It seems like every day, a new article comes out touting the health benefits of turmeric, and the many ways you can consume it. While turmeric does indeed have many healthy properties, not all turmeric products are the same. Turmeric can be purchased and consumed in various forms: as a root, spice, powder, or as an extract. Below are 5 reasons why turmeric extract is better than powders or capsules, or any other form available today.

  1. Liquid extracts provide the fastest absorption for your body

Turmeric extracts provide fast, ready absorption for your body. Your body does not need to break down a liquid extract, allowing its health benefits to be readily accessible. It only takes about 1-4 minutes to assimilate a liquid extract while capsules or tablets can take upwards of 30 minutes. That’s a substantial difference in how quickly your body can start getting the healthy benefits of turmeric!

  1. Tinctures are more potent than other forms

This is true for any herbal supplement, not just turmeric. The herbs such as turmeric found in a tincture are significantly more potent than other forms such as powders or capsules. The alcohol typical found in extracts helps tinctures assimilate into the bloodstream much more efficiently than other methods, which provides greater potency overall.

  1. Extracts have a longer shelf life

Extracts typically utilize alcohol as mentioned above. Besides the benefit of assimilating into the bloodstream more quickly, alcohol provides a longer shelf life for tinctures. While powders and other forms of turmeric may have a shelf life of a year or less, turmeric extracts can have a shelf life of three years from the date it was bottled, which can provide a significant savings.

  1. Liquid turmeric uses the whole plant

Whole turmeric is more effective than taking the isolated curcumin for inflammatory disorders, including arthritis, tendonitis, and autoimmune conditions. Several other forms of turmeric don’t include the entire plant, which reduces the health benefits of the product. As a matter of fact, whole turmeric is likely to provide you with a different set of benefits than curcumin. Turmeric includes three different curcuminoids: curcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, and demethoxycurcumin. These are all associated with their own unique health benefits.

  1. Turmeric extracts give you more control over dosing

If you’re taking a turmeric supplement for the first time, it may be wise to start slowly and insure you don’t experience any kind of adverse reactions such as an upset stomach. Unfortunately, dosing is much more difficult to control if you’re taking a capsule or tablet. However, using an all natural extract gives you much greater control over how much you can consume. You can increase or decrease the dose to best suit your individual needs.

If you’re considering taking a turmeric supplement, the reason provided above should illustrate why turmeric extract is better than powders or capsules.