The Most Effective Turmeric Supplements In 2021

Discover which turmeric supplements are worth buying, and which ones to watch out for.

Linda is our resident health and nutrition expert who recently retired from a 14-year career in biomedical sciences to pursue writing and researching natural health and wellness. In her free time, Linda enjoys spending time with her community gardening club and harvesting her own vegetables and flowers.

Turmeric may be better known for its unique flavour and colouring, however, in many countries around the world, it’s also praised for its miraculous healing properties1. In recent years, scientists have conducted extensive studies shed light on how we can use turmeric to treat various health conditions and answer the question healthcare professionals have been asking themselves for centuries: “does it work?”

What is Turmeric Curcumin?

Turmeric is a plant that typically grows in Southeast Asia. The root of the plant is often used as a cooking spice and a highly effective natural remedy for numerous ailments. Turmeric has been used to treat skin disorders, painful joints and respiratory conditions in India for centuries2. Today, it is commonly used as a dietary supplement to remedy arthritis, liver disease, digestive issues, and more3. The best way to make sure you’re getting adequate daily doses of Turmeric is by taking a quality supplement.

Studies have shown that the main active ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, is an effective natural treatment for various health issues, including joint pain, arthritis, inflammation, Alzheimer’s and heart disease4. Adding turmeric to your daily diet in the form of a supplement can also help to alleviate nausea, headaches and poor digestion5. However, despite the many advantages of taking turmeric supplements, it’s important to know that they’re not all created equal. In order to reap the benefits of this miracle spice, you need to choose the right supplement.

Choosing the right supplement

When it comes to choosing dietary supplements, many of us are tempted to reach for the cheapest option on the shelf. Yet, there’s a reason some are more expensive than others.

Often, higher quality products are also accompanied by a slightly higher price tag. Although this means you’re spending a bit more, it also means you’ll see more results and fully reap the benefits of the supplements you are taking. Read below to see our roundup of the 5 best turmeric curcumin supplements on the market.

Benefits Of Turmeric Curcumin

  • Relieves joint pain and aids mobility
  • Helps to fight chronic illnesses, such as arthritis, fibromyalgia and tendonitis
  • Enhances immune health
  • Improves the body’s inflammatory response
  • Lowers the risk of brain and heart disease
  • Increases the body’s antioxidant capacity6

Turmeric curcumin’s popularity has surged in the health and wellness world. There are so many different supplements to choose from, which can make it hard to differentiate the good ones from the bad ones. This is why we’ve rounded up the best turmeric products on the market. Keep reading to see the top 5 turmeric curcumin supplements that you should buy.

What should I look for?

Considering all of the attributes listed above, we’ve compiled a list of the three essential criteria you should look for when choosing your turmeric curcumin supplement.

One of the most important things to look out for when choosing a supplement is that it’s recommended by healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals are more likely to align themselves with products that are made with high-quality ingredients that truly work.
It’s crucial that the supplement you buy has piperine in it’s ingredients list. Perine is a bioactive compound that is found in black pepper7. On its own, turmeric curcumin is not easily absorbed by the body. However, adding piperine helps to enhance absorption of turmeric by up to 2,000% percent, so you can take advantage of all the wellness benefits that turmeric supplements have to offer8.
It goes without saying, but it’s essential that the supplement you take is produced using high-quality, natural ingredients. Make sure that the supplement you buy doesn’t have any additives or additional unnecessary ingredients.
When buying your turmeric curcumin supplement, you need to ensure that the turmeric and piperine are delivered in potent doses. Look for supplements with around 400-500mg of Turmeric Extract9, and 20mg of black pepper extract or BioPerine.
Make sure that the product you buy has a clear money-back guarantee on all product purchases. This is a tell-tale sign that a company knows they’re selling you a great product, so they aren’t afraid to offer you a sort of “insurance” on it.

What should I avoid?

Poor quality ingredients and low potency

In order to see the wellness results you’re looking for with turmeric, it’s essential to choose a supplement that uses great ingredients in potent doses. Avoid any supplements with less than 400mg of turmeric extract10, with 95% curcuminoids and 20mg of black pepper or BioPerine11 per serving. Also, watch out for supplements that add unnecessary ingredients or synthetic additives.

Beware of online reviews (especially on Amazon)

Before purchasing any product, one of the first things we do when researching it is check its online reviews. Unfortunately, these are not always a trustworthy way to measure the quality and effectiveness of a product. Companies often pay for reviews on popular online retailers, like Amazon, to try and trick their way to a five star rating. While you should definitely consult these reviews before purchasing, do your own research as well.

Look for turmeric extract, not organic turmeric

When you buy your turmeric supplement, look for products that use turmeric extract instead of organic turmeric. While turmeric extract might be a bit more expensive, it is also much more potent, and therefore, you’ll feel the results much more quickly. For example, 500mg of turmeric extract is equivalent to 25,000mg of organic turmeric.

How we evaluated the top 5

In recent years, turmeric has become one of the most popular natural supplements on the market. There are so many brands producing the supplement, and while this means you have many to choose from, it also makes it more difficult to differentiate between the quality supplements and the poor quality ones that won’t give you any benefits. So, we’ve made it easy for you.

We searched the internet for the very best turmeric curcumin supplements available on the market today and rounded them up for you in our top 5 list.

9.7 / 10 803 Votes TOTAL RANKING

A+

Overall Grade
INGREDIENT SAFETY
100%
PROJECTED EFFECTIVENESS
97%
VALUE
93%
RETURN POLICY
98%
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
98%

10

/10

9.7

/10

9.3

/10

9.8

/10

9.5

/10

PROS

  • Includes 500mg of turmeric extract (equivalent to 25,000 mg of turmeric), with 95% curcuminoids and 20mg of black pepper for optimal absorption.
  • Does not have any synthetic or unnecessary additives.
  • Comes in 100% recyclable packaging.
  • Vegan-friendly.
  • Money-back guarantee.
  • Recommended by healthcare professionals.
  • Product is reasonably priced.
  • Made in Australia.

CONS

  • Only available online

  • Express delivery is only available in Australia.

The Bottom Line

BetterJoints turmeric supplement delivered the best results by far. As opposed to many other brands, BetterJoints turmeric supplement is made with pure turmeric extract and a much higher potency of curcuminoids. The 500mg of turmeric extract in each capsule is equivalent to 25,000mg of organic turmeric, which makes it a much stronger product than comparable ones on the market. Moreover, they have included an optimal dose of black pepper extract in each capsule to ensure proper absorption of the turmeric in the bloodstream12.

The capsules are made of Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, which makes them suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Also, there are absolutely no unnecessary ingredients in their supplements. You know you’re getting simple, all natural ingredients, which is what you want in your turmeric supplement.

BetterJoints also offers a 60-day money-back guarantee on all purchases, which makes us believe that customer satisfaction ranks high on their list of priorities as a brand.

All in all, BetterJoints seems to have the highest quality ingredients list of all the supplements we came across in our research. The less unnecessary ingredients, the better.

2. Nature's Bounty Turmeric Pills

8.9 /10 285 Votes TOTAL RANKING

B

Overall Grade
INGREDIENT SAFETY
91%
PROJECTED EFFECTIVENESS
87%
VALUE
90%
RETURN POLICY
78%
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
90%

9.1

/10

8.7

/10

9.0

/10

7.8

/10

9.0

/10

PROS

  • Contains turmeric extract
  • 100% pure and natural ingredients
  • Vegan-friendly

CONS

  • Only 100g of turmeric extract (we recommend 500mg)
  • Not made in Australia

The Bottom Line

Nature's Bounty product is a reasonable turmeric supplement that includes black pepper, which is a definite plus. However, the product is using only 100mg of turmeric extract, which makes its formula five times less potent than the top supplement included on this list. In addition, it is not made in Australia but rather in the USA.

Companies often produce supplements outside of Australia due to the TGA having strict requirements which they are unwilling to meet. This is a big red flag in our eyes.

3. Natures Nutrition Turmeric Curcumin

8.5 /10 250 Votes TOTAL RANKING

B

Overall Grade
INGREDIENT SAFETY
90%
PROJECTED EFFECTIVENESS
85%
VALUE
83%
RETURN POLICY
78%
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
87%

9.0

/10

8.5

/10

8.3

/10

7.8

/10

8.7

/10

PROS

  • Vegan-friendly
  • Capsules include black pepper
  • Inexpensive

CONS

  • Claims "1950mg" but is mainly standard turmeric not extract
  • Not made in Australia
  • Contains only 150mg of curcuminoids
  • No money-back guarantee

The Bottom Line

Natures Nutrition offers an okay turmeric product at a very inexpensive price. They are a very popular brand, however we feel they rely solely on their reputation rather than their actual product. Their formulation includes black pepper to ensure that the turmeric is properly absorbed by the body.

Nevertheless, Natures Nutrition uses primarily weak organic turmeric instead of turmeric extract (of which they only have 150mg), which makes their product less expensive, but also less effective. Due to this, their capsules do not contain an optimal amount of curcuminoids.

Natures Nutrition offers a cheap product. However, it’s probably not the strongest of turmeric supplements available on the market.

4. NATURELO Organic Turmeric Curcumin

8.4 /10 262 Votes TOTAL RANKING

B-

Overall Grade
INGREDIENT SAFETY
90%
PROJECTED EFFECTIVENESS
82%
VALUE
82%
RETURN POLICY
78%
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
95%

9.0

/10

8.2

/10

8.2

/10

7.8

/10

8.5

/10

PROS

  • Includes black pepper and ginger
  • No synthetic fillers or binders
  • GMO-free & vegan-friendly

CONS

  • Not made in Australia
  • Not enough turmeric extract
  • Have to take 3 capsules daily
  • No money-back guarantee

The Bottom Line

NATURELO offers a supplement with a great list of ingredients, including ginger and black pepper. The brand has also made sure that all of their ingredients are certified organic, gmo-free and vegan and vegetarian friendly. Moreover, their supplements are reasonably priced.

The downfall of the product is in amount of the turmeric that is used. Because NATURELO uses mainly organic turmeric instead of turmeric extract (they include a little), their supplements don't actually contain many curcuminoids in each capsule. This makes its formulation much less potent than other brands’.

Their product is also made in the United States. When brands selling in Australia do this, it's ussually because they don't want to meet the strict TGA guidelines that Australia imposes, and so we see this as suspicious.

5. Nuvothera Super Micronized Turmeric Curcumin

7.9 /10 204 Votes TOTAL RANKING

C

Overall Grade
INGREDIENT SAFETY
79%
PROJECTED EFFECTIVENESS
70%
VALUE
76%
RETURN POLICY
78%
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
70%

7.9

/10

7.0

/10

7.6

/10

7.8

/10

7.0

/10

PROS

  • Free delivery
  • No artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners
  • No preservatives
  • Vegan-friendly

CONS

  • Expensive
  • Made with very weak turmeric extract
  • Only contains 25mg curcumin in each capsule
  • No black pepper

The Bottom Line

Nuvothera's turmeric product unfortunately falls short compared to other brands listed above. Firstly, their supplement does not contain any black pepper. This means that the curcumin will not be absorbed properly in your bloodstream13. In addition, the formulation is lacking potency. They try to "trick" you by stating they use turmeric extract, but if you dive into the details they only actually provide 25mg of curcumin. This means they are using a very weak extract.

Given that the product is more expensive than most turmeric supplements, we would expect that they would have used a stronger turmeric extract and included black pepper in their list of ingredients to justify the higher price tag.

Final Thoughts

The Bottom Line

From improving immunity to alleviating joint pain, turmeric curcumin has quickly become one of the most popular natural supplements due to its many health benefits. While the advantages of adding a turmeric supplement to your daily wellness routine are endless, finding the right product can be challenging.

After researching numerous brands’ turmeric products and evaluating their ingredients, customer service and reputability, it’s clear that Better Joints Turmeric Curcumin is the best turmeric supplement on the market.

Better Joints have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Click Here To Get Better Joints

CITATIONS

1. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/turmeric-and-black-pepper

2. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/turmeric

3. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/turmeric

4. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/turmeric-and-black-pepper

5. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/turmeric

6. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-turmeric

7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9619120/

8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9619120/

9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5003001/

10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5664031/

11. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/turmeric-and-black-pepper

12. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9619120/

13. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9619120/

14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5003001/