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I'd like to start incorporating tumeric in to my diet for inflammation. My husband is diametrically opposed to curries so I really don't want to make two dinners.

What's an easy/quick way to take it besides just taking a big awful dry spoonful or in water?

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i honestly add it to everything, and it doesn't really change the taste as much.. just changes the color. It can be added to any sort of stir fried vegetables or rice. It is particularly good to add it to scrambled eggs since you don't even notice the color. – Payam Nov 18 2011 at 1:52
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I take supplements - Life Extension brand Super Bio-Curcumin – Paleo2.0 Nov 18 2011 at 2:13
Take after or with a fatty meal. – Daniel Kirsner Nov 18 2011 at 4:38
It's 3 bucks for 8oz of it at my local Cambodian market. As alluring as supplements sound, I figure I might as well just get used to the taste. – Aughra Nov 18 2011 at 4:54
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Place a handful of turmeric in a bath full of hot water and soak in it for an hour. Just lay back in the water and feel all of the turmeric goodness being absorbed through your skin. j/k – Matt Nov 18 2011 at 10:34
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14 Answers

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I make Turmeric Tea: boil 2 cups water, at 1t turmeric, 1t cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne pepper and a few slices of fresh ginger, let steep, strain and sweeten with raw honey. Dam good tea and it can help with inflammation and a number of other things.

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Great idea. I wonder if it would inhibit kombucha fermentation... Hmmmm. Wheels are turning. – Aughra Nov 18 2011 at 5:35
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@AshleyRoz - I also make my own kombucha - have never tried turmeric in it - I suspect it would inhibit it somewhat though as turmeric is used as an anitseptic, but hey if you have an extra scoby give it a go. – Josh M Nov 18 2011 at 14:32
I have put shredded turmeric in kombucha at the secondary fermentation stage with nonproblem. Next time I will shave it thinner to get maximum flavor extraction. – AdrianaG Nov 20 2011 at 7:41
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Tea. I've been looking into getting more turmeric into me, and I keep seeing it paired with chai/warming spices and milk/coconut milk/almond milk and ginger and honey. Makes sense - it's a bitter flavor. Perhaps we could start by just adding it to a rich chai tea?

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Turmeric doesn't really have a lot of flavor. It's usually added as much for color as for flavor. It could easily go into chili, meatloaf, chicken dishes, etc.

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Love the meatloaf idea, Kewpie. – Canis Minor Nov 18 2011 at 5:24
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Turmeric is what's for dinner here, but it's easy to spot and you won't be fooling your husband by saying you added mustard. You could add it to your own food, the same way you use seasonings like pepper. I'll put it on a green salad, or sprinkle it on top of soup or a stir fry.

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Fun fact - American-style mustard originally used turmeric to give it that yellow/orange-y color. – SlightlyReworded Nov 18 2011 at 11:22
Bright-yellow French's mustard still contains turmeric - although probably not nearly enough to be an anti-inflammatory. – Annika Nov 18 2011 at 17:02
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Turmeric does have flavor if you use a teaspoon or more. It has a powdery taste and is quite obnoxious to me. When we make curry, the turmeric ends up getting cooked in the oil for a little bit. This dulls that odd flavor. I'm not sure if this removes the good properties from Turmeric, although I have heard that frying it in oil brings out the nutrients more, not sure which is true. Indians have been doing it that way for ages, so that's how I do it too!

I say just add a pinch to just about everything. It adds a lovely sunshine color!

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We toss vege in it with other spices and roast. I supplement it as well. – Jo T Nov 18 2011 at 13:55
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Turmeric has a strong Ginger like flavor. If you use ginger anywhere, you can sub a little Turmeric for it. Thinly cut Raw turmeric root soaked in lemon juice can be stored like pickle and had as a condiment. Turmeric powder in any food will impart yellow color and alter the taste a little, Go for the capsules if that is not to your liking.

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Interesting. I didn't know it was easily found raw. I'm going to look in to it. Might try lacto-fermenting it instead of using lemon juice. It might taste good with my gingered carrots from the nourishing traditions book. – Aughra Nov 18 2011 at 4:56
I don't taste strong flavor from the stuff I've bought here in flyover land. Maybe it came on the slow boat from India? I dunno. But it always tastes mild to me. – Huey Nov 18 2011 at 16:43
Check out your local asian grocery stores for some fresh turmeric root. You can even dehydrate it and powder it yourself. – Resurgent Nov 18 2011 at 17:57
I agree with te raw, it tastes gingery and looks like carrot; your husband wouldn't even know it was there. I grate some into my kombucha. – AdrianaG Nov 19 2011 at 15:25
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I was going to suggest a new husband over taking turmeric straight from the spoon, if those are your choices, but that might not go over if you're fond of the man.

Kewpie's idea of burying it in meatloaf is probably the best compromise.

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I get capsules/supplement form from Vitacost.com. They have a house brand that seems great. I know pill-popping is frowned up, but whatever. It's how I get mine!

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How much would you need to eat? I was under the impression you needed a fairly high dose of curcumin for it to be effective.

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Apparently the amount that would go in to a curry is found to be effective as well. That said, I'm planning on taking about a tsp a day. – Aughra Nov 18 2011 at 17:47
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Eat it with black pepper to increase bioavailability.

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Buy empty capsules and fill them with turmeric. It's really easy. This is really the only viable solution (for me, anyways) considering turmeric tastes like crap. You can buy a big bag of it at an Indian grocery store for only a few dollars.

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How do you fill the tablets without making a mess? – AdrianaG Nov 19 2011 at 15:10
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You can use a capsule filler, I use one similar to this for cinnamon. cap-m-quik.com – Glass Dragonfly Nov 19 2011 at 16:39
Glass, that is totally awesome. – Bill1102inf Jan 2 2012 at 22:43
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I used to put it in my chocolate milk. The flavors are very compatible, but you need to keep stirring between gulps because it doesn't stay on suspension.

I have done it recently with coconut cream based chocolate, and it tastes great again, but no constant stirring it needed.

For a while I just made a paste with olive oil and ate it that way. I'd get the capsule medicine, but it's too pricey.

The best idea for convenience on the cheap is to buy raw turmeric root, and just cut pill-size pieces off of it. But it goes moldy in the fridge. I didn't try freezing it, maybe next time.

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I've struggled with turmeric because I don't like the taste very much. I like Mark Sisson's creamy turmeric tea but I don't want to drink coconut milk too often, and it doesn't taste good to me with just water.

I just tried some in my beef stock and it's really good to me. So that's another way to try it, if you regularly drink bone broth.

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Yeah, I just started adding it to curry seasoning (which I know already has some in it) and putting it in a mug of stock. It's a nice hot beverage. – Aughra Jan 3 2012 at 3:11
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I add curry to dressing for salad with olive oil or add to Already prepared dressing

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