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Tag: turmeric supplement whole foods

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.

Healthy Lifestyle For Fatty Liver

Posted on by Tim Ashton

What is fatty liver?

Fatty Liver is a term usually given to someone whose liver cells contain too much fat. It is diagnosed through a blood test, ultrasound, or MRI. The liver enzymes could be out of range in a blood test, or an ultrasound could show that the liver cells are enlarged and containing fat.

The cause is usually excessive alcohol consumption, but today we are seeing this condition in people who do not drink alcohol, also. If this is the case, it is known as non-alcohol fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Why does it happen? 

The answer is the food we are eating. The standard Australian diet – though improving – is typically filled with foods containing excessive amounts of oil, fat, and refined sugars, which all cause the liver to store fat within its cells. Ageing and the excessive intake of medications can also be a factor. The more processed your diet, the more likely you are to have a Fatty Liver.

The liver is responsible for over 500 different processes within the body. It plays a major role in the production of our hormones, processing foods, detoxifying toxins and filtering harmful substances. Also, it is the only organ in the body that is capable of regeneration. A regeneration cycle is 30-40 days, depending on the size of the person.

Chronic liver disease is often symptomless, or the symptoms are subtle at the least: general fatigue, poor sleep, not waking refreshed, swelling of the legs, weight gain, insulin resistance, thyroid issues, and diabetes are some of the most common. If the condition is at its worst, the symptoms can include a terrible itching of the skin, yellowing of the eyes and skin, weight loss, loss of appetite, abdominal pain and swelling, confusion, and death.

Is it reversible?

Yes, we believe it is, but it requires you to make some big changes to your dietary habits, exercise regime, and alcohol consumption.

Dietary Changes needed:

  • Remove fat from your diet
  • Eat a plant-based diet
  • Eliminate meat and diary
  • Eliminate gluten
  • Eliminate alcohol

Optional – for quick and longlasting results:

  • Consume the Flourish Detox Blend – nightly before bed – 1 tablespoon
  • Consume the Flourish Turmeric Blend – ½ teaspoon nightly before bed

It normally takes 30-40 days to see significant changes, or 1 regeneration cycle. If the condition is severe, we recommend continuing the healing regime for a minimum of 3 months.

Because the liver is one of the most important organs in our body, is extremely important to keep it healthy and avoid conditions such as Fatty Liver. By making healthy changes to your diet, regularly exercising, and significantly reducing alcohol consumption, you can not only treat Fatty Liver but reverse it.

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“.