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Healthy Eating

Curcumin for Athletes: Why You and Your Joints Might Like It

Curcumin has some amazing benefits when it comes to inflammation, joint pain, and disease prevention. But it's important you get the right kind and take it in the right amounts.

Vanessa Bennington

Written by Vanessa Bennington Last updated on November 18, 2013

As I sit here writing this article, my lower back is becoming tighter and tighter, reminding me that I did quite a bit of squatting today. Also, my knees are a little achy and my right hip is tender pretty much constantly. I sound like I’m complaining, but I’m not. My love for working out far outweighs the aches and pains I feel. However, I do know that being constantly inflamed isn’t a good thing. Inflammation when controlled and short-lived is great. Your body heals and comes back stronger and better than ever. When inflammation is chronic, though, bad things start happening. Injuries occur and disease processes begin. So, if you’re like me and you’re feeling achy and inflamed more often than not, it might be time to look into ways to decrease that inflammation.

Had any good Indian food? Random right? Well, not really. If you’ve had any tasty curries then you’ve probably ingested one of the most powerful, natural anti-inflammatory agents known to man. Good job! And you just thought you were having a tasty dinner. Turmeric, a spice used in many Asian and Indian dishes, contains the phenol curcumin and curcumin is a pretty amazing thing.

The Powers of Curcumin

Curcumin has been credited with helping prevent diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, and many neurodegenerative diseases because of its potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. More specifically, it inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX-2), lipoxygenase (LOX) and inducible nitric oxide (iNOS). So what? Well, COX-2, LOX, and iNOS are enzymes that mediate inflammatory processes in the body. Curcumin also inhibits the production of the inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), interleukin (IL) -1, -2, -6, -8, and -12, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP), and migration inhibitory protein and down-regulates mitogen-activated and Janus kinases.

Huh? Suffice it to say curcumin decreases inflammation in a major way. And if inflammation is nipped in the bud, the chronic diseases that would normally come about as a result of chronic inflammation are much less likely to occur.

Curcumin is also being studied in relation to its ability to prevent and treat neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s. This could be due to its well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but could be also the result of a modulation of protein aggregation and thus the prevention of the cause of these neurologically devastating illnesses.

Diseases thought to be prevented or symptoms mediated as a result of curcumin supplementation:

  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Pancreatitis
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome/Disease
  • Dyspepsia and Gastric Ulcer
  • Various Ocular Diseases
  • Various Types of Cancer
  • Neurodegenerative disease like Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s

Curcumin for Athletes

But, I’m writing for Breaking Muscle and while we all want to avoid cancer, Alzheimer’s, and IBS, what we really want to know is how can this curcumin stuff help me out right now? Can curcumin decrease my joint pain and help me recover faster? And if so, how much do I take? Well, yes, curcumin has been found in clinical trials to decrease joint pain, decrease inflammation, and improve joint mobility and function after eight months of treatment. So, yes, curcumin supplementation can definitely enhance your workouts and recovery and could be a beneficial supplement for athletes who have or want to prevent join pain and problems.

But the biggest problem with curcumin supplementation is its bioavailability. Curcumin, when given orally to human subjects, peaks in one to two hours then drops and is found in very low levels in the blood and with very little tissue distribution. It does, however, seem to accumulate in the intestinal mucosa. This may be beneficial for those with inflammatory GI issues, but for those of us with issues like joint pain and inflammation this presents a problem.

curcumin, benefits of curcumin, turmeric, curcumin supplements, supplements

Ongoing research suggests that combining curcumin with other substances can dramatically increase its bioavailability and thus its usefulness in treating and preventing disease. A product called Flexofytol (Arantal) is a curcumin combination that results in a dramatically higher bioavailability and thus decreased joint pain in clinical trials. Unfortunately, Flexofytol isn’t available in the United States. However, Meriva, another curcumin combination option is available. It isn’t quite as potent as Flexofytol, but is far more bioavailable that other curcumin and turmeric supplements. You can buy it over the counter and it would be a worth a trial if you do suffer from joint pain and chronic inflammation, or just want to decrease systemic inflammation and keep the disease boogiemen away. Note: Safe and effective doses range between 4 and 12 grams per day with 8 grams generally being well tolerated by most individuals.

So, get thyself some curcumin to help with sore joints or to just prevent disease and feel better from stem to stern. However, make sure you are taking a supplement your body can actually absorb and take enough to see the benefit. Also, feel free to use the excuse that you are working on reducing inflammation every time you eat too much curry. I’ll totally back you up.

References:

1. Adriana, Monroy, Lithgow Gordon, and Silvestre Alavrez. “Curcumin and neurodegenerative diseases.” BioFactors. no. 01 (2013): 122-132. (accessed November 17, 2013).

2. Jurenka, Julie. “Anti-inflammatory Properties of Curcumin, a Major Constituent of Curcuma longa: A Review of Preclinical and Clinical Research.” Alternative Medicine Review. no. 02 (2009): 141-154. (accessed November 17, 2013).

3. V, Menon and Sudheer A. “Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin.” ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY. (2007): 105-125. (accessed November 17, 2013).

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

Vanessa Bennington

About Vanessa Bennington

Vanessa Bennington found her wayin the health and fitness worlds through a unique combination of education, personal experience, and self-experimentation. During high school,she dropped from a weight of around 140lbs on her 5’4″frame, to barely 90lbs. As you may have correctly guessed, there was no small amount of anorexia and bulimia involved. Battling an endless fight with eating disorders, Vanessa eventually stumbled from fat-free diets and endless cardio to a more traditional "bodybuilding" diet and training plan. Things started to improve.

She fell in love with working out and exercising, but was weak, fatigued, depressed, anxious, and still unhappy with her body composition, despite trying everything she thought was correct. This pushed her to seek more knowledge and her first piece of traditional education was a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. As much as she enjoyed the idea of spending her days in the gym and training people as a career, she was concerned her small town inLouisianawould never provide enough clientele to support full time training.Back to school she went and back the eating disorders came. Still struggling with feeling physically awful and hating her body, Vanessa completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and continued through to earn a Masters in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner.

While finishing graduate school Vanessa found CrossFit and the Paleo Diet, she also began working in physician’s office that specializes in balancing hormones. Things began to click. A lifetime of improper nutrition and eating disorders had created hormonal and metabolic chaos. It wasn't that she had spent almost two decades doing things wrong or not trying hard enough, it was that she had never tacked theentiretyof the issues. Adjustments to her exercise, nutrition, medication, and supplementation brought balance to her hormones and lifted the crippling depression and anxiety. She had the quality of life she always dreamed of, physical strength she never knew she was capable of, and the body she had worked a lifetime for started to show the results of her efforts.

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