Turmeric for Weight Loss: Does it Work?

  • By Performance Lab
  • 6 minute read
Turmeric for Weight Loss: Does it Work?

Weight loss supplements are lining shelves everywhere you look. From black pepper extract, cayenne pepper, and conjugated linolenic acid (CLA), to green coffee bean, green tea extract, and caffeine, the mechanisms behind these compounds differ quite drastically. Still, the end goal is all the same—burn fat and lose weight.

But one supplement we’ve heard a lot about recently is one of the brightest pigments out there and seems to do it all where your health is concerned.

We’re talking about turmeric.

While it seems to be a superstar for overall health, can it help with weight loss, too?

What Is Turmeric?

If you’ve ever seen a root that resembles ginger but is bright yellow inside, you’ve seen turmeric. It’s a spice that’s been used for cooking, food preservation, and coloring in India, China, and Southeast Asia for ages, but is also prized for its medicinal qualities that have made it a staple in most Eastern medical practices 1.

Curcumin, the primary bioactive component of turmeric, has been shown to be responsible for most of the biological actions linked to turmeric consumption, which include anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic, anticoagulant, antifertility, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, antiviral, antifibrotic, antiulcer, hypotensive, and hypocholesteremic activities 1. Because of this, it’s been recommended for a host of health conditions.

The Benefits Of Consuming Turmeric

Many of the benefits that turmeric possesses are due to its active constituent, curcumin, a potent polyphenol that comprises upwards of 75% of commercial curcumin preparations.

Research shows it can elicit positive effects in many body systems, with the most profound effects seen in the gastrointestinal system, the cardiovascular system, and the nervous system 1.

However, the pleiotropic effects of curcumin largely depend on its capacity to interact and regulate various molecular targets, including transcription factors, growth factors, kinases, inflammatory cytokines, adhesion molecules, apoptosis-related proteins, and more 2.

But of the long list of effects, there’s one in specific that links to weight loss.

A Powerful Anti-Inflammatory

One of the most well-known effects of curcumin is on inflammation.

During infection or injury, the body releases excessive amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6) that play a significant role in the onset of local and systemic inflammation.

Cytokine gene and protein expression are tightly regulated by the cells producing these compounds, and in order to regulate this, it’s critical to control gene transcription.

As such, if you can inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokine production by regulating various transcriptional factors, such as NF-κB, you can essentially control inflammation 3, 4.

Many studies have shown that curcumin can have powerful effects on regulating the production of various inflammatory cytokines, thereby giving it its potent anti-inflammatory activity 5.

TNF-α is a compound that plays an important role in regulating immune cells, and levels of systemic inflammation and dysregulation of TNF-α production has been linked to several inflammatory-based diseases.

Studies show that curcumin has profound inhibitory effects on the production of TNF-α, meaning that it can help to regulate inflammation 6.

One rodent study found that chronic treatment with curcumin significantly reduced serum TNF-α levels, which attenuated cognitive deficit, oxidative stress, and inflammation 7. Other studies also report that curcumin supplementation can down-regulate TNF-α-induced activation of NF-κB and AP-1 8.

Additionally, there is another group of inflammatory cytokines called interleukins that play a major role in regulating the inflammatory response, along with signaling pathways like NF-κB. Curcumin may be able to attenuate the expression of IL-1β and IL-6 by inhibiting NF-κB and MAPK pathways, as well as IL-5, IL-8, IL-12, and IL-18 expression 2, 9.

Does Turmeric Stimulate Weight Loss?

Long story short, turmeric isn’t going to act like a fat burner or a thermogenic pre-workout that can rev your metabolism, up-regulate lipolysis, and burn fat and weight, but it can help support weight loss through a more indirect mechanism.

One of the big kinks that can stall weight loss is inflammation. If the body is in a state of chronic low-grade inflammation, weight loss will be a challenge, so let’s dive a bit into how the anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin can help get your weight and fat loss flame burning again.

The Link Between Inflammation And Weight Loss

At first glance, you may not think any link exists between inflammation and weight gain, but research suggests otherwise.

In the early 1990s, research showed that TNF-α and leptin were secreted from adipocytes, and subsequent research confirmed this functional role of adipose tissue as an active endocrine organ 10, 11.

Other inflammatory peptides have also been associated with adiposity, which essentially characterized obesity as a state of low-grade systemic inflammation.

There are a few ways that inflammation influences your efforts to lose weight:

  1. It increases weight gain: Studies show that elevated levels of inflammatory markers such as high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP), certain interleukins, and TNF-α have been linked with metabolic disorders, CVD, and increased risk of mortality 12.
  2. Induces insulin resistance: Insulin resistance is also another biggie where weight loss is concerned. Insulin is the hormone your body releases to shuttle glucose into cells, but when your body is resistant to the effects of insulin, you’re left with chronically high blood glucose that has nowhere to go except storage. Excessive inflammation can exacerbate this process by impairing the way your body responds to insulin, which ultimately ends up in a vicious cycle—weight gain causes more insulin resistance, and insulin resistance leads to more weight gain 13.
  3. Triggers leptin resistance: Leptin is a hormone that controls satiety; it tells the brain when to eat, when to stop, and when to shift metabolic gears. However, research suggests that leptin function is altered with weight gain and inflammation, which means that the brain isn’t receiving proper feedback and low leptin is constantly triggering an increase in appetite, a slower metabolic rate, and weight gain 14. All of this combines to completely demolish your weight loss pursuits.

This deadly inflammatory trifecta all build on each other to make losing weight a huge challenge, but they can also be exacerbated by things like high-stress levels, lack of sleep, poor diet, and a sedentary lifestyle. So, if you want to curb inflammation and start losing weight, managing inflammatory levels is key.

Final Thoughts

Taken together, curcumin isn’t likely to stimulate direct weight like a fat burner can, but it can help to regulate levels of inflammation in the body, which can make dropping fat and weight significantly easier, not to mention improve several other markers of health 15-17.

However, keep in mind that because curcumin exhibits relatively low oral bioavailability and may undergo rapid intestinal metabolism, the benefits may be minimal unless absorbed with something that enhances bioavailability 18.

This is why you commonly see curcumin combined with black pepper extract, as piperine can enhance absorption by up to 2000%.

And while you’ve probably realized that beating inflammation in today’s world can be rather challenging, Performance Lab Flex has you covered.

It’s a dynamic joint support supplement that’s curated specifically for active joint demands. Flex soothes and protects achy joints with botanicals AprèsFlex® Boswellia serrata and CurcuWIN® curcumin, and lubricates and nourishes joints with Mythocondro® chondroitin, NutriGenesis® strontium, OptiMSM®, and corn glucosamine.

Active and healthy joints mean you can hit the gym with more intention, and more intention means better weight loss.

Flex CurcuWIN® curcumin has been shown to be 46x more bioavailable than other supplements, giving you the purest and most potent option for reducing inflammation and supporting optimal full-body flexibility and function to get your weight loss journey kickstarted. 

Find out more about Performance Lab Flex here

References

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  2. H Zhou, CS Beevers, S Huang. The targets of curcumin.Curr Drug Targets. 2011;12(3):332-347.
  3. PP Tak, GS Firestein. NF-kappaB: a key role in inflammatory diseases. J Clin Invest. 2001;107(1):7-11.
  4. PA Baeuerle, T Function and activation of NF-kappa B in the immune system.Annu Rev Immunol. 1994;12:141-179.
  5. S Ghosh, S Banerjee, PC The beneficial role of curcumin on inflammation, diabetes and neurodegenerative disease: A recent update.Food Chem Toxicol. 2015;83:111-124.
  6. BB Aggarwal, S Shishodia, Y Takada, et al. TNF blockade: an inflammatory issue.Ernst Schering Res Found Workshop. 2006;(56):161-186.
  7. A Kuhad, K Chopra. Curcumin attenuates diabetic encephalopathy in rats: behavioral and biochemical evidences. Eur J Pharmacol. 2007;576(1-3):34-42.
  8. S Singh, BB Aggarwal. Activation of transcription factor NF-kappa B is suppressed by curcumin (diferuloylmethane) (corrected) (published correction appears in J Biol Chem 1995 Dec 15;270(50):30235).J Biol Chem. 1995;270(42):24995-25000.
  9. JW Cho, KS Lee, CW Kim. Curcumin attenuates the expression of IL-1beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha as well as cyclin E in TNF-alpha-treated HaCaT cells; NF-kappaB and MAPKs as potential upstream targets. Int J Mol Med. 2007;19(3):469-474.
  10. LK Forsythe, JM Wallace, MB Livingstone. Obesity and inflammation: the effects of weight loss. Nutr Res Rev. 2008;21(2):117-133.
  11. PG Curcumin and obesity.Biofactors. 2013;39(1):78-87.
  12. K Tuomisto, P Jousilahti, AS Havulinna, K Borodulin, S Männistö, V Salomaa. Role of inflammation markers in the prediction of weight gain and development of obesity in adults - A prospective study. Metabol Open. 2019;3:100016.
  13. OT Hardy, MP Czech, S What causes the insulin resistance underlying obesity?.Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2012;19(2):81-87.
  14. MG Myers Jr, RL Leibel, RJ Seeley, MW Obesity and leptin resistance: distinguishing cause from effect. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2010;21(11):643-651.
  15. T Miyazawa, K Nakagawa, SH Kim, et al. Curcumin and piperine supplementation of obese mice under caloric restriction modulates body fat and interleukin-1β. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2018;15:12.
  16. T Teich, JA Pivovarov, DP Porras, EC Dunford, MC Curcumin limits weight gain, adipose tissue growth, and glucose intolerance following the cessation of exercise and caloric restriction in rats.J Appl Physiol (1985). 2017;123(6):1625-1634.
  17. L Ding, J Li, B Song, et al. Curcumin rescues high fat diet-induced obesity and insulin sensitivity in mice through regulating SREBP pathway.Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2016;304:99-109.
  18. RA Sharma, AJ Gescher, WP Steward. Curcumin: the story so far.Eur J Cancer. 2005;41(13):1955-1968.
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