FORT WORTH, Texas — Nuvothera Tuesday announced the launch of its Super-Micronized Turmeric Curcumin supplement  for consumers seeking to reduce their  dependence on prescription medicines.

In the last few years, consumers have increasingly purchased turmeric supplements based on reported benefits including diminished joint pain, improved brain function, lower risk of heart disease and cancer, thwarting Alzheimer’s disease, and even anti-aging effects. Today’s market primarily includes turmeric supplements with products composed of 95 percent curcumin, the most active ingredient in turmeric.

The ample science backing these benefits often indicates life-changing benefits for people wanting help to support healthy joints and mobility*. Too often, though, supplements fail to provide the desired effects due to design and manufacturing shortcomings.

Nuvothera chief executive officer Arthur Clapp has many years of experience developing botanically-based alternatives to pharmaceutical treatments. He learned that the curcuminoids in turmeric, used as a natural anti-inflammatory and healing agent for thousands of years, worked as well as some well-established non-prescription OTC products to help support joint health and mobility*.

However, to work well orally, turmeric or curcumin needs to be absorbed effectively by the digestive tract. Clapp ultimately purchased and tried over four dozen turmeric supplement brands, and, while a few showed positive results at their recommended dosages, none delivered the benefits he had expected. The reason, Clapp discovered, rested with  poor bioavailability, an oft-cited issue with turmeric.

Curcumin is hydrophobic and resistant to absorption in the bloodstream when taken orally; nearly all curcumin found in natural turmeric powder (approximately 97 percent) passes ineffectively through the body. To overcome this, consumers can take many times the recommended number of capsules daily or buy curcumin that uses secondary agents that artificially boost absorption. Unfortunately, many of these agents, such as piperine (derived from black pepper), can carry side effects including anti-platelet impacts, gastrointestinal bleeding, and other issues. Clapp worked with scientists and found a better a way.

Super-Micronization: A Better Method

“Open up a typical curcumin capsule and pour it in a glass of water,” suggests Arthur Clapp. “You’ll see the contents float on top of the water. When you pour our Super-Micronized Turmeric Curcumin on water, it dissolves instantly. That’s the difference particle size makes. Our turmeric curcumin supplement absorbs easily and is selectively taken up by our bodies without the need for black pepper or additional absorption enhancers.”

Micronization, while costly, has long been used in pharmaceuticals to reduce drug particles to micro-scale sizes. This aids efficacy without the side effect risks of chemical absorption additives. (Note that using chemical enhancers can also result in absorption of unwanted substances from the digestive tract.) Nuvothera also adds microencapsulation to protect turmeric particles and assist them in surviving through the digestive tract and into the bloodstream.

Additionally, Clapp eschews the common approach of isolating curcumin, which comprises only 3% to 5% percent of the turmeric root. Turmeric contains over 200 molecules with beneficial health effects, many of which work better in collaboration than isolation. Thus, Nuvothera uses the entire turmeric root for achieving better results.

Results Speak Volumes

Across the more than 6,000 scientific papers that investigate turmeric and curcumin, a dizzying number of health benefits emerge. However, Arthur Clapp is most excited about their ability to support a healthy inflammatory response*.

“Our Super-Micronized Turmeric Curcumin excels in so many ways beyond conventional curcumin options,” says Clapp, but the star of the show is our finding of 126 times greater potency than other curcumin brands. This matches my personal experience. Once we had our formulation and process down, I was finally able to experience amazing results. I’ve been studying this for almost eight years, and I’ve never found a turmeric supplement better than ours.”

“Our passion for how our products can impact people’s lives is what drives us,” said Bev Hope, director of marketing. “Nothing makes us happier than hearing from our customers and seeing their amazing results.”

Turmeric and curcumin supplements range from $10 to $60 per bottle, and brand effectiveness widely varies. Nuvothera Super-Micronized Turmeric Curcumin sells for $30 to $40 per bottle. However, even the cheapest competitor will ultimately cost more due to the far higher quantities required to reach similar benefit levels.