Hello Friends,
Thank you for visiting my site. This blog is a work in progress, the objective of which is to provide useful information for anyone interested in learning about the benefits and methods of incorporating turmeric into your diet and daily routine. We will also occasionally publish natural health topics unrelated to turmeric that we find interesting and believe could be helpful.
Backstory and Journey to Recovery
In December 2010, while living in Singapore, the Turmeric Guru was stricken with a debilitating autoimmune condition which became chronic. I now have a pretty good understanding of why I was suddenly shocked into autoimmune hell and will write about that experience at some point. But for now, suffice it to say that the precursive condition was an excessive accumulation of toxic chemicals, metals, and EMF radiation from multiple sources over time.
Further, I suspect I was already infected with borrelia bergdorferi, commonly known as Lyme disease, which my immune system had been keeping in check. Why do I believe this? During the latter portion of my quest for a cure, I tested positive under the IGeneX test but had never experienced a bullseye rash and had been living in Hong Kong and Singapore where Lyme is almost unknown. It was not until after my immune system was shocked by an unnecessary medical procedure that my symptoms erupted. As you may know, autoimmune and Lyme symptoms overlap and at that time I was unaware of Lyme disease.
Death Spiral
Over the course of two years, my symptoms worsened, eventually reaching the point where overall body pain was so great that some days I couldn’t even get out of bed. My short term memory was sporadic and fading. I would sometimes walk into a room and struggle to remember why. Leaving the house without my wallet or keys was a regular occurrence. I even experienced moments where the sounds emitted from my mouth bore no resemblance to the thoughts I was trying to convey. I was losing hope and felt like I was spiraling toward an early checkout.
During this death spiral, I consulted fourteen physicians of various specialties in search of a cure. While there are clearly many important roles for allopathic medicine, in my case this mainstream path was a road to nowhere. The advice I received boiled down to “we don’t know why your condition exists so you’re just going to have to get used to it and manage through.” Every M.D. I visited prescribed palliative pharmaceuticals which they admitted would only mask, not cure, some of my symptoms. No one knew why I was sick and no one seemed interested in trying to figure it out. It was as if the M.D.s all knew about this condition and had been instructed to believe there was no cure, and that “management” through pharmaceuticals was the only option.
Independent Research
Clearly, these were unacceptable prognoses. I had two choices: learn to live with the pain – and likely die with it – or figure things out for myself. I resolved to dive deep into independent research, determine the source of my condition, and experiment with every natural remedy and protocol that sounded the least bit promising. I read everything I could find about autoimmune conditions, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme disease, and anything else that seemed related to my condition.
Antibiotics
During this period I was living in Hong Kong where one can purchase antibiotics over the counter without a prescription. This allowed me to experiment with various antibiotic cocktails I had discovered through my research, and some were marginally effective. But none produced any significant measure of reversal. The pain had become so widespread and unrelenting that by late winter in 2011 I was mentally preparing for the possibility of death.
Path to Recovery
Early in 2012, when almost everything seemed futile, a path toward recovery revealed itself. It was so simple that, at first, I thought it must be only a coincidence. The most amazing thing is that the answer came from within. Somehow, my body told me what I needed.
I had recently been craving leafy greens like cooked cabbage, bok choi, spinach, and other vegetables. I thought this couldn’t be bad so I ate what my body craved and started experimenting with a soup-like vegetable dish of my own creation. I wasn’t trying to win any culinary awards – this was medicine that I was preparing.
Turmeric Discovered
In mid-2012 I moved back to Singapore and it was around this same time that I started experiencing some relief. At first, I thought my progress was due to the antibiotic cocktail I had been taking. But doctor prescriptions are required for antibiotics in Singapore and the antibiotics soon ran out. Furthermore, I had developed concerns that long-term antibiotic therapy was destroying the microbiome in my digestive tract, so it was a good time to take a break and see what happens.
Turmeric is a common spice in Singapore so I started adding it to my cooking creations. I had read that turmeric was effective in reducing inflammation, so why not try it. I started taking curcumin supplements and adding loads of turmeric to just about everything I cooked in a pan or skillet. (See Foundational Diet below.)
Posture Matters
Soon after moving to Singapore, I was introduced to a friend of a friend who had recently relocated to establish a chiropractic practice there. Having had no previous experience with chiropractic, but being open to anything that might help in my recovery, I was curious. We met over coffee where the discussion focused on our mutual interest in natural health, and it became apparent that I needed to give chiropractic a try.
Long story short, my new chiropractor was Dr. Tim Errington, a published author, and director of what is now the largest chiropractic practice in Singapore. In addition to his regular practice, Total Health Chiropractic Singapore, multinational companies like Apple contract with his practice to operate clinics on-site to keep their executives in tip-top shape.
Over a period of about six months, I went through a series of spinal and hip adjustments that succeeded in helping me overcome the pain. I’m sure Dr. Errington could explain the process better than I, but my basic understanding is that by correcting and normalizing the body’s orthopedic structure, the nervous and lymphatic systems are allowed to function as designed. In my case, I think the most important result was the facilitation of the natural removal of toxins by the lymphatic system.
The Pain Slowly Melted Away
Within about a month after converting to this new lifestyle of curcumin supplementation, turmeric-saturated cuisine, and serious attention to posture, I was experiencing a notable reduction in joint pain and the widely-dispersed muscle pain known as fibromyalgia. Within three months I was enjoying amazing progress. And within six to eight months my joint and muscle pain was almost completely gone, brain fog had dissipated and my short-term memory had recovered. Gradually, over about a year of strict adherence to this new lifestyle, I was basically healed.
My Somewhat Radical Healing Diet
To this day, I still enjoy my, admittedly, somewhat radical healing diet which consisted of two large vegetable meals and two eggs per day, followed by a sixteen-hour distilled water fast every night and into the morning – a protocol called intermittent fasting. This, along with a few supplements mentioned below, has been the core of my diet since late 2012 and I have never felt better.
I am now fully recovered and living a normal life that includes eating meat. I’m no longer vegetarian and do not believe it is a sustainable long term discipline for everyone. But I do believe this radical vegetable-based approach was instrumental in my healing process, and I thank our Creator every day for the guidance that revealed this natural method of healing.
Healthful Healing Turmeric Brunch
My first meal of the day is at approximately 11 am and consists of a covered skillet full of various chopped vegetables, two eggs, 750ml of distilled water, Himalayan salt for minerals and seasoning, and a paste made of several tablespoons of olive or coconut oil mixed with a heaping tablespoon of turmeric powder, another tablespoon of freshly ground avocado pit, and freshly cracked black pepper.
I mix the olive oil-turmeric-avocado-pepper paste in a small area of the skillet as the first ingredient. The veggies can vary but I normally include one onion, one tomato, one head of garlic, a thumb of ginger, a bit of red cayenne pepper, one half red bell pepper, one carrot, and about three cups of chopped greens such as spinach, kale, chard, green beans, cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower. Bring the ingredients to a boil in the covered skillet and cook until the greens are edible (about 10 minutes). I then crack two eggs on top, cover, and cook for another minute or so until the eggs are as you like them. Wow! This meal is bursting with nutrition and will keep you running at full steam until 6 pm.
By the way, I highly recommend that you drink and cook with distilled water. I have found that perceptions of mineral deficiency resulting from distilled water consumption are not true. You will get plenty of minerals from your fresh vegetables and Himalayan salt. I purchased a home distiller which produces more than enough water every night for the following day. Shown below is a photo linked to the one I have and highly recommend.
Big Salad by Night
My 6 pm meal consists of a large salad comprised of one avocado, one tomato, one small onion, one small apple, one-half cucumber, one half red bell pepper, one small carrot, red cabbage and lettuce seasoned with fresh lime juice, apple cider vinegar, Himalayan salt, freshly cracked black pepper, a swish of olive oil and mustard to taste. Again, all I can say is wow! I just love this meal and never grow tired of it. It is absolutely amazing how the body is so fully and naturally sated when given the nutrition it needs to heal and sustain.
Curcumin and Vitamin Supplements
In addition to my two large veggie meals, I also take at least 1500mg of turmeric-curcumin supplement in capsule form daily and a few other supplements and vitamins three or four times per week. The list includes vitamins B12, E, and D; chlorella, iodine, and magnesium.
I am absolutely convinced that this diet was what allowed my body to naturally detox and heal. And I am as sure as one can be without conducting a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial that turmeric has been a critical element in the process. Having said that, if you want access to clinical studies, they have been done, literally hundreds of them, and I can point you to them if you contact me directly.
Toxic World
We live in a toxic world, my friends. Our air, water, and food are being poisoned at alarming and saddening rates. Particulates of aluminum, barium and other elements saturate our skies, some say, in a purported effort to reflect the sun’s heat. It’s called solar radiation management (SRM) and you can find evidence to support this theory on the websites of Harvard University and numerous independent researchers. These toxic particulates ultimately fall onto our food and water supplies and are inhaled into our lungs.
Modern farming techniques regularly incorporate toxic chemicals and genetically modified seeds to produce cheap plant material that is virtually indistinguishable from real food by the naked eye, but which is severely lacking in nutrients and is considered toxic by anyone who is concerned with natural health.
Modern medicine’s so-called miracle drugs are usually symptom-masking palliatives that mainly manage symptoms without treating the underlying disease. This was admitted to me by prescribing physicians during my quest for a cure.
Summary
My friends, I could write a short book documenting my journey to recovery, and perhaps someday I will. But for now, let us pause and return to the subject at hand – helping you find the turmeric-curcumin products you need to enjoy a life free of pain and full of health. To read about some of the most studied uses of turmeric and curcumin, please refer to my article on the Health Benefits of Turmeric and Curcumin under the Benefits tab in the Main Menu.
In closing, allow me to say that the preparation of this blog has involved considerable time and expense, both of which will be ongoing if the content is to be kept up to date. I am a participant in the Amazon Associates program which pays a small commission if you purchase anything from Amazon after first clicking a product link displayed anywhere in this site. If any of the information shared in this blog has been helpful, it would be greatly appreciated if you could support this site by using this method for your next purchase.
To your health,
Turmeric Guru