Why You Should Use Turmeric and Black Pepper Together

Key Takeaways

Turmericis a golden spice with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. But how do you make turmeric even more powerful? By adding black pepper.

Curcumin on its own is quick to leave the body, which means you might be missing out on some of turmeric’s health benefits, according to Courtney Schuchmann, MS, RD, LDN, a registered dietitian at the University of Chicago Medicine.

The next time you cook with turmeric, think about grabbing the pepper grinder.

“Try combining turmeric and black pepper for sauces, curries, marinades, salad dressings, and even in smoothies to fully capitalize on the potential health benefits attributed with curcumin,” Schuchmann said.

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Should You Always Eat Turmeric and Black Pepper Together?

While it may be a good idea to cook with turmeric and black pepper together, don’t stress if you run out of pepper or don’t prefer adding it.

Turmeric may still offer anti-inflammatory and other health benefits without black pepper, saidMonique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics based in Johnson City, TN.

Black pepper isn’t the only ingredient that can help the body absorb turmeric. Curcumin is fat-soluble,which means nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil, and avocados can all help your body absorb and use curcumin, Richard explained.

Turmeric has been used in Ayurvedic medicine and Asian cuisines for many centuries,and the spice is often in recipes that have fish, cashews, and other healthy fat sources.

Turmeric Might Also Affect the Gut Microbiome

There’s some evidence to suggest that absorption is not the only way the body can access curcumin.

Zhaoping Li, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine and chief of the division of clinical nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that we might be getting more of the health benefits from turmeric through the spice’s impact on the gut microbiome than from what’s absorbed in the blood.

Li co-authored a 2019 study that found that culinary doses of spices changed the composition of the gut microbiome.The researchers used a mixture of cinnamon, oregano, ginger, black pepper, and cayenne pepper for the study. Although they didn’t use turmeric specifically, the findings showed that the benefits we get from spices could be related toprebiotic effects, which feed healthy bacteria in the gut.

More research is needed, specifically on turmeric, but Li said that the bottom line is turmeric and black pepper can offer health benefits whether they are consumed together or not.

“Eat black pepper, eat [turmeric] as much as you want,” Li said. “If you don’t, you may not need to worry because each one of them independently can help you even though they’re not really absorbed.”

What This Means For YouAdding black pepper can enhance curcumin absorption, so your body can take better advantage of curcumin’s anti-inflammatory properties.

What This Means For You

Adding black pepper can enhance curcumin absorption, so your body can take better advantage of curcumin’s anti-inflammatory properties.

6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sharifi-Rad J, Rayess YE, Rizk AA, et al.Turmeric and its major compound curcumin on health: bioactive effects and safety profiles for food, pharmaceutical, biotechnological and medicinal applications.Front Pharmacol. 2020;11:01021. doi:10.3389/fphar.2020.01021Fernández-Lázaro D, Mielgo-Ayuso J, Córdova Martínez A, Seco-Calvo J.Iron and physical activity: bioavailability enhancers, properties of black pepper (Bioperine) and potential applications.Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1886. doi:10.3390/nu12061886Haq IU, Imran M, Nadeem M, Tufail T, Gondal TA, Mubarak MS.Piperine: a review of its biological effects.Phytother Res. 2021;35(2):680-700. doi:10.1002/ptr.6855Stohs SJ, Chen O, Ray SD, Ji J, Bucci LR, Preuss HG.Highly bioavailable forms of curcumin and promising avenues for curcumin-based research and application: a review.Molecules. 2020;25(6):1397. doi:10.3390/molecules25061397Verma RK, Kumari P, Maurya RK, Kumar V, Verma RB, Singh RK.Medicinal properties of turmeric (Curcuma longaL.): a review.Int J Chem Stud. 2018;6(4):1354-1357.Lu QY, Rasmussen AM, Yang J, et al.Mixed spices at culinary doses have prebiotic effects in healthy adults: a pilot study.Nutrients. 2019;11(6):1425. doi:10.3390/nu11061425

6 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sharifi-Rad J, Rayess YE, Rizk AA, et al.Turmeric and its major compound curcumin on health: bioactive effects and safety profiles for food, pharmaceutical, biotechnological and medicinal applications.Front Pharmacol. 2020;11:01021. doi:10.3389/fphar.2020.01021Fernández-Lázaro D, Mielgo-Ayuso J, Córdova Martínez A, Seco-Calvo J.Iron and physical activity: bioavailability enhancers, properties of black pepper (Bioperine) and potential applications.Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1886. doi:10.3390/nu12061886Haq IU, Imran M, Nadeem M, Tufail T, Gondal TA, Mubarak MS.Piperine: a review of its biological effects.Phytother Res. 2021;35(2):680-700. doi:10.1002/ptr.6855Stohs SJ, Chen O, Ray SD, Ji J, Bucci LR, Preuss HG.Highly bioavailable forms of curcumin and promising avenues for curcumin-based research and application: a review.Molecules. 2020;25(6):1397. doi:10.3390/molecules25061397Verma RK, Kumari P, Maurya RK, Kumar V, Verma RB, Singh RK.Medicinal properties of turmeric (Curcuma longaL.): a review.Int J Chem Stud. 2018;6(4):1354-1357.Lu QY, Rasmussen AM, Yang J, et al.Mixed spices at culinary doses have prebiotic effects in healthy adults: a pilot study.Nutrients. 2019;11(6):1425. doi:10.3390/nu11061425

Sharifi-Rad J, Rayess YE, Rizk AA, et al.Turmeric and its major compound curcumin on health: bioactive effects and safety profiles for food, pharmaceutical, biotechnological and medicinal applications.Front Pharmacol. 2020;11:01021. doi:10.3389/fphar.2020.01021Fernández-Lázaro D, Mielgo-Ayuso J, Córdova Martínez A, Seco-Calvo J.Iron and physical activity: bioavailability enhancers, properties of black pepper (Bioperine) and potential applications.Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1886. doi:10.3390/nu12061886Haq IU, Imran M, Nadeem M, Tufail T, Gondal TA, Mubarak MS.Piperine: a review of its biological effects.Phytother Res. 2021;35(2):680-700. doi:10.1002/ptr.6855Stohs SJ, Chen O, Ray SD, Ji J, Bucci LR, Preuss HG.Highly bioavailable forms of curcumin and promising avenues for curcumin-based research and application: a review.Molecules. 2020;25(6):1397. doi:10.3390/molecules25061397Verma RK, Kumari P, Maurya RK, Kumar V, Verma RB, Singh RK.Medicinal properties of turmeric (Curcuma longaL.): a review.Int J Chem Stud. 2018;6(4):1354-1357.Lu QY, Rasmussen AM, Yang J, et al.Mixed spices at culinary doses have prebiotic effects in healthy adults: a pilot study.Nutrients. 2019;11(6):1425. doi:10.3390/nu11061425

Fernández-Lázaro D, Mielgo-Ayuso J, Córdova Martínez A, Seco-Calvo J.Iron and physical activity: bioavailability enhancers, properties of black pepper (Bioperine) and potential applications.Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1886. doi:10.3390/nu12061886

Haq IU, Imran M, Nadeem M, Tufail T, Gondal TA, Mubarak MS.Piperine: a review of its biological effects.Phytother Res. 2021;35(2):680-700. doi:10.1002/ptr.6855

Stohs SJ, Chen O, Ray SD, Ji J, Bucci LR, Preuss HG.Highly bioavailable forms of curcumin and promising avenues for curcumin-based research and application: a review.Molecules. 2020;25(6):1397. doi:10.3390/molecules25061397

Verma RK, Kumari P, Maurya RK, Kumar V, Verma RB, Singh RK.Medicinal properties of turmeric (Curcuma longaL.): a review.Int J Chem Stud. 2018;6(4):1354-1357.

Lu QY, Rasmussen AM, Yang J, et al.Mixed spices at culinary doses have prebiotic effects in healthy adults: a pilot study.Nutrients. 2019;11(6):1425. doi:10.3390/nu11061425

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Key Takeaways#

Should You Always Eat Turmeric and Black Pepper Together?#

Turmeric Might Also Affect the Gut Microbiome#

What This Means For You#

Key Takeaways

Should You Always Eat Turmeric and Black Pepper Together?

Turmeric Might Also Affect the Gut Microbiome

What This Means For You