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Tag: best turmeric supplement brand

Food and Fibromyalgia

Posted on by Tim Ashton

What is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia Syndrome is a condition with symptoms that include widespread, chronic pain and tenderness in the body. While there is no cure, you can certainly make some lifestyle changes that will minimise symptoms and improve your quality of life.  With supplements such as our turmeric blend, which helps the body’s ability to reduce inflammation, alleviate pain and reduce symptoms associated with many chronic health conditions, our mission is simply to help people from all walks of life achieve a full, healthy and pain-free existence.

In my early 30’s, I contracted the Parvo Virus, the aftermath of which was Fibromyalgia. Every part of my body ached, my muscles were sore to touch, my brain was foggy, and although I regularly went to the gym, the pain from exercise was extremely hard to recover from each day. Getting out of bed caused horrible pain in my feet. The aches became my ‘normal’ until I discovered it was not at all normal. Exercise was not meant to feel so debilitating. I then made the decision to see a Rheumatologist, and that is how my journey into the world of western medicine began.

The list of drugs that I was taking began to get longer and stronger, and it wasn’t until I was prescribed Methotrexate that I wondered if my pain was worsened by my diet. My doctor told me that there was no scientific evidence to support my theory about diet and its correlation to body pain, but as a self-confessed sugar-addict, I made a decision to cut it out for a while and see what happened. Within a few weeks, I was pain-free I could get out of bed and walk normally without pain, a sensation I had not had for years. I was excited. I gave back the script for Methotrexate and began a journey of using ‘food as medicine’, and this is when I started studying to become a Medicinal Nutritionist.

Fibromyalgia and Diet

Over the years of working as a Medicinal Nutritionist, I have come to realise that certain diseases hate certain foods, and, in particular, Fibromyalgia Syndrome hates sugar. If I bring sugar back into my life, I would be inviting the pain of Fibromyalgia back in, too. Another mandatory component of healing from Fibromyalgia is good sleep.

Moving on to the foods that promote healing from Fibromyalgia, we can divide them into two simple food groups: fruits and vegetables. The greater the variety of colour of the fruit on vegetables on your plate, the better you will feel. Intermittent fasting is another thing that Fibromyalgia responds well to aswell. Foods that promote problems and the severity of symptoms include packaged and processed food, such as sugar, alcohol, and meat.

The Flourish blend best suited to aid in the management of Fibromyalgia Syndrome symptoms is our turmeric blend. Once the pain is under control, 1 teaspoon per day, split into two 1/2 tablespoons per day is a wonderful maintenance program. The 1/2 teaspoon at night will also promote good sleep.

Let food be your medicine and change your diet to include more whole-food, plant-based foods, and you will be able to better manage the symptoms of Fibromyalgia. For more information on the healing benefits of food, see our whole food supplements and books, available for purchase on our website.

Lifestyle and Arthritis

Posted on by Tim Ashton

What is Arthritis?

Arthritis is a condition that causes pain and stiffness within joints. There are over 100 different types of arthritis, each with a slightly different presentation that involve different parts of the body.

The most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is mainly due to wear and tear. It is caused by joints having to work too hard. Think of it like the brake pads in your car – after time and distance, they begin to deteriorate and need replacing. Luckily, you are able to take your car to the mechanic to have your brakes replaced. Unfortunately, that is not as easily done if a joint wears out. While some joints can be surgically replaced, this is only done as a last resort.

Osteoarthritic joints cause pain and stiffness, and, as a result, people who have this condition can find simple tasks that they once performed easily, now painful and tiring. The pain is caused by low-grade inflammation, and this is where the Flourish turmeric blend comes into play. Take 1 teaspoon 1 to 3 times a day, or until the pain has reduced. Then take 1 teaspoon per day for maintenance.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune problem.  The immune system sees the joint tissues as non-self, or as a foreign tissue that needs to be removed from the body. In RA, the joints are often swollen, red and very painful. The pain can be unrelenting, and oftentimes there are many accompanying issues.

The treatment regime will often be anti-immune system medications, which try to dampen down the response by the immune system. Whilst these drugs are often extremely helpful, they are not without nasty side-effects, especially to the liver. This is where our daily detox blend can help. This will help support the liver and protect the liver cells from damage. As for the inflammation, our turmeric blend is a wonderful product to accompany any other treatments. When treating RA, we recommend taking a minimum of 2 teaspoons per day: 1 teaspoon with breakfast, and another at night with dinner. If there is no significant reduction in pain, try adding another teaspoon with lunch.

Foods that Harm

  • Gluten
  • Alcohol
  • Processed and Packaged Food
  • Sugar
  • Red Meat
  • Bacon
  • Dairy
  • Fried Foods
  • Tobacco
  • Preservatives
  • Corn Oil

Foods that Heal

  • Green Leafy Vegetables
  • Ginger
  • Turmeric
  • Broccoli
  • Garlic
  • Walnuts
  • Avocado
  • Berries
  • Cherries
  • Red Grapes
  • Kiwi Fruit

Exercise

Exercise helps tremendously, also, and is just as important as diet. Whilst it may be painful to move, it is important to find an exercise regime that you are able to maintain so as not to loosen the condition of the surrounding muscles. The stronger you are, the better your body is able to cope. Swimming and walking are two easy exercises to incorporate into your daily living.

While we know our supplements can dramatically help in managing both types of arthritis, we strongly recommend overhauling your complete lifestyle through food and exercise, especially when treating RA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thyroid 101

Posted on by Tim Ashton

This small but mighty, shield shaped gland is located in the front of the neck and plays an enormous role in our overall health.  Every cell in the body, except red blood cells, has a receptor site for thyroid hormones, and these regulate temperature and metabolism.  The thyroid influences almost every bodily function, so when it is not working properly you can experience a wide range of signs and symptoms. 

Under-active or Overactive?

You might hear the terms under-active and overactive thrown around from time to time when it comes to talking about the thyroid.

Under-active Thyroid

Hypo or low thyroid function means the thyroid gland is under-active and it does not product enough thyroid hormone.  High cortisol (stress hormones) can cause the thyroid to stop producing thyroid hormones and this is known as hypothyroidism.

Environmental stress can also be a cause of an under-active thyroid, and this is highly linked to individual genetic predispositions. 

The major signs and symptoms of under-active thyroid issues are fatigue, hair loss, weight gain, foggy brain , depression, brittle nails, shortness of breathe, anxiety, irregular periods, sensitivity to the cold, bowel problems and a general feeling of un-wellness. 

Over-active Thyroid

Hyper or high thyroid functions means the thyroid gland is overactive, and producing far too many thyroid hormones.  Again internal and external environment stress can cause the hypothalamus and pituitary glands to send the wrong message to the thyroid gland, causing it to over produce.                                                                                           

The signs and symptoms are fairly similar to those of an under-active thyroid, but weight loss is more prevalent, along with a very rapid heart rate, heart palpitations, anxiety, unable to control temperature and shakiness throughout the body. 

Hyperthyroidism is far more dangerous that hypo and needs to be addressed quickly due to the heart’s involvement with hyperthyroidism or Grave’s Disease as it is known. 

Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s

Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s are the names given to thyroid disease if the immune system is involved; this means that the problem is autoimmune.

Besides medications, controlling environmental factors in both Hashimoto’s and Graves’ is paramount.  Reducing stress and eating a whole food, plant-based fat free diet makes a monumental difference to both diseases.

Lifestyle factors to support thyroid health

Staying gluten free is one of the most important things if diagnosed with a thyroid issue.  The gluten protein is extremely similar to the protein structure found within the thyroid.  This similarity is called cellular mimickery and causes the immune system to see the thyroid as similar to gluten. If you have a sensitivity to gluten, it will want to destroy the gland, this is the first step to autoimmune thyroid disease.

A low ‘free-fat’ diet is also one of the keys to supporting thyroid problems.  The thyroid itself only produces 7% of the active hormone T3 (what the cell can use) and the other 93% , known as T4, must travel via transporter proteins to the liver and gut for conversion to active T3.    These transporter proteins have a strong affinity to fat, so if the diet is full of ‘free’ fats (those that come from a bottle or a jar) bind to these transporters not allowing them to pick up the inactive T4 for transportation to the liver. 

How Flourish can help with the natural anti-inflammatory and beetroot powder

All three of our blends have a role to play when it comes to supporting thyroid health.

If the liver is filled with fat also from a high-fat diet, then it is unable to make the conversion. Our detox blend has been designed to aid this very function of the liver.

Good gut bacteria is also responsible for converting 20% of the inactive T4 to active T3, so our prebiotic, gut blend should also be front of mind if you have a thyroid issue.   

If the gut is inflamed the bacteria all go to sleep for want of a better description, so are unable to perform the conversion properly.  Decreasing inflammation not only in the gut, but also all through the body should be top of mind as well. And that’s where our Turmeric blend comes in.

Find out more about our blends here.

You might also be interested in “Let’s talk about inflammation“.

The Difference Between Turmeric & Curcumin

Posted on by Tim Ashton

As an ancient spice celebrated for centuries as both food and medicine, turmeric is one of mother nature’s finest anti-inflammatory substances. This root acts as a COX-2 inhibitor, by preventing the enzymes in the arachidonic pathway from making inflammatory cytokines in the same way that pharmaceuticals like neurofen, voltaren and non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDS do. Turmeric however does so without the side effects that NSAIDS provide like ulceration of the stomach lining.

Turmeric is made up of over 300 different phytochemicals or nutrients that can generally be divided into two main families, give or take a few: the curcuminoid and turmerone family. Curcumin is one phytonutrient out of the 300, from the curcuminoid family and gives turmeric its vibrant colour and distinct flavour. As a COX-2 inhibitor it offers key anti-inflammatory properties, however it is only one constituent of many that make Turmeric the powerful root it is.

Research shows that if you take turmeric and remove the curcumin, the remaining product still has a more powerful therapeutic outcome than that of the extracted curcumin on its own. Mother Nature intended turmeric to be used as a whole, not a part with both delivering positive outcomes but the whole food offering much more than the isolated component. For instance, the turmerones in Turmeric are the components that support brain health, not the curcuminoids.

Consider Turmeric as the orchestra, playing a symphony. The depth and variety create an overall impact that is breathtaking. Then if you take the first violinist, in this case the curcumin, out of the orchestra and have them play a solo, it’s still fantastic however the performance is nothing like when they rejoin the whole orchestra. Isolated components lack the synergistic effects that occur when all the elements in whole foods work together to produce a more powerful response, and this is the case with turmeric.

Another consideration is the side effects you may experience by using only one component of any whole food. Mother Nature is smart, providing very powerful medicinal, highly bioactive components and surrounding them with other components that nullify any of the negative side effects that may be experienced when a key component is isolated. That’s why when turmeric is taken as a whole food, people don’t experience negative side effects. However, when curcumin tablets are taken in isolation and in high doses to achieve results, people find they can experience an upset stomach.

Essentially, turmeric taken as a whole has been shown to reduce inflammation in the brain and the rest of the body, stimulate regeneration of liver cells and offer no negative side effects where long term side effects have been shown with curcumin use along with no brain support. That is why we have included turmeric as a key ingredient in our Turmeric Blend, carefully sourced from the Alleppey region in southern India because of it’s high bioactive ingredients content. This is measured by its curcumin content which needs to be a medicinal level to be completely effective.

Our team is incredibly particular about the ingredients we use and where they’re sourced from. When our turmeric arrives in Australia we have it tested for a myriad of contaminants, including, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, heavy metals, arsenic, paint and gluten to name but a few. We do so to confirm that any contaminants in the powder we are using is well below any of the Australian food standard regulations and even below those allowed in organic farming.

Inflammation is the driver of disease and with modern lifestyles leading us to produce more and more chronic inflammation, it’s more important than ever to counteract this. The incredible anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-oxidant benefits of turmeric are the reason we designed the turmeric blend and continue to encourage people to include this powerful ingredient into their diet.

Feel the difference for yourself, shop the best turmeric supplement now.

You might also be interested in “Introducing: The Prebiotic Blend“.