Turmeric: The Ayurvedic Spice of the Yogi’s Life
By Prashanti de Jager

What Ayurvedic science has known for millennium, Western science is now starting to prove in laboratories and clinics around the word: Turmeric deserves to be in the daily life of every person and especially every Yogini and Yogi.

Most Ayurvedic doctors that I have met in India consider Turmeric to be the best all-around herb of the Ayurvedic and Yogic tradition. Suitable for all constitutions and for a myriad of indications, the warming pungency of this sattvic near panacea balances Vata and Kapha while its cool bitter principles and nourishing sweet tastes balance Pitta.

For at least 6000 years it has been used in India as a medicine, beauty aid, cooking spice, talisman amulet and a dye. Dioscorides spoke highly of it in 60 AD when he wrote the herbal that would be Europe’s main herb source for the next 1600 years. Marco Polo praised it in his journals of 1280 AD. It has been used in Chinese medicine for over 1000 years to purify the blood, move Chi and strengthen the reproductive system. Hawaiian Kahuna uses it as a sacred healing herb and in Brazil it is used to treat poisonous Viper bites.

Common knowledge to every woman in India, one of the most beneficial aspects of Turmeric is to improve complexion. While supporting the healing of acne, wounds, skin cancer and more,

Close to the core of Turmeric’s healing power is its ability to cleanse, build and move blood like no other herb, making it an especially valuable herb to support the skin, liver and the female reproductive system. Turmeric protects your liver from toxins, pathogens and excessive cholesterol and helps to detoxify and rejuvenate it.

As an anti-oxidant, Turmeric protects the lungs from pollution and toxins. It increases the oxygen transfer from the lungs to the blood and is a good choice for bronchitis and other pulmonary infections, especially when taken with fresh garlic.

When it comes to first-aid, what ‘Rescue Remedy’ is to flower essences and ‘Arnica’ is to homeopathy, Turmeric is to herbals. It serves in accidents ranging from cuts to concussions. For any trauma this rhizome accelerates healing and minimizes damage. Turmeric stops bleeding, heals tissue, is a strong anti-inflammatory and is a broad spectrum anti-microbial capable of stopping bacterial, fungal and viral infections.

Turmeric has a triple action against cancer: it helps to neutralize those substances and conditions which can cause cancer; it has over ten powerful anti-oxidants that directly help a cell retain its integrity if threatened by carcinogens; and if a tumor does grow, it can often eradicate it. Even if one were using allopathic medicine to treat cancer, they can still use Turmeric to increase the effectiveness and decrease some of the side effects of cancer treatments. Ayurveda especially recommends Turmeric to treat and prevent cancers of the skin and the female reproductive system, namely breast and uterine cancer.

Hippocrates statement, “Let food be your medicine,” is essential to Yoga and Ayurveda, and like no other food, Turmeric exemplifies this principle. To most people in India, from housewives to Himalayan hermits, Turmeric, affectionately called the ‘kitchen queen,’ is the main spice of the kitchen. Being both a ubiquitous spice and a safe healer Turmeric adds a literal meaning to the phrase, ‘The Spice of Life’.

For many reasons, Turmeric is one of the best herbs/foods of Yoga. It is one of the most potent, purifying herbs in Ayurveda, cleansing the physical and the subtle, from muscles to marmas, from blood to the buddhi. It is one of the safest herbs. It increases flexibility. It reduces pain and inflammation which allows more opportunity to perfect asanas by increasing stability and ease, more sthira and sukha. It increases prana, the flow of prana and purifies prana. Yoga texts like the Shiva Samhita recommends ghee and milk before asana and pranayama practice, and many traditional yogis add Turmeric, with all her benefits, to that.

Great Healers, in one form or another, are sought out by all of us. Turmeric is such a talented healer, that though its presence is common, its power is never-the-less rare, making it one of the world’s great healers.

After studying Vedic Sciences in India for most of the 90s, Prashanti has helped to grow a large Ayurvedic organic / biodynamic sustainable herb project in India and the United States. More at www.omorganics.com

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What is Avea?
Avea is an extract produced from the root of Curcuma longa, commonly known as turmeric. Nutramedix, U.S. producer of Avea, utilizes a proprietary extraction and enhancement process that makes this product far more effective than any other turmeric product available.

Primary Uses Of Avea:

• ANTIDEPRESSANT
• ANTIOXIDANT
• ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

Avea For Depression:
Recent published studies have been addressing the antidepressant properties of Avea. In a study published in June 2005 in the European Journal of Pharmacology, The effects of curcumin on depressive-like behaviors in mice, two animal models of depression were analyzed. The neurochemical assays showed that curcumin produced a marked increase of serotonin and noradrenaline levels in both the frontal cortex and hippocampus in the mice. Dopamine levels were also increased in the frontal cortex and the striatum. Moreover, curcumin was found to inhibit monoamine oxidase activity in the mouse brain.

Via the proprietary extraction and enhancement process utilized to produce Avea, the product has been enhanced to address the majority of the causes of endogenous depression. Patients suffering from depression report relief within a few hours to a few days after starting the use of Avea.

Some of the reported properties of turmeric products like Avea are:

• ANTIDEPRESSANT
• ANTIOXIDANT
• ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
• CHOLECYSTOKINETIC
• DEPURATIVE
• HEMOSTATIC
• FUMITORY
• ANTIMUTAGENIC
• ANTITUMOR
• ANTIMICROBIAL

Saftey & Interaction Information:
The German Commission E reports that there are no known contraindications, no known side effects and no known interactions with other drugs when using Turmeric products like Avea. In May 2005, toxicology studies were conducted on Nutramedix Avea at the University of Guayaquil, Ecuador. No toxic effects were reported even when laboratory rodents received 160,000 times the equivalent human dose.

Ethanol content: 20 - 25%

Shake Well Before Each Use

Suggested Use:
5 to 10 drops 3 times per day, or as directed by your physician.

Directions:
Put 5 to 10 drops in a glass, then add 4 oz. of pure water and wait one minute before drinking.

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