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ginger versus turmeric/curcumin? as anti-inflammatory

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Anybody have any thoughts on which is better as a general anti-inflammatory? I'm going to try capsules to hopefully maximize effect quickly, rather than using them as spices in food.

Ginger seems a lot cheaper, so if the experiment is a fizzle, that'd be a plus. Then again, maybe ginger is not as powerful as turmeric - even considering I'd be taking a lot more mgs of the ginger in order to get the same dose of the curcumin as a concentrate.
 

Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
I think ginger lowers blood pressure and is a vassodilator, so if you have POTs or low BP I think you have to watch out.
 

adreno

PR activist
Messages
4,841
I’ve a lot of experience with this stuff. I’ve used transdermal preparations and all sorts of oral supplements, but this one is the bang for the buck. It has a ten-fold rate of absorption over the next best oral supplement.

I'd like to see a reference for this? I would think Meriva is much more potent.

J Nat Prod.2011 Apr 25;74(4):664-9. doi: 10.1021/np1007262. Epub 2011 Mar 17.
Comparative absorption of a standardized curcuminoid mixture and its lecithin formulation.

Cuomo J, Appendino G, Dern AS, Schneider E, McKinnon TP, Brown MJ, Togni S, Dixon BM.
Source

USANA Health Sciences, Inc., 3838 West Parkway Boulevard, Salt Lake City, Utah 84120, USA. john.cuomo@us.usana.com
Abstract

The relative absorption of a standardized curcuminoid mixture and its corresponding lecithin formulation (Meriva) was investigated in a randomized, double-blind, crossover human study. Clinically validated dosages were used for both products, and plasma levels of all three major curcuminoids [curcumin (1a), demethoxycurcumin (1b), and bisdemethoxycurcumin (1c)] were evaluated. Total curcuminoid absorption was about 29-fold higher forMeriva than for its corresponding unformulated curcuminoid mixture, but only phase-2 metabolites could be detected, and plasma concentrations were still significantly lower than those required for the inhibition of most anti-inflammatory targets of curcumin. Remarkably, phospholipid formulation increased the absorption of demethoxylated curcuminoids much more than that of curcumin (1a), with significant differences in plasma curcuminoid profile between Meriva and its corresponding unformulated curcuminoid mixture. Thus, the major plasma curcuminoid after administration of Merivawas not curcumin (1a), but demethoxycurcumin (1b), a more potent analogue in many in vitro anti-inflammatory assays. The improved absorption, and possibly also a better plasma curcuminoid profile, might underlie the clinical efficacy of Meriva at doses significantly lower than unformulated curcuminoid mixtures.

PMID:21413691
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Thanks for all the replies.

Here's something a bit strange. I found this old bottle of turmeric from 6 years ago, so it might have lost some strength:
http://www.vitaminworld.com/turmeric-771/turmeric-curcumin-capsules-015418
(seems overpriced now, btw)

Ingredients are 450mg turmeric plus only 50mg 95% curcuminoids. I took 4 tablets on Sunday, spaced through the day. Monday morning while testing urine pH I noticed the orange color (no B vitamins). So that means it was absorbed enough to cause the color, yet I always see the claims that only a tiny amount gets absorbed. Can a tiny amount cause a fairly bright orange coloration? It's said that the curcuminoids provide the color, and not any associated inactive molecules in the turmeric plant.

Quercetin is also said to be difficult to absorb, yet only 500mg abolishes my niacin flush by at least 90%.
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
I think ginger lowers blood pressure and is a vassodilator, so if you have POTs or low BP I think you have to watch out.
Since my BP goes high when I'm inflamed, I bought the ginger. Almost a pound in capsules for $8. Thanks.
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Just in case you have an oxalate problem you may want to check this guide for how much each spice has. Oxalates can cause pain. tc ... x

http://lowoxalateinfo.com/the-low-oxalate-curry-guide/
In fact, since getting sick I can no longer stand the idea of having turnip greens anymore. If it's not the oxalates in it that repels me, is there something else in them?

Thanks for the list, it turns out that turmeric and ginger both have oxalates, but not the curcumin extract. I'm going to chance the ginger anyway, because of possible BP lowering but also as A.B. says, because of bang for the buck (there was a sale)
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
I always reference the ORAC scale to compare an anti-inflammatory ....

Also, it's a good idea to match the antioxidant up with whatever you want to quench. E.g., fat or water soluble as one consideration. Melatonin, I think, gets in anywhere - but not all antioxidants do

Ester-C is fat soluble, to get into the skin after a sunburn. Those are the claims, anyway.
 

xchocoholic

Senior Member
Messages
2,947
Location
Florida
In fact, since getting sick I can no longer stand the idea of having turnip greens anymore. If it's not the oxalates in it that repels me, is there something else in them?

Thanks for the list, it turns out that turmeric and ginger both have oxalates, but not the curcumin extract. I'm going to chance the ginger anyway, because of possible BP lowering but also as A.B. says, because of bang for the buck (there was a sale)

I've never liked turnip greens, bleh, so I don't know what else is in them. Boiling high ox
foods reduces oxalates tho. Just throw out the water.

I make dehydrated kale but boil the kale first. I don't think anyone
ever came up with a recommended time for boiling. I just boil it until it's barely limp. Say 2 minutes.
You'll notice the grainy texture is gone.

fwiw, I started having esophageal pain from ginger, chard, spinach and kale after juicing these for about
3 months so I use these sparingly now. Don't know if it was an oxalate problem or allergy. My esophagus
is very sensitive to other allergens now.

Tc .. X
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Well, my SBP always goes up when I am sick/inflamed, to around 140/90. It had been there for very many weeks, which was starting to worry me. But I took out the cuff twice today and I read 120/80, so I am very happy over that.

I began taking the ginger root when it arrived on Saturday. The label says to take 2 per day, so I took 8 (550mg each). Maybe that's the reason, but I also began taking daily quercetin again - and quercetin, like genistein (in soy), is said to inhibit the isoprostanes that raise BP - possibly because of being tyrosine kinase inhibitors*. Regardless of the mechanism, finally a supplement (or combination of the two) seemed to work - and I hope it lasts.

* I just noticed that one of the best success stories in anti-cancer (CML: leukemia) chemotherapy, Gleevec/imatinib, is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Tags: hypertension (not orthostatic hypertension) ginger
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
Curamin

When I was at the local health-food store, I told the clerk that I had strained my back recently. She recommended a product called Curamin. It contains curcumin, boswellia, DL-phenylalamine, and nattokinase. They claim that their trademarked curcumin extract is up to 10 time better than standard curcumin extracts.

The clerk said that she knew people who had good luck with it for arthritis. The insert material says that it is for occasional pain and inflammation and that it is to be take for 7 - 10 days. I cannot say how well it is working for me because I don’t know how I would feel if I were taking ibuprofen instead. I do know that my stomach likes it a lot better than ibuprofen.