Why Curcumin 95?

The body cannot utilise curcumin 95 very well, almost none of it can be detected in the tissue outside the digestion. Considering the price of "bio" curcumins like Meriva has dropped alot in recent time, might be more wise to use this to get curcmin active in the blood. Iherb just introduced the jarrows Meriva curcumin with a really nice pricetag.

It's because it's not about the serum level...it's about how it affect enzymes in the gut and the liver.
For hair loss purposes this is all that is needed. If you're looking for pain relief, then driving up serum levels is good.

Would you say 95 version works better for hair loss?

Biffy wrote:Would you say 95 version works better for hair loss?

When it comes to non-pain uses, then it relates to anti-inflammation gene upregulation. Also, when the other constituents are involved such as trans-resveratrol, quercetin and sulforaphane they allow the prevention of curcumin breakdown. There is a synergy so would not rely on curcumin alone. Antioxidant Boost is an example of this synergy.

Most of the curcumin supplements on the market nowadays seem to be enhanced with piperine. I ordered this brand and have been taking it for about a week:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BMDAVIY/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It has received great reviews (4.9/5.0 stars).

Given that increasing serum levels of curcumin is not necessary for reducing inflammation, is there potential for harm in using the piperine-enhanced curcumin?

From this older thread https://immortalhair.forumotion.com/t789-curcumin-the-natural-cs:

Gibson - I use the BCM-95 version that does not contain any bioperine. Life Extension has two versions and the one that does have bioperine is not BCM-95. I didn't want the one with bioperine either since it partially stalls glucuronidation, which is responsible for detoxifying and removing anticarcinogenic products.

How much of a concern is the inhibition of glucuronidation. Can I continue taking the piperine-enhanced curcumin without concern?

I like to avoid this because - For no scientific rationale whatsoever, other than many reporting some negative effects with this added substance to their curcumin. Also, it isn't the more potent absorption that matters, it is the effect of the microbiota and the enzymes it triggers. Investigators often look only at serum and ignore other fundamental areas of how the body works in health.

I found an interesting piece of curcumin/tumeric

https://www.stopbeingconfusedabouthealth.com/truth-curcumin-hype/

Curcumin is one of the 267 compounds in turmeric. Just one. Yet it somehow it is the star.

Sound familiar?

White willow bark became reduced to acetylsalicylic acid.

Red wine got reduced to resveratrol.

Goldenseal and Oregon Grape became berberine.

Here’s the problem. There is no such thing as an “active ingredient.” This is just what we’ve been taught from chemistry courses. Active ingredients are relevant in pharmacology, where medicines are singular compounds that exert some sort of chemical action in our body.

But people with an interest in natural medicines apply the pharmacology paradigm to their choices of herbs. Herbal/plant medicine was never about pharmacology. Now with the advent of functional medicine and integrative medicine, doctors are applying the pharmacological model to plants, prescribing active ingredients in plants.

The potential drawback to this is that most active ingredients in plants are poorly absorbed. Drugs are designed to be absorbed faster and require a smaller dose than the active unaltered constituent in a plant, like say, berberine. You need 1500 mg of that daily for a few months to improve blood lipids, whereas a fraction of that dose is required for a statin to exert its effect. (I’m not pro-statin…I’m all for natural medicines).

But the most important reason I write this post, is because of the studies that aren’t done. Studies on synergy aren’t performed, and thus we are only left to wonder how the hundreds of compounds in any plant synergize with the “active ingredient.”

If we are truly interested in being “natural,” why are we forgetting about all the other compounds in the whole plant? Why are we buying essential oils and supplements that just isolate one compound from one plant? This isn’t even what we want. It’s just a product of capitalism.

The truth about curcumin
Studies were performed on curcumin with piperine, a constituent from black pepper, to examine bioavailability. It was discovered that black pepper enhanced the absorption of curcumin. As a result, people kept saying black pepper enhances turmeric absorption.

Wrong.

Black pepper increases the bioavailability of curcumin. But I bet that eating turmeric in its whole form enhances the bioavailability of curcumin too. There are no studies examining curcumin absorption from turmeric. Why is this?

It’s because a study on curcumin has the potential to result in a profitable supplement. That’s why there are curcumin supplements with black pepper. This supplement has been shown in small trials to reduce inflammation.

But then we end up forgetting that we can achieve this same effect with food. But since those studies don’t exist, we don’t think of the possibilities. We focus on the hype, and forget the reality, which is much simpler than you’d think.

Eat real food.

Other important constituents in turmeric
The other constituents in turmeric root according to James Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases include:

Ar-turmerone
beta-sitosterol
campesterol
1,8- cineole (commonly termed eucalyptol)
Zingiberine (found in ginger)
Curcuminoids
All of the above compounds have health benefits. But curcumin took the spotlight, got sold off as a pill, and real food was forgotten.

That's a great point. Makes perfect sense.

I will and should also mention that at least in the area of hair, curcumin is enhanced by other components, allowing it to be much stronger. Taking in the whole plant is also very good idea for general health.

Was taking this supplement for a while:
https://www.amazon.com/ORGANIC-INDIA-Turmeric-Certified-Bioavailability/dp/B000YC70XY

Each capsule has 80mg of curcumin, along with 370mg of turmeric powder (and 50mg of ginger). However I needed to take 3-4 capsules for noticeable benefits, so on the expensive side.

Try and see if it works, if not maybe expand and try the plant?

if taking the whole plant is raw better?