Living Nutrition
Why should you choose Fermented Turmeric?
Turmeric has been king of the natural health world over the last few years, and though it's pronunciation may be up for debate (is it tur-merick, or too-merick?!), it's health benefits certainly aren't. Though it may be the star of the health and wellbeing movement-currently featuring in everything from turmeric lattes to skincare products-it has been around for a long time and has a history of traditional use as a spice and medicinal herb. Unfortunately turmeric is not particularly well absorbed by us, however fermented turmeric can provide the solution so we are able to benefit from this wonder herb.
Turmeric is a product of curcuma longa, belonging to the ginger family. It has been used for thousands of years across Asia, featuring strongly in traditional medicine, with various cultures prizing it for its use for inflammatory disorders. It is a potent anti-inflammatory, and with many modern-day diseases linked to chronic inflammation like cardiovascular disease, its benefits cannot be understated. Turmeric also has antioxidant properties, protecting the body from oxidative damage caused by free radicals and boosting the body's own production of anti-oxidant enzymes. It is also anti-bacterial, and some research suggests it may be effective for improving insulin sensitivity in diabetics and correcting depressive symptoms.
Modern medicine seems to have cottoned on to turmeric's benefits, and it is perhaps one of the most researched herbal supplements out there, with over 5000 peer reviewed studies looking at its healing benefits. It has a very good safety profile and tolerability, and research continues to highlight it as a useful preventative and disease-modifying agent.
Turmeric is made up of many components. Many supplements focus on extracting one of the most popular parts, curcumin. The problem with this approach is that by isolating compounds within foods we tend to loose out on the synergistic health effects of the whole plant. More than 100 components in total have been isolated from turmeric and curcumin is just one part of a greater whole, including the other curcuminoids and volatile oils which have been found to have pharmacological properties and benefits for health. Some studies over the last decade have shown that curcumin-free turmeric possesses many benefits and biological activities including anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic properties. Another compound in turmeric which has shown benefits is aromatic-tumerone, which was shown to promote stem cell proliferation and differentiation in the brain, suggesting it could be a promising agent to support regeneration in neurological disease. When we simply extract curcumin, we are missing out on these other key healing properties, it seems for turmeric, the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
Curcumin is not particularly well-absorbed due to rapid metabolism by the body, poor GI absorption and low aqueous solubility. A solution to this is to use fermented turmeric. Fermentation, like turmeric, has been around for thousands of years, and used traditionally by many cultures to enhance nutrition. Fermenting herbs and foods is a great way to increase their bio-availability and enhance the nutrients and functional properties. Nothing is extracted or taken away, and you are enhancing the nutrients contained within the plants and naturally activating them rather than isolating components.
Our Turmeric Alive utilises a kefir-kombucha style fermentation, using 35 microorganisms to deeply ferment the turmeric and create a living matrix rich in enzymes, nutrients and beneficial microorganism. Our turmeric fermented supplements contain a whole profile of curcuminoids, along with other key active compounds and phytonutrients that turmeric is naturally rich in. Fermented turmeric is highly bioavailable due to increased water solubility, and contains a higher level of antioxidants and potent active components like tetrahydro-curcumin which in general is more efficient than curcumin on its own. The fermented turmeric is combined with non-fermented turmeric which also shows a lot of health benefits, alongside ginger for a wide range of active nutrients. Our herbal supplements are organically certified by the Soil Association, Vegan friendly, and contain no fillers, binders or excipients.
Fermented turmeric is an excellent anti-inflammatory, so is a good solution for pain-management, it is beneficial for inflammatory response throughout the body, so can be very effective for inflammatory diseases of the bowel and joints and shows potential in neurodegenerative diseases as highlighted above. As research continues into its many health benefits, turmerics potential for disease prevention and treatment is only increasing, but fermentation is the key to unlocking its powerful and synergistic health benefits.
Check out our kefir-kombucha fermented supplements including our Turmeric Alive here.
Sign up and receive 10% off your first order!