Why Tom & Jerry's Chocolate Tumeries use Turmeric - not Curcumin

Curcumin comprises about 3-5% of Turmeric, is responsible for its color attributes and has been the subject of a tremendous amount of recent research in the past few decades. At one point Curcumin was thought to be the sole source of all of Turmerics health benefits. While very beneficial, there are many other compounds in Turmeric which make it one of natures true superfoods and provide it with such superpowers. 

Unlike the Non-FDA approved Turmeric/Curcumin Supplements you may find in the Turmeric supplement section of your local health store (which are typically various forms of isolated synthetic compounds) Tom & Jerry's Chocolate Tumeries are a whole food alternative to processed curcumin supplements that use the 'whole food' approach and rely instead on leveraging all the benefits of the Turmeric herb which include Curcumin as well as thousands of other beneficial compounds, not just those of one isolated compound.

Curcumin, which comprises roughly 2-5% of Turmeric, is thought of as the primary active ingredient in Turmeric and has been the subject of extensive research. Recent research highlights the fact that there is more to Whole Turmeric than just curcumin.

Here is a direct outtake from a recent blog post form Turmeric for Health that hit the nail on the head and focused on a ....  

"Comparison between turmeric and curcumin’s efficacy"

Let’s now see what research studies talk about when comparing curcumin and turmeric.

Immunity: Turmeric better than curcumin

A study was organised wherein ethanolic extract of turmeric was compared with curcumin in terms of anti-inflammatory, immunostimulatory and antioxidant activities.

Turmeric was found to increase the expression of perforin (a protein that plays an important role in immune responses) and it was twice more effective in initiating body’s immune responses.

Anti-oxidant properties: Turmeric better than curcumin

Turmeric extract was also more effective in terms of antioxidant property than curcumin, as its percentage inhibition of production of reactive oxygen species was twice that of curcumin.

Another study investigating the antioxidant potentials of turmeric extract and curcumin reported that turmeric extract demonstrated more potent antioxidant capacity than curcumin in most experimental tests.

Brain function related benefits: Turmeric beats curcumin

Beta amyloid is a protein that is of importance in Alzheimer’s disease. It forms aggregates in the brain cells, interrupts brain signals and leads to death of nerve cell and loss of brain function.

A study was conducted to evaluate inhibition of amyloid beta aggregates by standardized turmeric extracts (basically having everything of turmeric) and just curcuminoids.

Interestingly none of the curcuminoids were found to be inhibitors of this action while one of the turmeric standardized extracts showed strong inhibition indicating molecules other than curcuminoids found in turmeric could be developed as drugs to treat Alzheimer’s.

What does this mean? Research studies prove that turmeric extracts show more efficacy when it comes to pharmacological activities and apart from curcumin, turmeric possesses a number of bioactive molecules that could potentiate the activity of curcumin."

Our friends at NutritionFacts.org seem to agree that the benefits of whole Turmeric are quite substantial.