The Fresh Versus Powdered Bioavailability Debate: Turmeric, Ginger and Garlic

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” -Hippocrates

Examining the role processed foods play in adverse health outcomes is not new. In 2020, with the publication of several papers reinforcing the link, including a systematic review of epidemiological studies that appeared in Nutrition Journal, concern began to spread to the mainstream. This “fresh is best” way of thinking may turn people away from using dried ginger, turmeric, and garlic because they have come to believe that fresh is the “only way to go.”

Powdered forms are the easiest and cheapest ways to purchase, store and use these foods as medicine, but at what cost? Could they be a more effective and convenient way to reinforce our diets?

Unlocking the Benefit: Is Bioavailability the Key?

What is the role of bioavailability? Is it critical to determining the effectiveness, safety, and health impact of drugs and nutrients? Will enhancing bioavailability improve therapeutic outcomes? What are the health benefits, and how efficient are various medical and nutritional interventions?

Bioavailability is key to the efficiency with which the beneficial ingredients of foods and medical treatment are made available to humans. So how does this translate into using garlic, ginger, and turmeric as medicine, and how does choosing the powdered form affect our ability to access the good stuff?

Ginger, Turmeric, and Bioavailability

While the highest bioavailability of theraputic elements occurs in the horizontal underground stems of fresh turmeric and ginger (called rhizomes), the bioavailability of theraputic elements for humans is higher in powdered rhizomes. Additionally, studies show higher total phenolic compounds, which protect the health of the plant, and more potent antioxidant activity in powdered, not fresh, rhizomes.

The significant health-related components of dried ginger are diarylheptanoids, which were found to be present only in very low concentrations in fresh ginger. They are known to be the ingredient that gives ginger (and its related rhizome, turmeric) its beneficial potential for anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, cytotoxic, immunomodulatory, antibacterial, anti-asthmatic properties as well as its ability to promote the proliferation muscle cells. Chemical analysis of dried versus fresh ginger concludes that the percentage of volatile components in fresh ginger depends on the conditions in which it was grown. Dried ginger contained 15 diarylheptanoids in addition to fresh ginger’s composition.

In turmeric, not only was the dried rhizome found to generate higher peak concentration in the blood than fresh, but isolated curcumin—a component of turmeric known to have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, antioxidant, wound-healing, and antimicrobial properties—was shown to produce the lowest health-promoting results. This finding is significant in light of the proliferation of isolated curcumin products, which are marketed as a superior way to gain the medicinal benefits of turmeric.

It’s clear that using the convenient and economical powdered turmeric and ginger is the way to maximum bioavailability. Not only do human utilize them more efficiently but they are also far more convenient and easier to measure and store.

There are other factors. The overall structure of the food and how the herbs are combined can affect its overall efficacy. Powdered turmeric and ginger in meals consistently show more benefit than isolated supplements. For example, curcumin bioavailability was up to 44 times higher in meals containing the equivalent Turmeric than in curcumin powder.

What About Garlic?

Garlic contains high levels of phosphorus, zinc, potassium, sulphur, and, most importantly, sulphur-containing compounds, of which Allicin receives the most attention for its therapeutic properties.

Allicin Wonderland – Garlic and Bioavailability

Allicin is widely believed to lower elevated lipid (fat) levels in the blood and is credited with other health benefits as well. Garlic has been consumed by humans for at least 5000 years , and in modern times It has been shown in many studies to have properties that help to prevent against cancer, cardio and metabolic disorders, high blood pressure , skin diseases, bone diseases, and diabetes. Its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and lipid-lowering properties are now widely accepted, so the question is whether the powdered form produce the same health benefits as fresh?

In Supplement Form

Studies reveal that dried garlic retains 36 to 104 percent of its health-producing compounds, including allicin, when consumed in the form of enteric capsules. Non-enteric (uncoated) tablets have produced better results.

As a Food

Garlic is generally used to enhance the flavor of another food, often a protein. But protein slows down the absorption of garlic’s benefits in any form because it is slow to leave the stomach (which is why eaig protein keeps you feeling full longer). And this effect is particularly prominent in women.

The bioavailability of the beneficial components of garlic is reduced when its cooked or processed for cooking, and studies show that the loss rates are considerable; boiled (84 percent), roasted (70 percent), pickled (81 percent) and minced with an acid such as lemon (34 percent) compared to raw, fresh garlic.

However, crushing garlic has been shown to minimise this loss if the garlic is cooked for less than 3 minutes, and Increasing the amount used can compensate for this loss. On the other hand, the degree of loss may be compounded by using a microwave as well as by extreme and prolonged heating, especially more than six minutes. It follows, therefore, that stir-frying garlic or adding it towards the end of cooking is the best way to preserve maximum benefits.

Smell? What Smell?

Because allicin is a sulphur-based compound, t’s not surprising thatwe (and others in our vicinity) notice garlic odors on our breath and from our pores.

Cooking is the most common and effective way to combat these effects, but, as we’ve said, that also negates most of its benefits. Consuming garlic tablets may also affect our breath and pores.

Mercaptan, a naturally occurring sulphur compound known to reduce the odor of garlic, is found in foods including citrus (especially grapefruit), radishes, onions, asparagus, and some rare nuts and cheeses. However, these options may not fit into many recipes, and using trial and error to see how your body reacts is also recommended.

Conclusion

Garlic, turmeric, and ginger are formidable foods that benefit our health in established and emerging ways. Research has clearly shown that consuming powdered turmeric and ginger is not only more convenient and economical but also a more effective way to enjoy their benefits. In the case of garlic, chopped fresh and eaten as raw as possible is best. Tablets, especially uncoated, are effective but yield their own odor consequence. To counteract that effect. Try some of the countermeasures suggested above.

Peer Reviewed Articles

Ginger and Turmeric

Consumption of ultra-processed foods and health outcomes: a systematic review of epidemiological studies.  (Nutrition Journal – August, 2020)

The Bioavailability of Drugs ”The Current State of Knowledge”  (Molecules – 2023)

The Chemical Signatures of Water Extract of Zingiber officinale Rosc. (Molecules – Nov, 2022)

In vitro biological evaluation and silico studies of linear diarylheptanoids from Curcuma aromatic Salisb. as urease inhibitors (RSC Medicinal Chemistry – 2024)

Structural differences in diarylheptanoids analogues from Alnus viridis and Alnus glutinosa influence their activity and selectivity towards cancer cells (Chemico-Biological Interactions – April, 2016)

Diarylheptanoids from Alnus nepalensis attenuate LPS-induced inflammation in macrophages and endotoxic shock in mice. (International Immunopharmacology – Jan, 2016) .

Tackling multiple antibiotic resistance in enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) clinical isolates: a diarylheptanoid from Alpinia officinarum shows promising antibacterial and immunomodulatory activity against EPEC and its lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation (International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents – March, 2009)

Discovery of diarylheptanoids that activate Î±7 nAchR-JAK2-STAT3 signalling in macrophages with anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and in vivo (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry – May, 2022)

Discovery of Î²2- adrenoceptor agonists in Curcuma zedoaria Rosc using label-free cell phenotypic assay combined with two-dimensional liquid chromatography (Journal of Chromatography – Nov, 2018)

Diarylheptanoids/sorafenib as a potential anti-cancer combination against hepatocellular carcinoma: the p53/MMP9 axis of action. (Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology – May, 2023)