A wide variety of studies have shown that curcumin – the bioactive compound found in turmeric – has amazing health benefits. It may reduce the risk of heart attack, delay the onset of diabetes, reduce arthritis pain, and even help prevent and fight cancer.

But taking a daily dose of curcumin alone isn’t particularly effective at achieving any of these benefits. The way that curcumin is composed, our bodies are simply no good at absorbing it, and the little that we do absorb, we aren’t able to make use of. The term for this is low bioavailability. Ingested on its own, curcumin will pass right through our bodies.

But scientists have discovered a natural remedy for this problem of low curcumin absorbency, a remedy that ancient cultures have been using for thousands of years – black pepper.

In turmeric, the compound of curcumin is only about 5% of the whole spice. In black pepper, there is a different compound at work that also comprises about 5% of the spice by weight – piperine. Piperine is the compound that gives black pepper its potency. It is also a natural inhibitor of drug metabolism.

Let’s break this down a little further. When you ingest curcumin, your liver tags it as a useless foreign substance, makes it water soluble, and causes you to excrete it through your urine. The piperine found in black pepper inhibits this process. It tells the liver to skip over curcumin, allowing the compound to be absorbed into your blood stream.

One study from 1998 took a look at exactly how effective piperine is at boosting curcumin absorption in both animals and humans. When healthy people were given two grams of curcumin alone, the level found in their blood an hour later was either undectable or very low. When the same people were given two grams of curcumin with 20 milligrams of piperine, the bioavailability of the curcumin went up 2,000%.

The study concluded that adding piperine boosted the concentration, extent of absorption, and bioavailability of curcumin in both rats and humans with no adverse effects.

Clearly, curcumin and black pepper make a great team, which is why we include a combination of curcumin and piperine in ZYN. Specifically, we use BioPerine, a trusted piperine supplement. By bringing together curcumin, BioPerine, and wonderful natural flavors, ZYN makes it easy and refreshing to enjoy the many benefits of curcumin every day.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.