Eating curries allows you to consume both curcumin and cumin at the same time. Although cumin and curcumin sound very similar, they are not the same. Curcumin is the active ingredient of the spice turmeric, which is found in curry powder along with the spice cumin. Curcumin appears to have more beneficial health effects than cumin, although both may be healthful additions to your diet, as they are generally considered safe and have few documented side effects.