beneficial absorption for turmeric's curcumin.

As an ingredient of curry, turmeric is traditionally mixed with a healthy fat and heated. That's a hint for what needs to be done in general with turmeric powder, certainly the least expensive way of benefiting from turmeric's curcumin.

Optimizing turmeric/curcumin absorption

Here's a convenient method of making "Golden Milk:" Take a quarter cup of high quality, certified or organic turmeric powder mixed in a half cup of pure water and simmer for a few minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly to form a slightly moist, thick paste.

Let it cool and put it into a glass jar. It can keep for weeks in the refrigerator. To consume a dose, dissolve a small portion of the turmeric paste in a bit of warm milk or coconut oil. Add some pepper to take advantage of piperine's nutrient absorbing properties.

If you want to avoid preparation hassles, there are curcumin capsules available that contain black pepper extract or piperine. Enteric-coated capsules can bypass the stomach and into the small intestines where their contents can absorbed.

You can boost the nutrient absorption further by emptying the capsule's contents in a small amount of warm, pure virgin olive or coconut oil. Add pepper if your curcumin capsules don't contain piperine.

Turmeric (curcumin) benefits

Turmeric's curcumin is a safe, effective anti-inflammatory. More and more health practitioners and researchers are realizing that inflammation is the source of most disease, even if the inflammation is not directly noticeable.

That means there are many benefits of using turmeric (curcumin). Here are six of them:

(1) It has been clinically proven to ease arthritic pain and promote increased flexibility in many studies. It's comparable to large doses of ibuprofen (800 mg daily) without side-effects while actually delivering other health benefits.

(2) It slows or delays liver damage that could develop into cirrhosis.

(3) It slows and helps reverse the onset of Alzheimer's disease as symptoms develop. It also helps eliminate cognitive decline normally attributed to "old age."

(4) It aids digestion, the root of good or bad health. It has been used successfully to ease the agony and help heal inflammatory bowel disease.

(5) Mixed with the appropriate veggies for specific cancer types, it helps fight cancer cells and prevents them from metastasizing.

It reduces carcinogenic heterocyclic amines that are formed when meat is cooked by up to 40 percent.

(6) It is a powerful antioxidant that helps promote heart health, memory, and boost the immune system. It has the potential to deliver more antioxidants then even vitamins E and C.

Amazingly, it can deliver even more antioxidant power than grape seed or pine bark extracts. It's strong enough to scavenge the hydroxyl radical considered the most reactive oxidant.

All these benefits add up to serving as an anti-aging agent, with direct results manifesting in the skin after daily use over an extended period of time.

Just keep in mind that to get maximum benefits, it needs to be high quality turmeric or curcumin in a form that optimizes curcuminoid absorption, as explained earlier in this article.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/041608_turmeric_spice_curcumin.html#ixzz2brbp0fjP