I looked up reviews on Amazon, and for different products the average rating is still low, like 3. The equity curve of the reviews isn't pretty either. The minimum complaint is that you have to take 8+ pills to get an effective dosage, the maximum one is that it contains titanium dioxide, which is a whiter used in paint.
I don't take ursolic pills myself. I use the topical version which is superior in every way. http://prototypenutrition.com/products/ur-spray.html
Not fat, but piperine. (black pepper) "In the U.S. piperine is sold under the trademark Bioperine®. Piperine is a pungent substance found in plants of the Piperaceae family – including Piper nigrum (black pepper) and Piper longum (long pepper). These peppers have been used in Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of various diseases and discomforts."
https://foodpharmacy.blog/2017/03/3-tricks-to-enhance-turmeric-absorption-and-boost-its-benefits/ Looks like pepper is the clearest way to go.
I am a big fan of quality organic turmeric(not the standardized curcumin supplements). I take about 5-6g daily(am and pm) with black pepper and fat and it has made a noticeable impact on preventing inflammation of any kind.
Tumeric/curcumin is good stuff for sure. For everything from arthritis to alz to colon cancer and on and on and on. It's like green tea ecgc. Can't go wrong. On the other hand the jury is still out for me on the ursolic acid. For a while I got captivated by the antic cancer studies, the muscle mass preservation, and the basic desire of most men to not have prostate cancer. So it all looked good. But holding on to your brain is also a good thing and I bumped into some nasty studies about UA doing mitochondrial damage that requires some thinking, also there seems to be a problem with accelerated plaque formation. Could also be a dosing issue where more information/studies are needed. Just sayin. It all looked good but I am in a "more thinking required" frame of mind on UA. As a side comment, I was into the curcumin everyday/more the merrier mode for a long time because I like almost everything about it. But if you look at some studies, there is an optimal range there so I take it more like twice a week rather than every day now to bring me more into line with the research rather than what I want. I think that also helps a bit with the black pepper/piperine issue too. You know it works and helps with the absorption by disabling one of the digestive enzymes or something like that and some researchers/commentators recommend cycling it because it is needed for other mechanisms in the body. So only taking your curcumin supplement a couple times a week would help with that. I think the curcumin has a long half life anyway, it more or less stains your brain cells for a while which is one of the reasons why it helps with the plaque formation. Of course that chicken and shrimp curry I have on the days when I am not taking the supplement probably counters my plan to skip a couple days, but what the hey. The Asian Indians have it every day, some of them anyway, and their alz is low but on the other hand when it is just used as a spice without concentrated curcuminoids and piperine as in a supplement the intake might be lower. Anyway, the ursolic acid is a mixed bag in my mind right now. Prostates are good things to hold on to, but so are your mitochondria. I reserve the right to change my mind with new information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21703625
Indeed. A lot of supplements, you take them and who knows whether they help or not. But I have a little bit of arthritis in just one of my fingers and it is almost like a inflammation-monitor. If I take something anti-inflammatory curcumin/turmeric I can feel how it increases mobility a bit. There was a series a studies a long while back about how curcumin is as effective as prescription Non Steroidal AntiInflmmatories and then another study that came out saying that was a crock so I don't know what the consensus is these days. I am in the "it's for real" camp.