Anyone here take Curcumin from Turmeric? Opinions pro or con?

Alaskan said:

Interesting fruitul comments, great info. I've just started using 95% extract, but I take it with black pepper to help absorption. 2 grams per day of the extract with pepper .

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Alaskan, your/this thread got me thinking to try taking the Natural Factors, Theracumin once again---this time not for a serious imflamation condition like prior times. Just to see if it really is as effective as I thought it was.

Went to Whole Foods who had the 30 capsule Double Strength version on sale for $27 and bought a bottle.

They all say take 1 capsule/day but I went by what I took before to get a blood level up quickly and figured 1 capsule is for average pperson the weighs 120 lb but I am 250lbs so figured I need 2X the amount going by body wieght..

I forgot it was double strength and and for good measure and faster efect I took 4 capsules and then 2 more 30 minutes later LOL Later in the evening I took two more --total of 8 double strength.

Got good nights sleep --woke up and 90% of ordinary normal for me body aches and pain were gone and I took 4 more with coffee in AM--was feeling good--no problems. Took 2 more before sleep. Woke up and took only 2 capsules.
Remarkable thing happened---inflamation that I had not recognize as such was gone--slight pain in several joints gone---also slight edema on inner side of shin bones that I learned to live with from circulation problems below knee---gone.

I can report--it is true the NF Theracumin for whatever reasons at higher than recommended dosage is really effective stuff and fast acting. Perhaps would have the same benefit in 2 weeks or so taking 2 capsules a day but I wanted fast to see if the product can really do a job needed when need. It appears that it can---I will continue at 2 capsules, 2X a day until what I bought is exhausted --not planning on making an every day long term campaign out of taking it.

Happily I can report the Theracumin does in fact have a salutary/beneficial effect for sure in my case.

This for now.

Amazing stuff

Ricker said:

Well, my 2 cents, as a student in psychology, is that the placebo effect is a huge factor in taking supplements, nootropics, and everything in between. The brain is a very powerful organ that can single-handedly control every part of the body, and if it "thinks" something is happening, it just might occur physically.

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What I thought was interesting/funny was that there was a placebo effect even in those people who knew they were taking a placebo!

diachi said:

That said - I personally feel I get a benefit from the nootropics I've tried (Some of them may be considered drugs instead of just nootropics, Phenibut for example). It *could* be a placebo - but at the same time, it works for me, placebo or not.

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Interesting that you're trying those too!

I know I was getting an effect from piracetam, because after taking it consistently it was causing me to become way too stimulated with my regular amount of coffee. It also affected how my teeth felt, the way stimulants do. Then I discovered after measuring the weight of my scoop size, I was taking way more than I had anticipated (~3 grams at once). I pulled that back a bit and lately haven't been taking much at all.

Supplemental choline (CDP) was also one that caused my teeth to feel annoying and I felt overstimulated. I avoid that now because I don't think I'm deficient.

I will take piracetam when I know I'll be drinking a bit of alcohol. I do think it helps me process it better.

I didn't notice too much from others like colureacetam or fasoracetam, but I don't think I gave them enough consistent trials.

And finally, my go-to supplements are is magnesium (-taurate) and super B-complex. Best thing ever to feel right, especially when doing physical stuff. Mostly it's just to literally supplement what I don't get in my diet. I did find that the magnesium citrate I had gotten from Costco (now discontinued) was giving me insomnia, which was odd, because magnesium usually relaxes me.

One I'd like to try is modafinil, but that's not as easy to get. Adrafinil has too much sulfur in it for my liking.

Benm said:

b

Well, feeling withdrawal symptoms from a lack of caffeine is an effect too, though probably not a desireable one. Either way it proves you coffee is not placebo really, and i can sort of attest to that since i get pretty bad headaches when skipping morning coffee for one reason or another. At some point i didn't even realize and took a decent dose of paracetamol which had little effect, but it cleared after some coffee at lunchtime.

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I've had the same experience when it comes to pain killers and caffeine withdrawal - they seem to have little effect. The only thing that *does* seem to help is more caffeine.

Bionic-Badger said:

Interesting that you're trying those too!

I know I was getting an effect from piracetam, because after taking it consistently it was causing me to become way too stimulated with my regular amount of coffee. It also affected how my teeth felt, the way stimulants do. Then I discovered after measuring the weight of my scoop size, I was taking way more than I had anticipated (~3 grams at once). I pulled that back a bit and lately haven't been taking much at all.

Supplemental choline (CDP) was also one that caused my teeth to feel annoying and I felt overstimulated. I avoid that now because I don't think I'm deficient.

I will take piracetam when I know I'll be drinking a bit of alcohol. I do think it helps me process it better.

I didn't notice too much from others like colureacetam or fasoracetam, but I don't think I gave them enough consistent trials.

And finally, my go-to supplements are is magnesium (-taurate) and super B-complex. Best thing ever to feel right, especially when doing physical stuff. Mostly it's just to literally supplement what I don't get in my diet. I did find that the magnesium citrate I had gotten from Costco (now discontinued) was giving me insomnia, which was odd, because magnesium usually relaxes me.

One I'd like to try is modafinil, but that's not as easy to get. Adrafinil has too much sulfur in it for my liking.

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Glad I'm not alone!

I definitely feel something from Piracetam. I don't feel over stimulated but my mind definitely feels clearer - larger doses seem to work well. 1.6-2.4g I've found is good (Not that large actually as far as Piracetam goes).

Never bothered with a choline supplement - I figured I'd see how I do without and so far so good. I do eat a lot of eggs though so they are probably providing a sufficient amount.

As for alcohol and Racetams - they seem to go well. Both Noopept and Piracetam have worked well for me when drinking. The increased sociability is even more pronounced with alcohol, which is to be expected. I seem to remain coherent longer than normal too. And as you said, they seem to help me process the alcohol better. I usually throw in 200mg caffeine and 400mg L-Theanine when I'm going drinking too.

Other than Phenylpiracetam I've only tried Piracetam and Noopept from the Racetam family. Phenylpiracetam is more potent and seems to have a little bit of a stimulant like effect too it but probably more comparable to caffeine than anything.

Looking forward to trying out Phenibut when I go drinking this weekend - probably on Saturday - it potentiates alcohol meaning that you only need to drink 1/3rd as much and you still get the effects of Phenibut on top of the alcohol. Will report back on that! Need to keep that to once or twice a week though, tolerance goes up quick and frequent use causes addiction and bad withdrawal.

May need to try adding some magnesium in there to go with workouts. Thanks for the suggestion!

Wouldn't mind some Modafinil myself - the effects should be a little stronger than Adrafinil. May double my dose of Adrafinil at some point and see if that has a more pronounced effect. I did have my regular dose with 100mg caffeine + 200mg L-Theanine last night a couple of hours before working out as I was feeling drained and it definitely helped keep me awake enough for a good workout.

Back to the original point of this thread now - thinking I should start a nootropics thread...! I will need to try some higher doses of Curcumin the next time I'm feeling extra achy to see if I get the same results as reported here by encap. It definitely does reduce soreness from lifting weights even at my 1 capsule a day dose. Come to think of it - I can't remember the last time I had a headache since I've been taking Curcumin.

Really interesting to hear other peoples experiences to see how they compare with my own.

Edit: Just came across this post on Reddit /r/nootropics: https://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/comments/4aucqf/benefits_of_turmeric_powder_over_curcumin/ - I imagine there are other posts with useful information regarding Curcumin on that subreddit - Haven't looked, I'm usually reading for the noots.

Sulema Chadwell said:

My mom eats a lot of turmeric for its anti inflammatory properties. I don't know if it works though. :/ Our chopping board is yellow from all the turmeric she's chopped and peeled.
Worth a read.

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Not surprised about your chopping board. I have turmeric stains all over the place in my apartment simply from handling the capsules and then touching things. Light switches, socks, covers, walls. Gets everywhere. Don't even notice it on your hands either.

Tumeric is pretty shitty when in comes to that - the yellow pigment is very hydrophobic, and difficult to remove. Best bet might actually be to treat stains with vegetable oil first, and then try to clean up the mess with soapy water after some time.

As for modafinil: I'm still a bit undecided on if it's superior to coffee really. It surely works, but i'm not that conviced it has the same effect with less side effects (heart palpitations, sweating and such) typical for higher doses of caffeine.

This could be hard to figure out since many people are used to caffeine as it is, and are probably more tolerant to both the positive and negative effects it has.

Modafinil is the racemic form of a drug that, though it is chemically dissimilar to amphetamine, has some of the same effects and is therefore a schedule IV controlled substance. Armodafinil is the R enantiomer as modafinil is the R and S enantiomers. Like the L amphetamine is not physiologically effective, the S enantiomer of modafinil is not effective, so one can get the same effect from half the dose of armodafinil as one can with twice the dose of modafinil. It is used primarily as an anti-narcolepsy drug.

I bought some 95% Curcumin extract from Tumeric and tried to mix it in a little black cumin oil and then put in gel caps. OMG.... wear gloves, I tried to be clean, but turned yellow, my hands, my shirt, my pants pockets, the stairway rail, the fridge door... It wasn't until daylight I saw what I had done, the yellow hue of the incandescent lights masked the stain some.

I bought one of these: Pure Curcumin 95 Natural Turmeric Extract Bulk Powder | eBay

and mixed in 5% to weight black pepper extract: 10g Piperine Powder 95 Extract in Bottle Free Shipping | eBay

This curcumin extract will not dissolve in water worth a damn, but it will in oil. I have since purchased curcumin extract which has had its pH adjusted so it will dissolve in water, I like this stuff a lot more, but it doesn't have pepper extract in it to help absorption, I will add some and see if it causes the water to taste terrible or not.

Water Soluble Curcumin Extract Powder Bioavailable Turmeric Extract Curcumin | eBay

Edit: The above might not need the pepper extract to help absorption, since it dissolves in water, I believe the body can uptake it more effectively. I see claims of up to 65X higher absorption for the water soluble curcumin, but not sure what to believe. For vitamins and herbs they can say a whole lot and their statements be complete bunk. Some manufacturers of curcumin extract only have 5 to 7 percent extract in their gel caps! That's why I buy the 95 percent extract alone and mix my own pepper extract into it, you can see what you are getting that way. Also, the way the material dissolves and whether residue is left over tells me if the extract is very pure or not. I have a few years experience under my belt making plant extracts in the past and developed some unique methods of isolating compounds still being used today.

paul1598419 said:

Modafinil is the racemic form of a drug that, though it is chemically dissimilar to amphetamine, has some of the same effects and is therefore a schedule IV controlled substance. Armodafinil is the R enantiomer as modafinil is the R and S enantiomers. Like the L amphetamine is not physiologically effective, the S enantiomer of modafinil is not effective, so one can get the same effect from half the dose of armodafinil as one can with twice the dose of modafinil. It is used primarily as an anti-narcolepsy drug.

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Well, that's a bit relative. I'd rather say that armodafinil is just the isolated active isomer so it can be patented for another 20 years or so. The same happens with a LOT of medication that was initially introduced to the market as a racemic mixture (things like cetirizine, omeprazol etc).

Often the inactive stereoisomer just does nothing at all - it's not active, nor does it usually cause any side effects.

As far as US scheduling goes: it's not relevant to me as i don't live in the US. I'm not sure what the US criteria and considerations are exactly, but i reckon that if discovered today caffeine would also fall into this category

It's true that the isolated active isomers are a second bite of the proverbial apple when it comes to patenting, it is also true that the racemic drug that is off patent can now be sold for far less by other companies which was the reason behind the generic drug act here in the US. Caffeine is present in so many plants that I doubt that it would have or ever could have gotten a controlled substance schedule. It is pretty much that same old problem we had during prohibition. The cure was worse than the disease. It is still possible in this country to get schedule V drugs without a prescription depending on the state one lives in. Among these drugs are codeine phosphate and tincture of opium in the form of Paregoric with pectin, and diatomaceous earth.

Availability of generic drugs drops prices fast and hard. Something like omeprazol (inhibits the production of gastric acid) was $1 a capsule when still under patent, and is now a few cents a capsule - basically the cost of packaging. The chiral compound is marketed as esomeprazole for pretty much the same price as the original racemate, despite the additional cost of producing/isolating a specific chiral type.

As far as banning drugs goes: it doesn't really seem to work anyway in my opinion.

In a situation where the strongest banned substances like heroin or cocaine are still not that hard to obtain on the streets, what really are the chances of regulating things like modafinil, xanax and such? In the US you should wonder especially since opiate painkillers are quire widely prescribed and, honestly, about as addictive as opiates. The main difference is one come from a odd guy or the street or the deep web, and the other from a pharmacy next door.

Warning regarding Tumeric extracts if using ACE blood pressure medicines. I've found if I take two or more grams of Curcumin extracted from Tumeric, my Lisinopril BP medicine is completely cancelled out by it. I couldn't understand why my BP kept rising above 150 until I correlated taking two or more grams of 95 percent Tumeric extract the same day. Researching further I found that anti-inflammatory herbs or medicine can completely cancel the effects of ACE blood pressure medicines! I had to stop taking the Tumeric extracts due to this problem. Now that I have, the Lisinopril is working normally.

I take lisinopril as well. It is an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, and acts on the angiotensin- renin cycle of the kidneys. There are plenty of drugs that will negate the actions of these drugs, but I couldn't find anything about nutritional supplements. Another good reason not to take these supplements without first checking to see what their detrimental effects might be.

When younger I always thought older folk talking about meds and such was too personal to just talk about with anyone and now I are one. After a week of large amounts of curcumin and stopping, now 10 mg of lisinopril gives me a bp of 85/58. A bit low.

It is always wise to check for interaction between presciption medicines, both to other ones, over the counter ones, and also foodstuffs.

The interaction among prescription medicines is often considered by your doctor and/or pharmacist, but neither know anything about any otc medication, supplements or even dietary habits unless you tell them.

Sometimes these interactions can be quite unexpected. By now i suppose it's widely known that the combination of eating grapefruits (and perhaps other citrus) when taking some statins against high cholesterol is not a good idea.

Turns out that some substances in grapefruits and statins require the same enzyme to break down, and the grapefruit stuff hoggs that pathway leading to buildup of the statins.

This was discovered, but then again eating grapefruits or drinking their juice is fairly common practice. If the interaction is with a more exotic food it may very well never be discoverd why some medication doesn't work, or has excessive side effects, in certain people that seem to have little in common otherwise.

So if you take any supplements, natural or otherwise, tell your doctor if you get prescription medicine. Don't assume it will be okay or that the 'natural remedy' is just a bit of a booster that doesn't interact. People taking both prescribed antidepressant SSRI's and some 'natural' 5-HTP supplement pay the price for that kind of thing.

In this case, I told a doctor just a few days ago I was doing so and she had no idea there could be an interaction and suggested I take a baby aspirin with my Lisinopril too. Today I found one med web site stating aspirin and Lisinopril do not play together well because aspirin is an anti-inflammatory drug, but another web site indicates they are fine together. Guess I better go with the doctors suggestion, but she had absolutely no knowledge of the problem of using Curcumin and an ACE BP med together.

Prior to taking Curcumin I did some web searching to see if they were contradicted and found nothing, but today, as I wrote earlier, I finally found one site which said not to combine anti-inflammatory herbs or drugs with ACE BP meds. I only can assume the problem I was having was related to taking Curcumin because the problem ceased when I stopped, but I still can't find a direct contradiction listed between the two, only not to use with anti-inflammatory substances with Lisinopril. Perhaps this won't occur if taking a lower amount of Curcumin extract.

Edit: For now, I no longer believe my doctor that I should take a baby aspirin with my 10mg dose of Lisinopril, read why:

https://www.meded101.com/aspirin-and-lisinopril-interaction/

She was clueless about the interaction of Curcumin extract from Turmeric which can be forgiven because doctors know medicine, not so much herbs, but she should have known that low dosages of Lisinopril can be interfered with by baby aspirin which she indicated I should be taking too. I've looked at some reports it's OK to combine then, others not, I side with the not. Perhaps she is aware of the differing reports and has reason to side with combining, I don't know, but I won't be seeing her again. I don't have a regular doctor, this was just one I had to go see here in Georgia to get my prescription filled again before going over seas.

Alaskan, I'm surprised you didn't know that aspirin in an NSAID. It is the original NSAID. You really do need to be proactive when it comes to your health.