The Need for Daily Detoxing

I confess, that since the devastating fires here in Sonoma County, and the noxious smoke that blanketed the entire Bay Area, I’ve been utterly obsessed with detox.

Here in the Bay Area (and beyond), noxious, throat-burning smoke darkened skies for days and weeks.

Few people – if any – could escape it completely.

And not just here – across the entire Western landscape from British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Arizona, Texas, wildfire smoke was pervasive. And the smoke plumes traveled deeply into the Midwest and as far east as Newfoundland.

These plumes carried a witch’s brew of heavy metals, organic pollutants such as dioxins, and other toxic byproducts of burning materials. While the smoke can never be fully analyzed due to the scope and scale of the wildfires, we do know that it carries potent carcinogens and neurotoxins.

And even if you weren’t affected by wildfire smoke, read on, as this is very important for EVERYBODY, every single day.

We all have what’s called “body burden.”

Body burden is the amount of toxins we carry in our tissues and organs. Research shows that even new-born babies have over 250 environmental toxins in their tissues.

While the immediate effects of the smoke have faded – like the burning eyes, scratchy throat and hoarseness – it’s likely that many millions of us have increased levels of toxins now.

You likely don’t even feel an increasing body burden. Toxins build up silently in your tissues, growing heavier with each season.

Even though your body has exquisitely designed systems to protect you and get rid of toxins, those detox systems can get overwhelmed by the levels of modern day toxic onslaughts.

When levels of environmental toxins get too high for your body to keep up, your body accumulates these bad boys in various tissues and organs – particularly fatty tissue (like breasts!)

We all have it.

And you don’t have to be exposed to wildfire smoke to have increased toxic body burden this year. 

Sitting in traffic fumes.

Exposure to flame retardants in furniture and building materials.

Pesticides in food.

Junk in household products.

And daily exposure to the tons of other 100,000 industrial chemicals dumped into our environment, food, homes and buildings every year.

Yes, I’ve been obsessing. It’s one of the most critical issues affecting us all.

I’ve reviewed dozens of detox programs, looking at how to protect ourselves. And support our bodies to work at optimum detox levels and get rid of this stuff.

With the upcoming holidays, it’s no time to start a full-on detox and cleansing program.

But it’s a great time to start incorporating healthy habits into holiday and year-round traditions.

And I have some great tips you can use to get started on replenishing your body’s reserves of its most powerful detoxifying processes and enzymes.

I want to show you how to protect yourself and get rid of stored toxins. To better eliminate the large toxic loads we face from wildfires, traffic jams, and day-to-day living.

Here are my Top 3 Tips for Daily Detox

OK, before the tips, here’s the preamble.

REAL detox is not about juice or smoothie fasts.

In fact those practices can hurt you, as you may be robbing your body of the essential nourishment it needs to make its own most powerful protective detox substances.

Your body – particularly your liver – is constantly detoxing the onslaughts of modern life 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

And the most important substance your body makes for this 24/7 effort is the enzyme glutathione. While your liver makes the majority of glutathione, it’s also made in the lungs, intestines, kidneys, and throughout your body. 

Called “the mother of all antioxidants,” “the master detoxifier” and “maestro of the immune system,“ glutathione is essential to:

• Your ability to eliminate toxins;
• Helping your immune system fight infections;
• Repairing DNA and preventing cancer; and
• Recycling other antioxidants including vitamin C, vitamin E and alpha lipoic acid.

When you are overwhelmed with too much oxidative stress or too many toxins – such as in days and weeks of wildfire exposure – your glutathione becomes depleted. You can no longer protect yourself against free radicals and infections.

When you get a big dump of toxins – like from breathing wildfire smoke for days – your body stores toxins instead of getting rid of them. This leads to sickness and a downward health spiral. Over the long term, high toxicity and low glutathione levels are implicated in cancer, neurological damage and other chronic illnesses.

As you get older, your body makes less and less glutathione. A study showed that glutathione production drops an average of 10% per decade after age twenty in healthy adults.

So the older you are, or if you’re not in peak shape, you likely have a glutathione deficiency. It can easily be depleted. So…

#1 Tip for Daily Detox: Support your body making its own supply of glutathione with food, supplements and exercise.

Here’s how:

While there are glutathione supplements you can take, and foods you can eat that naturally contain glutathione, it’s not very effective to ingest it either way.

Because when you take glutathione orally, it lands in your stomach and is dismembered by your stomach acids.

Instead of taking glutathione, it’s better to feed your body the building blocks it needs to make its own. These building blocks are called precursors.

These foods, supplements and habits will help you improve your glutathione levels, improve your health, and optimize your performance to live a long, healthy life.

 Eat LOTS of Foods that Support Glutathione Production

 Not just a sprinkling, or once or twice a week. I’m talking about 3x PER DAY! If you really want to support detox, and do it right, eat from this list for every meal.

• Sulfur-rich brassica vegetables (arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, chard, collards, kale, watercress, etc.)
• Sulfur-rich alliums (garlic, onions, leeks, shallots, chives, etc.)
• Spices: turmeric (isn’t it good for everything?), ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, black cumin
• Herbs: parsley (fresh, not dried), sage, rosemary, thyme
• Spinach
• Beets
• Whey protein (MUST be bioactive, cold-processed, made from non-denatured proteins – provides precursor amino acids)
• Bone broth (provides precursor amino acids)
• Eggs

 Take Glutathione Supporting Supplements

You might wish you could just take glutathione as a pill… but your body will digest is as a protein – so you won’t get the benefits.

The production and recycling of glutathione in your body requires many different nutrients and you CAN take these. Here are ESSENTIAL supplements you need to take consistently to boost your levels of glutathione:

• A high-quality multivitamin that includes:
  • Vitamins C and E (in the form of mixed tocopherols)
  • Folate (B9) and vitamins B6 and B12. These are some of the most critical to keep your body producing glutathione.
  • This important mineral helps the body recycle and produce more glutathione.
  • TIP: here are two important ways to identify a truly high quality vitamin: B9 will NOT be in the form of folic acid. The highest quality B9 is the active form of 5 methyltetrahydrofolate. The B6 will be the in active form of P5P, and B12 will be in the in the active form of methylcobalamin, NOT cyanocobalamin.
• N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). This amino acid is a precursor for glutathione
• Alpha lipoic acid. This is a close second to glutathione in importance to your cells. Alpha lipoic acid is involved in energy production, blood sugar control, brain health and detoxification. Your body can make it, but given the stresses we all face, it can’t make enough.
• Milk thistle (silymarin). This has long been used for liver health and helps boost glutathione levels.
• MSM (methylsulfonylmethane). This naturally occurring compound is a donor of organic sulfur. Animal studies show that it promotes the synthesis of glutathione and upregulates glutathione enzymes in the presence of elevated oxidative stress.

Exercise Your Way to More Glutathione

Moderate exercise boosts your glutathione levels, whereas overly strenuous exercise can deplete it. Build up to 30 minutes a day of walking, movement classes or your choice of aerobic machines (bike, treadmill, stair climber, etc.). Strength training for 20 minutes 3 times a week is also helpful.

#2 Tip for Daily Detox: Avoid and minimize glutathione-depleting substances and activities.

What depletes your glutathione?

Eh, so much in everyday life. You’re constantly exposed to many toxic and harmful substances on a daily basis. You require considerable amounts of glutathione to detoxify.

These common substances and activities deplete your reserves. Avoid or minimize exposure to these whenever you can:

• Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and other pharmaceuticals;
• Acetone, solvents, paint removers
• Vehicle fuels and fumes;
• Heavy metals (dental amalgams, vaccines, many tattoo inks, large fatty fish such as tuna, etc.);
• Pesticides, herbicides (conventionally grown foods, golf courses);
• Nitrates and other synthetic food preservatives (salami, hot dogs, hams, bologna, smoked foods, etc.);
• Artificial sweetener aspartame;
• Synthetic food dyes;
• Benzopyrenes (tobacco smoke, barbequed foods, fuel exhaust, etc.);
• Alcohol;
• Household chemicals (synthetically scented and colored detergents and fabric softeners, air fresheners, mothballs, mildew removers, cleaners and bleach, lawn and plant fertilizers, etc.);
• Housewares chemicals (Teflon-style non-stick coating of pots and pans, plastic containers and linings of tin cans and other food packaging);
• Formaldehyde and styrene (photocopiers and toner printers);
• Chlorine and chloramine in treated water;
• Medical X-rays;
• UV radiation;
• Electromagnetic fields (EMF);
• Industrial pollutants.

Other factors that deplete your glutathione include:

• Poor diet – in this case glutathione has to work hard to cover for missing or insufficient antioxidants, and the lack of glutathione cofactor vitamins and minerals impairs glutathione synthesis and proper functioning;
• Overly strenuous exercise – produces a lot of free radicals within the body;
• Chronic stress, anxiety and depression;
• Light pollution which lowers glutathione levels by suppressing melatonin production at night (bedside night lights, street lights);
• Age – after the age of 20 natural glutathione production decreases at the rate of 10% per decade on average in healthy adults.
  

#3 Tip for Daily Detox: Support your body’s elimination paths. Like, poop and pee and sweat. 

Here’s how:

This may sound really basic, age-old advice from your great-grandmother is really really good: Drinks lots of water. Eat lots of veggies (and a little fruit). Get exercise. Take hot baths.

Boring? Stale? So last century?

No….ESSENTIAL!!! If you’re constipated and dehydrated, your body can’t eliminate toxins.  Unclog those pipes!

Most peeps are chronically dehydrated. I know I used to be. For years. Until I finally realized that I was not drinking nearly enough water. Sometimes I still don’t drink enough water. But I’m getting better at it.

How much water do you need? Here’s a handy calculation: take your weight in pounds, divide it by half, and drink that many ounces of water per day. So if you weigh 140 pounds, that is 70 ounces of water, which is eight and three-quarters cups.

Also, herbal teas are good. Particularly dandelion, marshmallow, licorice, ginger. And don’t forget the classic detoxifying drink – hot lemon water.

If you don’t poop at least once a day, and preferably 2 or 3 times, it’s time to loosen things up a bit as you’re getting more toxic – and staying that way — when you don’t eliminate.

Before you reach for laxatives, try morning shakes with psyllium, flax and chia seeds. Ad lots of water!

Also, eat mostly plants, as Michael Pollan says. He’s SOOOO right. Plants give you the soluble and insoluble fiber you need to make gorgeous poos.

Turmeric is good to get your bile flowing, which helps your elimination.

To sweat, you can also treat yourself to Epsom salt baths and saunas, as well as body brushing and self-massage. Luxuriate yourself with self-care!

More to come on recipes and tips for detoxing. And for now, please leave a comment – would love to hear from you and how you are feeling!

Healthy spices… and healthy aging. What’s the connection?

I recently was down in my old “home town” of Silicon Valley to give a talk at the Silicon Valley Health Institute about this very topic. Chaired by Dave Asprey of “Bulletproof Executive” and bulletproof coffee fame, the SVHI hosts speakers that share cutting-edge, life-saving and optimal health-enhancing information.

I’m so excited that the video is now available.

The talk is a significant update to my “Anti-Aging Secrets of Spices” presentation, featuring lots of new research that has recently been published. It’s called The Longevity Science of Spices: Nature’s Designer Drugs for Anti-aging.

Healthy aging is something I’m passionate about, and it’s something I think everyone should understand.

While most of us want to live to a ripe old age, who fancies a future wearing diapers in a wheelchair and drooling on themselves?

I know that’s a harsh statement, but bad things can happen to good people as they get older. As my dearly departed mother-in-law Beatrice used to say, “Getting old is not for sissies.”

She knew a thing or two as she passed away just a few months shy of her 96th birthday.

Anti-aging is also big business in Silicon Valley.

Venture capitalists are pouring billions into highly engineered “solutions” for longevity and life extension. For some, the quest to hack the code of aging glistens like the Holy Grail, with visions of genetic manipulations, lab-grown replacement organs, nanobots roaming inside the body and a full-scale biotech revolution.

In the meantime, other scientists are exploring natural solutions to the ills of aging. Natural compounds in plants are yielding remarkable benefits for maintaining healthy biological functions and protecting your body from the ravishes of aging.

Spices are super-stars on this stage.

You’ll hear all about healthy spices in the video: turmeric, ginger, cinnamon and many more!

Spices and their bioactive compounds have been researched in tens of thousands of scientific studies. While many of these are pre-clinical studies using either animals or isolated cells, there are increasing numbers of human clinical studies using spices.

The studies I find most exciting look at head-to-head comparisons of spice compounds to pharmaceuticals.

Not only do spices have multiple benefits for joint, brain, cardiovascular, digestive, liver and skin health, they are non-toxic, fragrant and tasty too!

Please take a look at the video! Here’s what you’ll learn. And please, leave a comment about your favorite take-away and share the video!

• The Importance of Understanding Aging
• Overview of Healthy Spices
• Evil Twins of Aging; Surprising Benefits of Spices
• Spices to Help Keep Your Gut/Digestion Healthy
• Spices to Help Keep Your Heart Healthy
• Spices to Help Keep Your Brain Healthy
• Spices to Help Relieve Aching Joints
• What You Can Do Right Now

What’s one of the easiest and most delicious ways to get more turmeric in your diet, like your doctor ordered?

Turmeric smoothies!

Turmeric smoothies are a great go-to on-the-go healthy choice for a quick snack or meal replacement.

If you’re in a rut making the same old smoothie combinations, try some of these ideas to refresh your repertoire!

A healthy smoothie blends a nutritious and satisfying mix of fiber, protein, minerals and antioxidants. Adding turmeric ups the health quotient with its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, DNA-protecting power.

Spices, fruits, greens, veggies, proteins, healthy fats — plus speed and convenience — make smoothies a hard-to-beat healthy treat!

Turmeric actually blends well with lots of flavors. We scoured the web for interesting combinations from the best bloggers, and are delighted to bring you 21 turmeric smoothie ideas to put you on the path to health and spicy vitality. 

To keep you satisfied and energized even longer, you can add flax meal, chia, nuts, avocados, hemp seeds or protein powder to just about any recipe.

Our goal is to provide you with the best products and recipes that make eating healthy, fun and easy. Stay cool through the summer heat with these awesome turmeric smoothie recipes!

Nectarine, Banana and Turmeric  Smoothie

Kick start your day with an easy, five-minute smoothie, loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Not only do you get your daily intake of fruits, this recipe is also vegan and carries both calcium and protein from almond milk. For more benefits, add in some of our Golden Goddess Turmeric Chai Elixir.

To see this recipe, visit Tasty Mediterraneo.

Cantaloupe Turmeric Smoothie

Cantaloupe, grapes and Greek yogurt, are a few of the components of this wonderful drink. Add in the cantaloupe seeds to pack a punch of as much protein as regular soy milk.

Plus the additional vegetables can pump you up with their vitamins and minerals.  Try it with our Golden Goddess Turmeric Matrix or Turmeric Chai Elixir. Fruits and protein powered up with turmeric will give you long lasting energy.

To see this recipe, visit A New Life Wandering.

Cranberry Orange Turmeric Ginger Smoothie

You get the best of both worlds with this fruitful drink: Sweet and nutritious. The sweetness of grapes and oranges is married with the antioxidant power of turmeric and cranberries.  To bring out the earthy and delectable taste of the turmeric, a hint of fresh ground pepper is used to garnish the smoothie.  To add a little more sweetness and the power of raw cocoa, substitute the turmeric for a scoop of our Golden Goddess Turmeric Chocolate Elixir.

To see this recipe, visit Chef Teton: Essential Cuisine.

Summertime Starburst Turmeric Smoothie

While this enticing multilayered smoothie is super-healthy, it delivers a tangy sweetness that is reminiscent of Starburst candies.  With crisp fruits and all natural colors, this tri-colored smoothie is sure to be a hit.  For the first step of the smoothie, using organic turmeric powder will give a bright base for you to start with.

To see this recipe, visit Gringalicious.

Peach, Turmeric, and Ginger Smoothie

This smoothie uses a frozen banana instead of dairy to give you a smooth, creamy mouthfeel. And no ice cubes to dilute the flavor and keep your smoothie thick and undiluted.  

Freeze the fruits to beat the summer heat while also keeping fiber intact so that your body will love you even more! The tasty blend of fruits with the spice of ginger, perfectly accents the earthiness of turmeric.  If the smoothie isn’t sweet enough, substitute the turmeric for a scoop of Golden Goddess Turmeric Chai Elixir.  Already sweet enough? Use a super-premium organic turmeric powder or even a quarter teaspoon of more powerful Turmeric Matrix Tea.

To see this recipe, visit Green & Gin.

Anti-inflammatory Turmeric Smoothie

Pineapple is a key ingredient to this smoothie.  For years, pineapple has been known to have a compound called bromelain that decreases inflammation.  Add a sweet mango and earthy anti-inflammatory turmeric, and the result is a tasty, balanced smoothie ready to help you get through your day! For extra power, give it a go with our Golden Goddess Turmeric Matrix Tea or Turmeric Chai Elixir.

To see this recipe, visit Happy Healthy Mama.

Totally Awesome Turmeric Smoothie with Cinnamon and Spinach

The combination of spinach and cinnamon may sound a little odd.  But, adding in the smack-your-lips tang of pineapple as well as the creaminess of a banana and you’ll never doubt the combination again.  This smoothie is high in nutrients such as calcium, iron and of course, curcumin. If you want to mellow out the flavor as well as accent the pineapple and banana, use our Golden Goddess Turmeric Chai Elixir or Turmeric Matrix Tea.

To see this recipe, visit Superlife.

Papaya, Orange and Turmeric Smoothie

Who doesn’t love a simple recipe that only takes you a few minutes to prepare?  This smoothie was in response to a papaya challenge, so, the author took it one step further.  

Instead of just papaya, the author decided to combine the citrus flavor of oranges with the warmth of turmeric.  The fresh mint garnish allows you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the summer.  You can use Golden Goddess Turmeric Matrix Tea.

To see this recipe, visit At the Corner of Happy and Harried.

Cocoa Turmeric Peanut Butter Smoothie

Turmeric and cocoa will not only keep your mood up, but also will have your skin looking radiant. For all chocolate lovers out there, give this a try with our Golden Goddess Turmeric Chocolate Elixir. Be sure you don’t skip adding the coconut oil or peanut butter as the creamy fats help you absorb nutrients from this tasty smoothie.

To see this recipe, visit The Lotus Root.

Ginger, Carrot, Turmeric, and Grapefruit Juice

This is health in a cup that’ll pump you up for the day. While the recipe calls for fresh turmeric root, 1/4 teaspoon of Golden Goddess Turmeric Matrix Tea packs even more anti-inflammatory power to this colorful juice. Blend with 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt, for a great tasting smoothie. For more delight, mix it with our Golden Goddess Turmeric Chai Elixir or add a dash of an organic turmeric powder.

To see this recipe, visit In Sonnet’s Kitchen.

Turmeric Milkshake

Almond butter and cinnamon with the mighty spice turmeric! Not only is this a beautiful creamy texture, but it’s a beautiful golden yellow color of summer.If you want to avoid dairy while still getting calcium and healthy fats into your body, all while not losing the creaminess, then this is the recipe for you.  You’ve got to try this healthy take on a milkshake with either Golden Goddess Turmeric Chai or Turmeric Chocolate Elixir. Nothings better than adding some luscious chocolate to a creamy milkshake! 

To see this recipe, visit Nutrition Stripped.

Turmeric and Sweet Potato Smoothie

Sweet potato and turmeric are incredible superfoods filled with disease fighting benefits. If you add in some ripe oranges, the flavor is fantastic!

Not only is this smoothie creamy because of the potato, and sweet from the oranges, but the distinct flavor of turmeric is the icing on top.  You should definitely try this recipe with either our Turmeric Matrix Tea or organic turmeric powder.

To see this recipe, visit Very Breakfast.

Watermelon Turmeric Smoothie

Fresh ginger and turmeric make this watermelon smoothie recipe ridiculously healthy! Nutritionally, this fresh drink provides 57% daily value vitamin C and 35% daily value vitamin A.

Look for fresh turmeric in natural food stores, near its similar-looking relative, fresh ginger. Remove the skin with a vegetable peeler. You can swap 1 Tbsp. finely grated fresh for 1 tsp. dried and vice versa.

Adding the spice of ginger with the sweet of watermelon will make your mouth, well, water.  You can’t go wrong with adding a sprinkle of turmeric either. Combined with Golden Goddess Turmeric Matrix Tea, you will reap the benefits of summer joy and strength.

To see this recipe, visit Healthy Goods. (We recommend leaving out the honey)

Carrot, Apple, and Turmeric Smoothie

Carrots and apples are naturally sweet foods which means you won’t have to add any sweetener to this nutritious smoothie.  Adding in the freshness of coconut water is a must, not to mention the taste and abounding electrolytes.  To avoid sweetening the smoothie further, use Spice Pharm’s Turmeric Matrix Tea.  But if you are looking for a slightly sweeter treat, substitute the turmeric powder for Golden Goddess Turmeric Chai Elixir.  Trust me, you’ll love it!

To see this recipe, visit Seasonal Cravings.

Coffee Turmeric Smoothie

Many of us around the world start our day with a cuppa joe.  How about getting all the nutrition you need for your morning with that cup of coffee?  Adding oats, chia seeds and ginger give you fiber, omega-3 and the inflammation fighting power of ginger.  How about kicking it up a notch again?  Add in instant coffee and turmeric and you have a cool summer morning drink that will keep you going all day long!  Try this with any of our turmeric products because the combination with the coffee and creaminess of the cashews is mesmerizing on it’s own… or even better with Golden Goddess Turmeric Chai or Turmeric Chocolate Elixir.  

To see this recipe, visit The Almond Eater.

Goji, Orange, and Turmeric Smoothie

Indulge in energy with this immunity boosting smoothie. It includes nothing but delicious ingredients: Oranges, Goji berries, turmeric and ginger. All of these ingredients are high in vitamin C as well as dietary fiber that is necessary to keep you healthy and strong.  The summer can be rife with colds and allergies so making this smoothie for yourself is a great way to keep your immune system fighting.  If you want a more complex spiced taste to the smoothie, go for substituting the turmeric with our Golden Goddess Turmeric Chai Elixir.  If not, Turmeric Matrix Tea would be excellent in this healthy smoothie.  

To see this recipe, visit Coconut and Berries.

Spiced Oatmeal Smoothie

If you are having trouble finding fresh fruits that you like in your area, there are other ways to still get the nutrition and fibers you need for your day.  Oatmeal is a great way to get the fiber you need and instead of using sugar to sweeten your smoothie, a date is used instead.  Turmeric adds another flavor element when combined with nutmeg and cinnamon.  You’ll never want to put the drink down!  Try any of Spice Pharm’s Elixirs with this recipe.  However, our suggestion is to use either Golden Goddess Turmeric Chocolate or Turmeric Chai Elixir for a little flavor boost.

To see this recipe, visit The Chalkboard.

Turmeric Ginger Smoothie

This recipe offers a blend of almond milk, turmeric and a drizzle of Manuka honey for a healthy shake. Even if you aren’t a lover of chia seeds, you will want to add them to this mix.  The little crunch that they add mixes perfectly with the creaminess of the smoothie.  If you’re itching for more fun and flavor, add in our Golden Goddess Turmeric Matrix Tea or our Turmeric Chocolate Elixir into the mix.

To see this recipe, visit PaleoHacks.

Berry and Turmeric Smoothie

There’s nothing like a smoothie with whole berries as an invigorating drink for a tired body.  You can use mixed frozen berries that will wake you right up and rejuvenate your body right after a tough workout.  Adding in protein heavy foods such as Greek yogurt and almond milk, give back to your body.  What else happens after a workout? Inflammation of course!  Instead of diving into an ice bath, the turmeric in this drink helps your body reduce aches and pains so that you can go about your day.  Add in our Golden Goddess Turmeric Chai Elixir and voila — perfection.

To see this recipe, visit Food Recipes HQ.

Turmeric Pina Colada Smoothie

Who says eating healthy can’t be rewarding and delicious? With the fusion of turmeric, pineapple, and coconut milk, this smoothie is complete satisfaction in the form of a classic drink. You will be singing Escape and loving pina coladas more than you ever have before.  This vitamin C rich smoothie adds in turmeric to boost the anti-inflammatory properties.  We suggest that you try it with our Turmeric Matrix Tea for more rejuvenation.

To see this recipe, visit Quite Good Food.

Cinnamon Turmeric Iced Tea

While this one isn’t a smoothie, we couldn’t resist the combination of turmeric and cinnamon.  Create the tea following the directions first.  Then, once the tea has cooled off, blend it with about 1/2 cup ice as well as 1/2 cup of any of your favorite frozen fruits (to match with turmeric, berries or mango would be best). If you’re craving something cold and refreshing for the heat, then try this golden iced tea. Use Golden Goddess Turmeric Matrix Tea for a much more powerful anti-inflammatory experience.

To see this recipe, visit fooduzzi.

Here at Spice Pharm, we want you to experience all the benefits turmeric has to offer. Turmeric is the magical spice with the long list of healing abilities for the human body. It’s a tumor crusher, mood regenerator and more. Our Golden Goddess Turmeric Matrix Tea has loads of curcumin. On top of that, our Golden Goddess Turmeric Chai and Turmeric Chocolate Elixirs are flowing with zest and nutrition. When you stop by each of the recipes, don’t be a stranger and make sure to say hello to the authors that have dedicated themselves to giving you wonderful, powerful, and healthy turmeric packed smoothies.

Ever wonder why I chose the name “Golden Goddess” as the trademark for our line of turmeric products? I was inspired by the ancient language of India known as Sanskrit, and how it expresses the benefits of turmeric in a poetic fashion.

Sanskrit is an extraordinarily complex and beautiful language with a vast vocabulary. Still used today in the reading of sacred texts and chanting, it was the original language used 6,000 years ago in the original medical texts of Ayurvedic medicine.

The Sanskrit language is so vast that it has more than 250 words to describe rainfall, 67 words to describe water, and 65 words to describe earth. The most important medicinal spices and herbs have many names that describe their many properties and actions.

According to Ayurvedic expert Prashanti de Jaegar, “Every Ayurvedic herb typically has dozens of names that point to different aspects of the herb including its appearance, its mythology, and its healing ability.”

In his book “Turmeric, the Ayurvedic Spice of Life,” he notes that turmeric has many names in Sanskrit, among them:

• Bhadra: blessed, auspicious, friendly, kind
• Guauri: the one whose face is bright and shining
• Haldi: golden yellow
• Jayanti: the victorious one
• Jvarantika: the destroyer of fever
• Krimighni: the destroyer of pathogens
• Pavitra: sacred
• Uma: Goddess of Transformation and Splendor

My favorite is Kanchani: Golden Goddess. And henceforth the name. When you enjoy benefits of turmeric in a Golden Goddess Chai, Chocolate, Tea or spice powder, know that they are inspired from this ancient poetic tradition.

I came across an article written by Sayer Ji that beautifully expresses turmeric benefits from a metaphysical as well as scientific perspective, expanding upon our Golden Goddess name. With his gracious permission, I share this article here:

Turmeric’s Healing Power: A Physical Manifestation of Compassion?

Few, if any, plants have been revered as thoroughly — by the religious and scientific community alike — as a healer of the human body, mind and soul, as beautiful turmeric.

It could be written off as an overly imaginative cultural oddity that ancient Indians understood turmeric to be the physical essence of the Divine Mother — a botanical embodiment of compassion and healing. After all, nothing in the known biochemistry of this common spice plant lends itself to so gratuitous a characterization, does it?

It turns out that even modern science now confirm that this ‘curry’ spice has therapeutic properties relevant to well over 600 different health conditions, and may therefore bestow on those who take it significant protection from many common causes of human suffering. Some of the more amazing examples are its ability to reverse aspects of dementia (Alzheimer’s disease), replace Prozac, prevent type 2 diabetes, produce cardiovascular benefits as significant as exercise, including preventing post-bypass heart attack by 56%, heal the diabetic liver, kill lethal pancreatic cancer, and help kick painkillers to the curb for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, while giving at least a dozen more pharmaceuticals a run for their money.While these examples are not proof of ‘divine’ benevolence, they certainly raise some interesting questions, not the least of which is how any substance could be so well suited for improving human physical and mental health with such a depth and breadth of effectiveness.

The author has personally reviewed the majority of the biomedical abstracts on turmeric and its primary polyphenol curcumin, available to view on the National Library of Medicine’s bibliographic reference database known as MEDLINE (and searchable through engines like Pubmed.gov), and has been awed by how diverse and powerful this spice is for addressing the broad range of diseases and/or disease symptoms that commonly afflict our species.

One of the novel findings that emerged in the author’s comprehensive review of turmeric is that it can beneficially modulate over 175 distinct physiological actions, many of which operate upon traditional pharmacological pathways, e.g. interleukin-6 down-regulator, apoptotic, cyclooxygenase inhibitor, etc. During the indexing process the image emerged of a many-armed Indian Goddess, due to how diverse, intelligent and simultaneous are this spice’s healing gifts.

In fact, from the perspective of monochemical-oriented pharmacology, a drug with more than 10 simultaneously therapeutic actions, and without the vast array of adverse, unintended side effects commonly associated with novel, patentable chemicals, turmeric would represent an impossible, miraculous entity, which if patentable, would generate more revenue than all the blockbuster drugs on the market put together. Instead, sadly, most pharmaceuticals have dozens of side effects that are often more powerful than the purported therapeutic properties they possess.

Amazingly, a 2012 article published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer discovered that when a type of cancer cell (retinoblastoma) was exposed to the turmeric polyphenol curcumin, it altered the expression of over 2,000 genes! The authors describe the remarkably broad changes:

“We identified 903 downregulated genes and 1,319 upregulated genes when compared with the control cells after treatment with 20 µM curcumin concentration for 48 h.”

The amount of information that would be required to alter the expression of such a wide range of genes in a way that actually inhibited the viability of the cancer cells is staggering, and likely a reflection of a higher order level of intelligence that our present day theoretical and empirical scientific frameworks are not equipped to fully comprehend.

Is Turmeric Simply A Biochemical Entity, or Does it Contain “Intelligence” and “Compassion”?

After some reflection on the mass of data that accumulated on turmeric’s ability to alleviate suffering, the question emerged: are these many “evidence-based,” scientific studies really just exoteric descriptions of “compassion” and “intelligence”? Are we now rediscovering through the optic of modern science — albeit through the reductionist and animal sacrifice-based (vivisection) methodology of empirical science — the “spirit” of herbs like turmeric, whose very existence represent a kind of surplus of benevolent, regenerative energy that permeates the universe, bestowing its grace upon its inhabitants/creations? Is this not what the ancients meant, or saw, when they described the spice in Sanskrit as “Gauri” (“The One Whose Face is Light and Shining”) and “Kanchani” (“Golden Goddess”)?

Benefits of Turmeric: Like a Many-Armed Goddess

Our turmeric database on GreenMedInfo.com (and by “our” I mean yours, as well, as this is an open source project) now contains the world’s largest archive of biomedical data on the subject of turmeric’s medical value in one place, and includes voluminous research on turmeric’s potential to prevent and/or treat multi-drug resistance cancers, chronic degenerative conditions, neurological problems, depression, serious infections, as well as hundreds of other diseases. Please share this information with others, especially those who need an “evidence-bridge” connecting ancient healing wisdom with the modern scientific approach.

© Friday, April 25th 2014 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

A Note from Us Here at Spice Pharm:

Thank You to Sayer Ji for Your Lovely Insights and Science-Based Research on the Many Benefits of Turmeric!

As we go on our journey, discovering how natural medicines consistently help us, we appreciate Sayer Ji and his Green Med Info website as a tremendous resource and inspiration. On this site, there is a nearly complete database of all of the research done on turmeric and various other herbs and spices.

The author and founder, Sayer Ji, has made it his life’s work to promote spices and herbs as natures way of healing the body. Perhaps the best part is that everything he says, is backed by modern research.

Author Credit

Sayer Ji is founder of Greenmedinfo.com, a reviewer at the International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, Co-founder and CEO of Systome Biomed, Vice Chairman of the Board of the National Health Federation, Steering Committee Member of the Global Non-GMO Foundation.