Formulating Foods and Beverages with Curcumin

Curcumin travelled from ancient Ayurvedic medicine to cereals and teas in modern supermarkets, but poor dosing and bioavailability can limit health benefits from contemporary food and beverages. Although a popular ingredient in Eastern medicine and, more recently, in products sold in the United States, turmeric (and therefore curcumin) has only been approved by FDA as a food colorant and is not recognized for its medicinal properties. Therefore, turmeric should be listed as a coloring agent and not a functional ingredient, which seems like a bit of a grey area considering the many functional products using turmeric on the market…