For optimal absorption and health benefits, take turmeric supplements with meals, especially those containing fats. Splitting your doses throughout the day can help minimize side effects like nausea or stomach discomfort.

The Ideal Time of Day for Turmeric

The key difference when it comes to optimizing turmeric’s potential health benefits and side effects is related to the timing of turmeric in relation to your meals, rather than the time of day.

If you’re considering taking turmeric supplements or adding it to your tea or food, the time of day isn’t crucial. Researchers haven’t found notable differences in the effects of taking turmeric in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

Taking Turmeric in the Morning

Taking turmeric in the morning could be convenient if you use it as a supplement.

Side effects like stomachaches or loose stools might be reduced if you take turmeric in divided doses, such as morning and evening. Taking it with food or when you’re active can also make side effects less noticeable.

Dinnertime May Be the Optimal Time

You could consider adding turmeric to meals during dinner time, particularly because dinner meals tend to be more likely to include some fatty foods and are usually bigger meals that will trigger an acidic environment in your digestive system.

What About Taking It at Night?

There are pros and cons to taking turmeric at night. You could try it, and see how it affects you to take it at different times of the day, including at night.

Turmeric might aid relaxation and sleep, making it a helpful nighttime supplement. Herbal teas with turmeric, ginger, chamomile, or lavender can also help you relax before bed.

If turmeric causes stomach issues or bowel movements, you might avoid taking it at night. These effects could disrupt your sleep.

How Food Can Boost Turmeric’s Effectiveness  

Overall, turmeric is more easily absorbed when it’s taken with food, especially with meals high in fat.

Turmeric is absorbed better with food for a few reasons:

• It’s not stable in a high pH (alkaline) environment. Eating releases low pH (acidic) enzymes that stabilize and improve the accessibility of turmeric for your body.
• It doesn’t dissolve well in water but mixes easily with lipids (fats), making it more absorbable with fat. This is why consuming turmeric with meals that have fat content can help your body absorb it.

Timing Turmeric Supplements

The recommendation on the supplement label is an important factor in deciding how you are going to take a supplement and what time you’re going to take it.

Different formulas of turmeric can have different bioavailability, which is a characteristic that defines how easily your body can absorb and use the supplement.

• Pills and tablets are the most common form of turmeric supplements because they’re practical and easy to take.
• Different oral supplements might vary in how well your body absorbs them (e.g., coated tablets can take longer for your body to absorb than uncoated tablets) and may have specific instructions.
• Some supplements combine turmeric with other ingredients, like ginger, which can affect when to take them.
• Injected forms of turmeric supplements are not highly bioavailable.

Always follow the bottle’s instructions for the best results.

What Are the Side Effects? 

Overall, turmeric is not considered harmful for most people when consumed in food and most supplements. However, it can cause some side effects, even if you don’t have any underlying medical conditions or contraindications.

Side effects of turmeric may include:

• Allergic reactions
• Diarrhea
• Kidney or liver damage, rarely
• Nausea
• Stomachaches

Is Turmeric Safe for Everyone?  

Turmeric is not necessarily safe for everyone. This supplement can have side effects, especially for people who have certain conditions.

Avoid turmeric if you have any of the following contraindications:

• If you are pregnant
• If you are breastfeeding or chestfeeding
• If you have had any allergic reactions to turmeric

Additionally, if you already experience loose stools or stomachaches, be mindful of this potential side effect.

Finding Your Optimal Turmeric Routine

You might consider the following when deciding when to take turmeric:

• Best with food
• Best with meals that have some fat (such as oil, meat, cheese)
• Practicality and convenience
• When the beneficial effects are most noticeable for you
• If you have more side effects at certain times

Easy Ways to Incorporate Turmeric into Your Diet

If you’re interested in trying turmeric for health reasons, and you don’t want to use it as a packaged supplement, you can add turmeric to your diet in various ways.

Tips for adding turmeric to your diet include:

• Use turmeric in hot or cold tea
• Include turmeric in drinks
• Add turmeric as an ingredient in salad dressing or sauce
• Dash turmeric as a seasoning for vegetables, noodles, tofu, seafood, or meat
• Introduce turmeric to balance out the flavors of a dessert

Turmeric gives an attractive color to food, and it also adds a delicate flavor. Consider trying different recipes, depending on your preferences, and how much you like to experiment with different ingredients and with cooking.