Curcumin 95% Extract 665mg | 60 Capsules | NOW Foods

Curcumin Extract 95% by NOW Foods

This is curcumin in a concentrated form. Each capsule contains 665 mg of turmeric root extract, standardized to 95% curcuminoids. You may know turmeric mainly as the yellow spice in curry. In the Netherlands, this root is also called yellow root. But here, it is all about the curcuminoids you extract from it. For those who want to use turmeric extract specifically, without additives, this is a straightforward choice. No flavorings, no extra ingredients, just the extract and the capsule around it.

What curcumin actually is

Curcumin is the substance that gives turmeric its bright yellow color. The fresh root of the Curcuma longa plant contains very little of it, about three percent. That is why NOW Foods uses an extract instead of ground root. By concentrating the root to 95% curcuminoids, you get much more per capsule than from a spoonful of plain turmeric powder. In addition to curcumin itself, that extract also contains two related substances: demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin. Together, these three are called curcuminoids. They are polyphenols, a group of plant substances that you also find in other herbs, vegetables, and fruit. Good to know: an extract is different from a concentrated powder from the spice rack. The root is processed first, so that what remains consists mainly of curcuminoids.

What 95% curcuminoids means

That percentage says something about the strength of the extract. Much of the turmeric on the shelves contains around 285 to 500 milligrams per capsule. This contains 665 mg of extract, which is good for about 630 mg of curcuminoids per capsule. The difference lies in the standardization. Because the extract is standardized to 95%, you know how many curcuminoids are in each capsule. With regular turmeric powder, that varies greatly and you never know exactly. And this is a plain extract, so without black pepper and without fillers that come with their own story. What you get is turmeric extract, nothing more.

Take with a meal, without piperine

Curcumin is a fat-soluble substance. Take the capsule with a meal, with enough water. Some brands add piperine, a substance from black pepper. This product deliberately does not. It is a pure extract, without pepper or other additives. If you are specifically looking for that pepper combination, then this is not the product you need. And you are welcome to know that beforehand.

Curcumin or turmeric, what is the difference?

In everyday language, those two words are used interchangeably. Yet there is a difference. Turmeric is the whole root, the spice that you also use in the kitchen and that is called yellow root in the Netherlands. Curcumin is the yellow coloring substance that is in that root. A turmeric extract like this sits somewhere in between: it comes from the root, but is processed so that the curcuminoids are highly concentrated in it. Because of this, one capsule is enough instead of several spoonfuls of powder. Turmeric has, by the way, been used in Indian cuisine for thousands of years. What is in this jar is, in fact, that centuries-old spice reduced to its most concentrated part.

In short: this is yellow root reduced to the curcuminoids, in a fixed amount per capsule. One capsule a day with food and a jar of sixty lasts two months.

*Health claim awaiting European approval.