Curcumin

As the advancements in the formulation of curcumin too provide much higher absorbability by the body, along with  passing it through the blood-brain barrier, we continue to hear more about the benefits of this great supplement.  For years, many studies have shown that curcumin has the ability to assist the body with many health issues.  Unfortunately this was only done in the lab inasmuch as when taking raw curcumin, most of it simply passes through the body without entering into the blood stream. 

Unfortunately, many people are still hoping for benefits of curcumin by continuing to take older formulations that are not nearly as effective and may not be resulting in the health benefits they are looking for.  Many people take turmeric  based on the fact that it is the plant that contains curcumin.  There are two issues here, one is that there is a very small amount of curcumin in the turmeric, and two, very little of the small amount of curcumin is actually absorbed by the body.  Curcumin is not water-soluble making it very difficult for the body to absorb it.

Others realize that it would be more beneficial to take a product that contains raw curcumin that has been extracted from the turmeric root.  As stated above this does not result in any significant benefit.  There has been a improvement in absorption of curcumin using a bio-perrine (pepper) process, but still it results in a very small amount being absorbed by the body.

A significant advancement was made in the development of a curcumin product referred to as "BCM-95".  It contains a significant amount of raw curcumin,  along with natural oils from the turmeric root.  This provides a much higher amount of absorbability into the body.  This formulation has been most beneficial to people with inflamation issues as well as providing relief for some cancer issues, especially in conjunction with chemortherapy treatments.  Unfortunately, BCM-95 curcumin does not demonstrate the ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier. 

A significant breakthrough in improving the bioavailability of  curcumin was made in the development of  "Solid Lipid Curcumin Particle" technology by the elite neuroscientists at UCLA.   SLCP™ Technology is an an absorption promoting technology that  protects free curcumin from initial hydrolysis, allowing the uptake of free curcumin and delivering bioefficcious levels into the bloodstream, target tissues, and the brain.  The end product preserves the natural spectrum curcumin from the harsh environment of the stomach, dissolves it at the point of absorption in the GI tract, and delivers the free form (also called intact or native) into the blood stream and target tissues. The end result is achieving a very high amount of absorbability of free curcumin by the body and effectively delivering it where it is most needed by the body.

Powered by patented (US Patent 9192644, EP Patent 1993365; additional patents pending) SLCP™ Technology, Longvida® Optimized Curcumin is a breakthrough formula of the natural antioxidant curcumin, from the turmeric root. It is optimized to deliver free curcumin into target tissues through the critical bioavailability requirements of permeability, solubility, and stability. Developed in collaboration with elite neuroscientists at UCLA, Longvida® carries a strong safety profile and is self-GRAS.

While the higher absorption of curcumin has the potential to improve many of our bodies ailments, one of the most significant might be in the treatment of dementia. The United States has an Alzheimer’s/dementia death rate which is the 2nd worst in the world (2nd only to Finland). Finland is 53.77 per 100,000 (age standardized), the US isn’t much better at 45.58. Now compare those numbers to 0.46 per 100,000 for India18. 
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Does India’s high dietary usage of turmeric have anything to do with that? If so – as some theorize – then it’s being accomplished without any special patented or proprietary ingredients for increasing absorption.  However, they consume a very large amount of turmeric throughout their lifetime.  

A study at UCLA demonstrated a significant improvement in dementia.  You can read the report by clicking on the link at the top of the page.