Confession: Approved Science® runs on coffee. Without a cup of joe or two or three or even more a day, our team wouldn’t be able to do its best work. Aside from providing caffeine, coffee offers a range of health benefits and we started to think about whether we could make drinking coffee even more beneficial for health. We immediately considered one of our favorite supplements, Turmeric MD™, and the question of “can you put turmeric in coffee?” naturally arose. We set out to try it for ourselves and research how coffee might interact with turmeric. Keep reading to find out what the experience was like and whether we recommend it in terms of both taste and health benefits.
Is Turmeric In Coffee Good? The Approved Science® Team Share Their Opinions
Our SEO expert, an avid coffee drinker, was the first to give this new brew a try. She took one capsule of Approved Science® Turmeric MD™ and bravely emptied it into her coffee mug. We were worried that the BioPerine® might add too much of a black pepper flavor and ruin the cup but to our delight, she was a fan! Here’s what she had to say about it:
“I emptied the capsule in the hot coffee and it dissolved BEAUTIFULLY!!!! No clumps and no traces of it! I could taste a slight, almost mustardy tinge to it. It doesn’t take over the coffee but enhances it, as opposed to something like collagen that gives coffee a thicker taste. This is a thinner consistency so it’s not chalky in any way. It’s like a spice version of sweetened pumpkin spice, but it’s not spicy, it’s more savory.”
When asked if she would recommend the concoction, she responded with an emphatic “YES”. Some of the team soon followed her example and while one Content Specialist said she wouldn’t recommend it because it tastes like turmeric, here’s what those who liked it had to say about adding a capsule of Turmeric MD™ to their coffee:
“It dissolves fairly well. The taste is okay. We decided to add cinnamon after we tasted with just the turmeric. It is totally a pumpkin spice latte.” – Content Specialist
“I could taste the turmeric but it doesn’t overpower the coffee too much. With the spices, it has fall vibes to it. It was a good combo, I have to say.” -Skilled PPC Campaign Manager
Not only did they both say they would recommend turmeric in coffee, they added an additional healthy spices to their drinks to enhance the experience. Cinnamon has been found to help balance fasting blood sugar (1) and provide various other health benefits, but let’s return the focus to turmeric . . .
How Does Coffee Impact Turmeric’s Bioavailability?
A recent study delved into how cooking methods affect the antioxidant activity of turmeric’s curcuminoids (2). While turmeric isn’t typically ‘cooked’ in coffee, the brewing process involves heat, which can influence the stability and effectiveness of these compounds.
Key Insights From the Study:
- Enhanced Solubility and Preservation: The study suggests that boiling increases the solubility of curcuminoids, potentially making them more bioavailable when infused in hot beverages like coffee.
- Antioxidant Capacity: Even after exposure to heat, curcuminoids maintain their antioxidant capabilities, which can synergize with the antioxidants in coffee.
- Optimal Conditions: Interestingly, boiled curcuminoids exhibited stronger antioxidant activity than roasted ones, suggesting that brewing coffee might be a favorable method for blending with turmeric.
While this study implies that adding turmeric to coffee might increase its results, a different study by Stohs et al. suggested that the acidity of coffee may make it harder to get benefits from curcumin (3). On the other hand, curcumin is fat-soluble (3), and therefore milk or cream may actually help to enhance its efficacy. The truth is that more research is required in order to fully understand how turmeric is affected by coffee.
The Synergy Of Turmeric And Coffee
Both coffee and turmeric have their own unique health benefits, and when combined, they create a powerful elixir that can enhance overall well-being.
Health Benefits of Coffee
- Rich in Antioxidants: Coffee is a major source of antioxidants, which help in fighting free radicals, reducing oxidative stress, and potentially lowering the risk of certain diseases (4).
- Boosts Brain Function: The caffeine in coffee can improve mood, reaction time, memory, and possibly general cognitive function (5,6).
- Supports Heart Health: Moderate coffee consumption has been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease in several studies (7).
- Potential to Lower Risk of Certain Diseases: Research suggests that coffee may decrease the risk of certain types of diseases, such as gout (8), type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, liver disease, some cancers (9).
Health Benefits of Turmeric
- Anti-inflammatory Properties: Turmeric, and particularly its most active compound curcumin, has powerful anti-inflammatory effects (10). Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, curcumin can be beneficial in treating symptoms of arthritis, gout, and other inflammatory diseases.
- Boosts Antioxidant Capacity: Curcumin is also a potent antioxidant that can neutralize free radicals due to its chemical structure and boost the body’s own antioxidant enzymes (11,12).
- Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor: Curcumin can increase brain levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which may be effective at delaying or even reversing many brain diseases and age-related decreases in brain function (13).
- Lowers Risk of Heart Disease: It may improve the function of the lining of the blood vessels (the endothelium), and is a potent anti-inflammatory agent and antioxidant (14).
When these two are combined, as in the case of adding Turmeric MD™ to coffee, they not only offer a unique flavor profile but also amplify each other’s health benefits. This synergistic combination enhances antioxidant activities, boosts mood and cognitive function, and supports overall physical health. With their combined properties, turmeric and coffee can help scavenge free radicals, improve mental outlook, and aid in digestion and physical performance.
How To Add Turmeric To Coffee
Now that you know that Turmeric in coffee is a generally good idea*, (depending on you taste preferences,) you might want to try it. Here are some tips for making the perfect turmeric-coffee. Start off small; you don’t want to find out you don’t like it and you’ve ruined a whole cup of the drink that adds so much to your life. Pour a quarter of a teaspoon of turmeric into a cup of coffee and see how you feel about it.
Make sure that you use high quality turmeric and add a touch of black pepper to enhance the absorption of turmeric’s curcumin. Once you know that the taste of turmeric in your coffee is not a turn off, we recommend using a capsule of Turmeric MD™ which contains 750 mg of Turmeric extract and 10 mg of BioPerine® black pepper extract. (A daily serving of Turmeric MD™ is 2 capsules for a total of 1500 mg of Turmeric with 20 mg of BioPerine®). Stir well to dissolve the powder and distribute the flavor, then sit back and enjoy your delicious and nutritious cup of joe.
*While we do want you to buy Turmeric MD™, our first priority is your health and we only want you to take steps that will improve your well-being. Please consult first with you doctor or medical advisor to ensure that turmeric supplementation is safe for you before making any changes to your diet.
Conclusion: Should You Put Turmeric In Coffee?
The answer to this question depends on your tastes and preferences and unique health condition. While the heat of coffee and any added fats may actually improve the effects of curcumin, the acidity might reduce its efficacy. Unfortunately, the direct impact of coffee on the health benefits of turmeric has not yet been studied. If you’re like most people who forget to take their pills, at least taking them in your coffee is a step in the right direction. As our SEO expert said “You may not remember if you’ve taken your daily turmeric supplement, but you will remember if you tasted it in your coffee! So it’s a way more fun way to take your pills.”
If you’re trying to add turmeric into your diet, adding it to your coffee might be a good place to start but we can’t say definitively how coffee influences turmeric’s capabilities. If you want to be sure that your turmeric intake is capable of being beneficial, traditional turmeric supplementation might be the way to go, since it has been extensively studied and found to deliver a wide range of health benefits. Hundreds of individuals have already seen the results of taking Turmeric MD™ daily and they had good things to say about the experience.