Curcumin: A Longevity Powerhouse

By Anthony Ricciuto

Hey, folks, it’s the Power Nutrition Guru coming back at you for the final installment of this series. I have gotten a ton of positive feedback and I am very happy to have highlighted some of the many very special benefits of supplementing with Curcumin. In the last two issues, I discussed several different aspects of how supplementing with this powerhouse compound can help you stay healthy or improve your health from many different angles. The large majority of those are ones that are particularly common with strength athletes and that is why I tried to hone in on them specifically so that those of you reading this can apply it and take advantage of all it has to offer.

In this issue, I wanted to touch on a few other benefits and areas where it can help improve your health along with giving you some insight on how to best implement it in your current supplement program. Like I mentioned before an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure so taking care of your health before a problem arises is always the best medicine. With this said now let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this issue and get down to business.

Curcumin and Diabetes

• Diabetes and Powerlifters roll like Peanut Butter and Jelly
• I know that sounds horrible but its the stark truth and the more you are involved with the strength community you will see it true
• Hell just by mentioning that sandwich above how many of you just licked your lips thinking of a thick PB n J stacked high and then you wonder why what I just said is true
• Now when I talk about Diabetes and Powerlifters I am referring to Type II in particular
• Type I Diabetes is a genetic disorder while Type II is pretty much you not eating the right foods and your bad lifestyle choices

Diabetes and Powerlifters Roll Like Peanut Butter and Jelly!

• Yes some of you will say that what I said is bullshit because it runs in their family because your mom has it, your pops have it, and even 300-pound aunt Martha has it

• Well sorry to break the news to you but once again it’s because of what you shove down your pie hole that is causing all your problems

• Yes genetically there are some people that are more Insulin resistant than others but once again this can be controlled through a proper nutrition and supplement program and I repeat it does not have to turn into Type II Diabetes

• Most of you may not know this but blood sugar spikes and Insulin Resistance are two main culprits in causing massive amounts of inflammation in the body

• Another very important factor to remember is that elevated blood sugar creates dangerous cross-linked proteins called Advanced Glycolytic Enzymes (A.G.E.)

• I know this sounds nasty but hold up it gets even better

• These bad boys go in and damage cell membranes and vital enzyme systems

• Even better is the fact that they cause a cascade of inflammatory responses throughout the entire body as well

• I guess that will make you think twice before you wolf down that big piece of cake with a double serving of ice cream after eating those 5 slices of pizza

Pizza and Ice Cream are Not Your Friends!

• So how does Curcumin help in this regard?
• It works on the same mechanism as I described in the last issue when discussing how it can help benefit the liver
• I will explain again for those of you who may have missed it
• Curcumin has been shown to activate Peroxisome Proliferator-Activator Receptor (PPAR)
• PPAR is a group of nuclear receptor proteins that regulate gene expression in your body
• They also modulate sugar uptake and utilization from the bloodstream as well
• This wonder compound also reduces the activity of specific enzymes that release sugar into the bloodstream as well as activating other enzymes that store glucose as muscle glycogenOne study conducted on Type II Diabetics showed that when supplementing with Curcumin they had better-stabilized blood glucose levels as well as lowered triglyceride levels as well

Curcumin Can Help Keep Blood Sugar Levels Stable!

• This is just another major benefit of supplementing with Curcumin that can add years to your life

Curcumin and Cancer

• It is estimated that in 2020 approximately 1.8 million Americans will be diagnosed with some form of Cancer
• Out of those diagnosed estimates predict about 600,000 will die this year alone from those new cases detected

Cancer is No Joke!

• As you can see Cancer is one of the biggest killers for the American population as well as for other countries around the world

• Just about everyone I know has lost someone to Cancer in their family if not several

• In my opinion, this is due to the massive pollution of just about everything we touch

• From the dirty air, we breathe to the polluted water, to the cleaning chemicals you use in your kitchen, to the pesticides in your food, the BPA’s in the cola cans you drink from, to the liner in your microwave popcorn leaching into your system

• In fact, it feels like almost everything has some sort of carcinogen in it. Even things like hair dye, or makeup, your favorite cologne, or even the soap you use all can be high-risk items

• This is why I believe that Cancer has taken over in such horrible numbers over the last few decades because we are constantly bombarding our bodies with toxic chemicals without even thinking about it

• It’s a scary fact that when you look on the label of just about anything you use or eat its highly likely many different items will contain ingredients known to cause Cancer

• Cancer is basically the uncontrolled growth of cells

Preventing Cancer Should Be a Major Health Priority!

• Now scientists have been studying the effects of Curcumin and Cancer for many reasons and there is much good news about these findings

• Curcumin has been found to reduce angiogenesis which is the growth of new blood vessels contained in tumors

• It can also reduce Metastasis which is the spreading of the Cancer to another place in the body

• Not to be forgotten is Curcumin’s effects of contributing to the death of cancerous cells as well

• I think just those three tidbits you just read should make everyone want to go out and start using Curcumin as part of their daily plan

• Several studies have shown that it can also reduce the growth of cancerous cells not only in the lab but also inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors in test animals

• Newer studies suggest that Curcumin may even prevent specific types of Cancer from forming like those of the digestive system

• One very interesting study showed that men with colon lesions that many times become cancerous who supplemented with 4 grams of Curcumin per day for only 30 days reduced the number of lesions by a whopping 40%

• I don’t know about you but to me a 40% reduction in lesions in only 30 days is pretty damn good

• There are newer studies taking place to see the role Curcumin may play in preventing and treating Cancer as well

Contraindications

Now with all supplements, there are certain people that cannot use them. I recommend all people to check with their doctor before adding any supplements to their current lifestyle plan especially those that are taking medications as there may be an interaction between them. Pregnant women should also consult a doctor before supplementing with Curcumin. As well as those that suffer from gallstones or bile duct dysfunction should also get clearance before starting. You should also cut out supplementation with Curcumin two to three weeks away from any surgery as well because it can act as a blood thinner.

Always Discuss Your Supplement Protocol with Your Doctor!

Some Very Important Tips

Now I want to give you some final tips on how to use Curcumin along with a few brands of supplements that I feel are some of the best on the market. The average dose for most supplementing with Curcumin is 400-900mg per day and you will find this available in one capsule by some brands. You should always take your Curcumin with food as it may cause digestive distress if taken on an empty stomach. To help with better absorption it should be taken with some form of healthy fats and I personally think fish oil would be ideal for this. Another very important compound that you should take with your Curcumin is Piperine. This is found in black pepper and helps increase the absorption rate of many other compounds. So always make sure you get a separate Piperine supplement if the Curcumin formula you take does not currently have it included. I personally like Bioperine by Sabinsa as this is the highest quality piperine extraction available. I take 10mg up to twice daily of Bioperine to help increase Curcumin absorption by up to 2000%. In terms of dosing some people will take more than what I recommended. I know of some Cancer patients that take 4 -900mg pills three times per day for periods up to one year then slowly lowering the amount. Again speak with your doctor or N.D. to see what is best for your current situation.

Brands I Like

Here are a few brands of Curcumin that are high quality and you can’t go wrong with any of them.

 Double Strength Theracurmin- Natural Factors

 

 Tumeric Force- by New Chapter

 

Curcumin 95- by AOR

Meriva SR- by Thorne

Super BIO Curcumin- by Life Extension

 

Don’t be a Slob!

Now some of you may try and take straight turmeric powder to try and get your dose in. You can try to do this but you have to be careful as the powder is bright yellow and it stains everything it comes in contact with and makes a horrible mess believe me. I can just see some clumsy powerlifters trying to spoon it out of a bag and spilling half of it all over the counter and floor. Then as they attempt to clean it up they find out the staining is just not coming out. This can get a lot of powerlifting wives quite angry at me so I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget to mention this. Plus you have to realize a Curcumin supplement is much more concentrated than simple turmeric powder and the absorption rate is not in the same league. Plus turmeric powder varies greatly in terms of quality with some containing very little curcumin due to age, storage, and extraction methods. This is why I prefer using a high-quality curcumin supplement.

Conclusion

So here you have the final installment of my Curcumin series. I hope you learned a ton of information from this series but most importantly that you apply some of what you read to your lifestyle plan. As you can see supplementing with Curcumin can be a huge benefit to your health and training performance. It may not add pounds to your total like Anadrol 50 but in the longterm, it will help you in many different ways both on the platform and off. So until next time train hard, eat clean and get yourself some Curcumin to take advantage of all it has to offer!