What is curcumin and what benefits does it have?

When studying effective sports supplements, one cannot ignore the modern achievements of biochemistry. The development of science contributes to the appearance on the market of new drugs and formulations. More recently, scientists have found, for example, that curcumin (a compound extracted from the root of turmeric) has powerful anabolic properties and can help natural athletes overcome their strength plateaus. At the same time, the substance does not have such an effect on chemical athletes.

Consider whether curcumin is so beneficial for sports, whether it is worth taking it, and if so, how to do it right.

Where and how curcumin is used

Curcumin is a turmeric substrate and belongs to the category of polyphenols. The substance is actively used outside medicine and sports. It is primarily a well-known Indian herb that adds a spicy flavor to your dishes. Therefore, if you do not want to increase your expenses for the purchase of additional dietary supplements, just try to diversify your cuisine with dishes that actively use turmeric as a seasoning. And already at this stage, you will be able to notice a significant improvement in well-being.

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Beneficial features

So why does an athlete need curcumin, especially when viewed in crossfit disciplines? It's simple - by increasing your intake of turmeric, you will change metabolic processes as follows:

• Increase your metabolic rate by almost 2 times. This works in comparison to any dishes of Caucasian cuisine, which are high in hot spices.
• Increase your digestive enzymes. The pungency of curcumin with additives stimulates the production of lipase, which is important for the processing of external fats, especially if the food is rich in trans fats or in the complete form of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
• Boost your natural testosterone hormone production.
• Increase the natural level of synthesis of protein structures, followed by their distribution in muscle tissues.

In addition, curcumin is a transport-converting compound. Therefore, it helps to eliminate excess cholesterol - this is an excellent prevention of strokes and heart attacks.

Important: Unlike other naturally occurring stimulants, testosterone produced by curcumin does not aromatize or convert to DHT. This is especially important for girls and for athletes who are afraid of losing hair as a result of sports supplements.

Dietary supplements

The benefits of curcumin are invaluable beyond athletic performance. In particular, the main pills and dietary supplements with curcumin are not aimed at increasing testosterone synthesis. Since the late 90s, it has been used in medicine as a natural stimulator of regenerative processes in arterial and venous lesions. Thanks to him, venous leakage is stopped, he is able to influence the erectile function of men over 35 years old, restoring their potency without significant harm to health.

Harm and contraindications

Despite all its benefits, curcumin has several gastroenterological contraindications. It is not recommended for people to use it:

• with increased acidity of the gastric environment;
• pancreatitis of varying severity;
• gastritis;
• duodenal ulcer;
• type 1 diabetes mellitus;
• overclocked metabolism.

Effectiveness of application

As practice shows, the use of curcumin in sports has rather ambiguous consequences. This is due to the stimulation of natural testosterone levels. Here you need to understand that raising the level of the hormone as a result of solo intake of this supplement alone is impossible.

To increase synthesis, add:

• zinc;
• magnesium;
• ginger;
• nitrogen donor.

And a number of sports supplements.

However, if an athlete starts taking curcumin solo after completing the basic prep workout, then curcumin will significantly accelerate muscle growth through myofibrillar hypertrophy.

The substance does not affect the energy component of the work of proteins in the body, therefore it is useless for increasing endurance. At the same time, he is able to raise strength indicators while maintaining the basic muscle mass by almost 20%. This property is especially important for CrossFit athletes who strive to keep themselves in a certain weight category in order to perform Workout sets with the same intensity as strength.

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Curcumin in nature

Curcumin is much easier to find in nature than in specialty supplements. What's more, by applying natural curcumin correctly, you will get significantly more benefits for less money. Where is it easiest to find? That's right - in turmeric, a condiment that is sold in almost every store. Please note that the bioavailability of this material outside of dietary supplements is extremely low. This is not a problem for those athletes who know how to naturally increase bioavailability.

There are two ways to help curcumin increase testosterone stimulation by increasing its natural concentration in the blood without the need for special supplements:

1. Add black pepper to the seasoning. Black pepper causes an intense burning sensation in the stomach with additional fermentation, which allows curcumin to dissolve in a shorter time, which increases its bioavailability by 150%.
2. Boil curcumin. As strange as it may sound, curcumin dissolved in boiling water is absorbed even without black pepper. In this case, it is important to observe the temperature regime. Do not add curcumin to boiling water or boil it for more than 3 minutes. Instead, bring the curcumin water to a boil and refrigerate almost immediately. Once it is acceptable to your esophagus, drink while the mixture is still warm.

The use of dietary supplements is an unjustifiably expensive practice. In terms of grams, curcumin costs almost 10 times less, with an overall decrease in bioavailability by 2 times. What does it mean? It's simple - you only need to consume twice as much curcumin from the spices as using bioactive supplements available at the pharmacy.

Do not forget that supplementary elements are often added to curcumin supplements that are not always needed by an athlete.

You can learn more about the benefits of curcumin in the synthesis of the hormone testosterone and its natural stimulation by watching this video.

How to take curcumin

How to take curcumin correctly? It all depends solely on what goals you set for yourself. If your main goal is to increase the general muscle tone at the initial stage of the training process, then you can completely do without this testosterone stimulant. In case you hit your first strength plateau, then the course of taking curcumin is as follows.

Outcome

As for curcumin analogs, only one active ingredient will be just as effective in naturally stimulating testosterone - this is ginger. Moreover, if ginger has long been used in sports as a natural stimulant of testosterone production, then curcumin has become known only in the last ten years.

Combining both drugs will not provide any measurable benefit. This is the rare case where 2 + 2 is equal to 3 and not 4. Due to the similar mechanism of action of curcumin and ginger, they partially overlap each other. Therefore, if you want to achieve optimal results, it is better to use curcumin and ginger in separate courses.

Turmeric is especially effective during PCT, as it allows the body to release natural testosterone without using tribulus.

When it comes to the overall effectiveness of curcumin, you shouldn't rely on it. It cannot be considered a real testosterone booster. However, if you run into a genetic or just a power plateau, then curcumin is the tool that will help you push through the natural barrier and push the genetic limits by a few more percent, increasing your strength and volume indicators.

Watch the video: Why Do Curcumin and Turmeric Work? (November 2024).