what is the diff between turmeric pills and curcumin pills which is better?

Answer 1

Curcumin and turmeric are used interchangably in terms of investigating anti-tumor activity and other medical studies.

Turmeric is showing some early efficacy in the treatment of some types of cancer. However, research continues and no one knows the correct amount or dosage needed, nor can anyone tell you exactly which type of cancer it might benefit the most. There have also been some indications that tumeric at high dosages cause allergic reactions and nausea in some people. Cancer patients should always check with their doctor to make sure there is no interaction or inteference with chemotherapy or other treatments.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Turmeric
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/turmeric/

You can research the studies being done on Turmeric at the National Library of Medicine. Type turmeric into the search bar:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

Answer 2

There's probably little or no difference.

Turmeric or Haldi is a yellow colored root used in India as a spice, for it's color, for religious purposes and for health reasons. It's usually ground into a powder, but sometimes the whole root is used in food or for wedding rituals. (The bride has a haldi root tied on a string around her neck in some Hindu weddings--more in South India than in the North as far as I know).

Curcumin is the name of the active chemical ingredient in Turmeric.

If the product is called "curcumin" it may imply that it was somehow extracted from the turmeric in a more pure form.
However, I think it's more likely it's just powdered tumeric.