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For thousands of years, turmeric has been a staple in the diets of people living in India. The golden-yellow, mild-flavored spice is a part of seemingly every meal in the subcontinent, from tandoori chicken to curries to egg bhurji, or Indian-style scrambled eggs.

But let’s get one thing straight: Although we have nothing against amping up a rice dish with savory cumin and turmeric, what you want is not the turmeric but the active ingredient, curcumin (and more specifically, its three curcuminoids). Think of turmeric as an apple tree but curcumin as the apples. 

Here’s the science that points to positives in making curcumin part of your daily supplement regimen.