Top 10 Benefits of Triphala

Triphala-scTriphala is widely used in Ayurvedic medicine and the three fruits that comprise it are Amalaki, Haritaki, and Bibhitaki.

Triphala has long been used for a wide array of ailments and has countless beneficial properties. Regular use can do wonders for your body, mind and spirit.

Here is a list of what we feel are the top 10 benefits of taking this incredible product.

1. Aids in Digestion

2. Potent Antioxidant

3. Detoxification and Purification

4. Colon Cleansing

5. Healthy Weight Loss

6. Maintains Vision and Eyesight

7. Combats Stress

8. Helps combat Flatulence

9. Boosts Immune System

10. Stimulates the Liver

These are just a few  of the most well-known ways in which Triphala benefits our health. We suggest everyone use Triphala as a preventive and experience the bountiful health benefits offered.

Lots of excitement at Tattva’s Herbs -

Neem-scLots of excitement at Tattva’s Herbs – we have a new logo/label design and a new coffee alternative product called Capomo!

Let us know what you think! Feedback (positive) is genuinely appreciated :) http://ow.ly/i/2lTjm http://ow.ly/m0hzZCapomo Instagram

Six Ways Shilajit Can Benefit You Today

True Shilajit or Moomiyo is rare and difficult to find. Shilajit is known to promote vitality and core strength. It is known for its rejuvanative properties, and is known to promote healthy recovery time and muscle strength and so much more.

We encourage you to take a minute to read six ways how this incredible herb can benefit your daily lifestyle.

Shilajit bottle 1) Ever feel sore and wish your muscles and joints would recover faster? Shilajit maintains healthy recovery time in muscles, bones and nerves. Great for athletes and non – athletes of all shapes, sizes and walks of life. Shilajit is very helpful in recovering from injuries, rigorous workouts, or just daily soreness and pain.

2) Shilajit will make your other supplements and vitamins work better. It acts as a catalyst for other supplements and helps “drive them deeper” making them more effective. It does this through aiding in the absorption of nutrients in the body.

3) Shilajit is a natural antioxidant, which stops the generation of free radicals in the body and promotes youthfulness and longevity.

4) It strengthens the nervous system and brain functions – can impact positive mood, mental fatigue and sharpness.

5) Increasing virility and libido.

6) Aids in overall well – being. Shilajit is a mineral substance that is quite literally “the carbon footprint” of our earth’s ancient ecosystem. High in the majestic Himalayan Mountains of Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan, shilajit can be found preserved in rocks and cliffs.

Read more:

The Bountiful Benefits of Boswellia

boswellia-2010Boswellia (Botanical name: Boswellia Serrata) is the premier Ayurvedic herb in helping the body maintain a healthy and positive inflammation response. It is extremely effective in delivering and maintaining a healthy blood supply to the joints, yet avoids the irritation associated with many conventional pain relievers. Boswellia is a sap that is reduced to a sticky resin substance that is known as a guggul (tree resins used in Ayurvedic preparations and healing). This resin, also called boswellia, is the medicinal part of the boswellia tree.

In traditional Ayurveda, Boswellia is believed to suppress the proliferating tissue found in the inflamed areas while supporting healthy connective tissue. The higher the grade of boswellia, the more fragrant and potent the resin is. Boswellia grades are determined by the season when the resin is harvested, and how well the resin has been sorted. The highest quality boswellia is said to be that which is harvested in October, when a section of tree bark is scraped away and the sap is collected.

Boswellia potency and grades also depend on the variety of boswellia used in the preparation of the extract. This article will focus on the high-grade boswellia serrata variety, which has been refined and used in both the East and the West for hundreds of years.

The active ingredient in boswellia tablets is boswellic acid. Boswellic acid makes up about 30 percent of the raw boswellia sap as it is taken raw from the tree. Once the sap is concentrated and purified, the concentration of boswellic acid increases dramatically. The most powerfully concentrated boswellia extracts contain 65 percent boswellia acids. include Maha Vishgarbha Oil, Muscle and Joint Therapy (Vata Oil), and Sesame and Mustard Oils.

The optimal process for concentrating Boswellia is called supercritical extraction. This organic method uses up to 200 pounds of fresh boswellia sap to create just 1 pound of super concentrated boswellia extract. Prior to processing, all of the sap is tested for heavy metals and other impurities that would render it unsuitable for refining. Carbon dioxide (just like the carbon dioxide used to carbonate sparkling water) is used in place of chemicals or alcohol to reduce the raw tree sap into the pure extract. The extract is then recombined with raw boswellia to create a product so pure that the heady fragrance is still present. This careful process results in a super-concentrated, yet pure extract. It is often recommended to take Neem along with Boswellia to help maintain healthy blood-toxin levels. In addition to adding herbs to one’s diet, one should be very careful to eat a healthy and balanced diet and exercise regularly to re-balance the body. Ayurveda also recommends the use of herbal massage oils to cool and soothe inflamed joints and muscles.

Click Here for Tattva’s Herbs Boswellia.

Seven Reasons Why Everyone Should Take Amla

borderless-amla-2010Amla (also known as Amalaki or Indian Gooseberry) is the most concentrated form of Vitamin C in the entire plant kingdom, containing up to 720 mg/100g of fresh pulp and 921 mg/100cc of pressed juice. This is approximately 20 times the vitamin C content of an orange. It is a very potent form of Vitamin C and yet is easily assimilated by the human body. The Vitamin C in the Amalaki fruit is bonded with tannins that protect it from being destroyed by heat or light. Amla promotes and maintains healthy digestion, which in turn regulates the absorption of food by increasing the fire (known as “Agni” in Ayurveda) in the stomach, without creating any excess stomach acids.

Here are 7 reasons that Amla should be incorporated into every’s regiment.

1) Amla is great for your skin and hair! Many recommend a daily drink of Amla juice and honey to keep your skin blemish free and looking healthy and glowing. It also strengthens the roots of your hair, assists with dandruff and even graying.

2) It is great for your eyes and eyesight! Amalaki helps with redness, itching, vision and so much more!

3) Amla is great for your immune system. It is a very concentrated natural form of Vitamin C, so taking it daily can help prevent colds and flu.

4) Amla is very helpful with constipation and digestion.

5) It is great for your heart, strengthens heart muscles and a potent natural antioxidant.

6) Amla helps to fight bad breath and strengthens teeth.

7) It can help promote a healthy appetite. Amla is shown to increase Agni (digestive fire), and also encourages hunger.

Click Here for Tattva’s Herbs Amla.

Capomo – Nature’s Superfood

Tattva’s Herbs is pleased to announce that we will be adding a new coffee alternative and superfood product coming soon! It is called Capomo (sometimes referred to as Maya Nut or Ramon Nut) and is packed with antioxidants, protein, minerals, vitamins and more! Capomo is not only excellent for human consumption, but the harvesting of the nut employs and empowers women who are dedicated to replanting and conserving the forests where it is from.

capomo-1

Capomo is harvested in a very unique and compelling manner. The Maya nuts are collected by hand from the jungle floor once they have fallen from the trees. Collection happens daily, in the early morning before the animals have a chance to feed on them. Once the nuts are collected, they are dried in the sun for 2-3 months, at which time they are ready to be roasted and prepared for human consumption.

Capomo (Brosimum alicastrum) is in the fig family and was the staple food for pre-hispanic cultures. This superfood contains numerous nutritional benefits. It is one of the richest plant sources of amino acids which, among many others have been shown to positively affect mood and contentment. It is also high in protein, fiber, calcium, potassium, folate, iron, zinc, and vitamins A, B, C and E, while at the same time it is low in fat and calories.

In addition to the many health benefits of Capomo, it is beneficial for all of the surrounding people, animals and all forms of nature in the areas in which it grows. Capomo empowers and employs more than 600 rural and indigenous men and women who have formed 25 different autonomous businesses to produce and market Maya Nut products.

The Maya Nut Institute is an admirable example of a group that teaches workshops and trains local women in the production and marketing of capomo throughout Mexico. Animals enjoy the taste and health benefits of the Maya Nut plant as well. Traditionally, pigs, horses, cows and bats have been known to gain valuable nutrition from the leaves and stems of the tree and have even been shown to increase milk production in cows by 1-2 liters per day. The people involved in harvesting Capomo are also deeply dedicated to reforestation. In fact, there have been over 1.5 million Maya Nut trees planted since 2001.

To read more about the Maya Nut Institute click here.

The following is an excerpt written by Dr. Leslie Korn in “Capomo: Good Cheer from the Gods”

“Every part of the Capomo tree is nutritious and beneficial to humans, animals and the environment. The leaves may be eaten like spinach, the sap is nutritious, and the seeds are like potatoes when boiled and delicious with honey. The sap from the tree is sweet and serves as a traditional drink known to increase mother’s breast milk.”

She goes on to add, “Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and are responsible for repairing cells, stimulating antibodies to fight bacteria and viruses, and to carry oxygen throughout the body. They also make our brains work and our synapses, snappy. Capomo’s special quality is that it provides significant levels of all the essential amino acids (“essential” means amino acids that can only be supplied via food). It is especially high in methionine, which helps the liver process fat and toxins, and tryptophan, an amino acid that is energizing and relaxing, as it lifts the mood. Capomo is high in fiber, calcium, potassium, folate, iron, zinc, protein and vitamins A, B, C and E. The seeds when roasted for café or boiled for bread have the protein equivalent of eggs. Too many cups (4+) of Café de Capomo have been known to cause the “jitters” in some people. The flour is nutritionally superior to any other flour and is ideal for people with gluten sensitivity.

Four-footed animal friends; pigs, cows and horses also love capomo. Cows fed capomo leaves produce 1-2 liters more milk per day than cows fed on pasture. Bats love the thin-skinned fruit around the “nut” and after eating it, drop it to the ground so we may prepare it for roasting café de capomo or grinding into flour.”

Read more here

We want to know what you think! Let us know below – your feeback is appreciated!

The Background of Ayurvedic Medicine

Taken from “The Yoga of Herbs – An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine” written by: Dr. David Frawley and Dr. Vasant Lad

SPIRITUAL BACKGROUND

In order to understand the Ayurvedic approach to herbs, one must understand the basic system of Ayurveda, which is a complete healing science, including the physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of life.

The ancient seers of India envisioned two fundamental principles behind existence: Purusha, the Primal Spirit, the principle of sentience of consciousness; and the Prakruti, or Great Nature, the principle of creativity. The union of these two, Spirit and Matter, produces all things.

Yet these two are also one, the primordial Two-in-One, Consciousness and its creative, executive force, Shiva-Shakti. Within all things is essence, individuality, consciousness – the Purusha.  Within all things is also the power of manifestation, the capacity for creative enfoldment – Prakruti.

herb-heart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From these two great forces in their initial coming together is born Cosmic Intelligence, Mahat, which contains the seeds of all manifestation. Inherent in the Mahat are all laws of nature.

The Cosmic Intelligence also exists in the human being as the intelligence in the individual. As such it is called Buddhi, the means of awakening, developing fully which one becomes enlightened, a Buddha. Buddhi is our capacity for perception, our ability to discern the real from the unreal. But this intelligence, in its evolution into material forms, may give rise to the ego, the sense of separate self, or Ahamkara. It is the principle of division as it is only our sense of a separate ego that divides us from the unity of life.

In turn, the ego gives rise to the conditioned mind or conditioned consciousness called Manas, which, as our sense of self-consciousness, creates a protective thought-field around itself in which we become bound.

Finally, this links us up with the collective unconscious called Chitta, the storehouse of thoughts of all limited mentalities. Through the Chitta we remain under the influence of latencies, compulsions and drives of the earlier stages of evolution, going all the way back to the animal realm and before.

Ayurveda aims at a life in harmony with Cosmic Intelligence, whereby our own intelligence is perfected, so that through it we can return to unity with nature; and through nature our true self and spirit, the Purusha. This is the spiritual background of Ayurveda, which is the same as that of Yoga, and the basis of Ayurvedic psychology.

This requires the awakening of intelligence wherein we go beyond the rule of the ego. The ego is the basis for all deviation from nature. Health is natural, Prakruti. Disease is artificial, Vikruti. Hence, most diseases, except those natural to the course of time, are from the psychological imbalance born of unnecessary self-consciousness.

Turmeric, the Awesome Anti-Oxidant

An excerpt from “Turmeric – The Ayurvedic Spice of Life”, written by Prashanti de Jager M.S.

The curcuminoids as an anti-oxidant compound are:

  • 5-8x stronger than vitamin E
  • 3x more powerful than Grape seed or Pine bark extract.
  • More powerful antioxidants than Vitamin C, eugenol (from cloves), capsiacin (from cayanne) and BHT, a standard food preservative.
  • Especially potent at scavenging the hydroxlyl radical, the most reactive of all oxidants.

2012-TriForce-Turmeric-Curcumin

 

This means Turmeric is good at:

  • Keeping you feeling and looking young
  • Protecting you from mutating cells, tumors, cancer.
  • Preventing and removing oxidized cholesterol thereby preventing heart attacks.
  • Reducing acute (injuries) and chronic inflammations (arthritis)
  • Reducing pain associated with inflammation
  • Preserving food.

Anti – Aging

Everybody knows that oxygen is essential to life as we know it, but it can give rise to several reactive oxygen species (ROS) in normal metabolism. Normally the body can deal with these ROS but if there is an overload of them due to pollution, etc. or if there is an inability to deal with them due to genetics or weakness, then they can rapidly cause decay, breakdown, disease, rapid aging and death. Oxidation by free radicals can damage cells and DNA and thus is the major player in aging and a part to some extent of every chronic disease known. As rust is oxidized steel so aging is oxidized cells. Just as you wash the dirt and salt off your car to keep it from rusting, you surround your cells with anti-oxidants to wash away the oxidizing species of molecules. Proteins, lipids, and DNA are the parts of the cell most susceptible to damage by oxidation.

Of course, oxygen isn’t bad, it is the most needed nutrient to us, but reactive oxidizing molecules get out of hand. Actually one of the ways that our immune system destroys pathogens is to blast them with an oxidizer like Hydrogen Peroxide which rusts their little bodies within seconds. Most of the oxidants that we need protection from these days are a result of our modern day society: cigarettes, food additives, smog and pollution. Stopping oxidation stops a part of the aging process. Again, turmeric is considered to be the strongest antioxidant against the hydroxyl molecule, which is the most reactive of the oxidants. The phenolic nature of the Curcumins lend to Turmeric’s anti-oxidant activity.

turmeric roots in bag

 

Prevention

Curcuminoids scavenge and neutralize free radicals and what is more amazing, they can prevent them from happening. One way that they do this is by blocking the oxidizing capabilities of metals. They protect the cells and chromosomes from cell damage.

Chronic Disease

Do you a chronic disease or know someone who does? Oxidation by free radicals is linked with virtually every major chronic disease as well as with aging in general. There are many diseases directly associated with ROS production.

There are three ways to remove ROS. One is with anti-oxidants like Vitamin C and E and Curcumin. A second way is with certain enzymes which engage with the ROS and destroy its ability to react. Turmeric, a great anti-oxidant, has been shown to increase the number and activity of ROS destroying enzymes. The activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in the liver are increased by turmeric. These studies indicate that dietary Turmeric lowers lipid peroxidation by enhancing the activities of antioxidant enzymes.

Food Preservation

Turmeric preserves food 3 times better than the common synthetic preservative BHT. This has been known for thousands of years in India, where refrigeration is only getting somewhat common in the cities since the early 1990′s.

Daily Doses

Daily use of Turmeric is required to maximize its antioxidant properties. Experiments to study the mechanism of action and curcumin indicated that the presence of curcumin was essential for the inhibitory effect, as removal of curcumin resulted in restoration of cytochrome P450 activity and the levels of [3H] – B(a)P-DNA adducts to control values. For protection against anti-oxidants, it has to be there daily.

Not just the Curcumins

The curcuminoids. which are oil based, or lipophilic, and not dissolvable in water, are not the only anti-oxidants in Turmeric. This is evident since the water extract of Turmeric is also a strong anti-oxidant. Turmerin: a water-soluble antioxidant peptide from turmeric is found to be an efficient antioxidant, DNA-protectant, and antimutagen. Turmeric at 182 nM offers 80% protection to membranes and DNA against oxidative injury. ROS-induced arachidonate release and the mutagenic activity of t-butyl hydroperoxide are substantially inhibited by Turmerin. Tumerin is not toxic.

Click here for the best quality Turmeric Curcumin extract.

Agni and Plants

An excerpt from The Yoga of Herbs – An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine

by Dr. David Frawley and Dr. Vasant Lad

Ayurveda views the health of the body as the functioning of a biological fire governing metabolism. It is called agni. Agni is not simply a symbol for the power of digestion. In the broader sense, it is the creative flame that works behind all life, building up the entire universe as a stage by stage unfoldment of itself, which, thereby, contains within itself the key to all transformations.

spices-ayurvedic-agni

Agni is present not only in human beings but in all nature. It has a special ab

ode in plants, which contain the agni of photosynthesis. When agni is strong, food is digested properly, toxins of various kinds, largely from undigested food particles, (called ama in Ayurveda), accumulate and breed disease.

Plants contain agni, through which they digest sunlight and produce life. Herbs can transmit their agni to us, their capacity to digest and transform, and this may augment our own power of digestion, or give us the capacity to digest substances we normally cannot. The agni of plants can feed our agni. Through this interconnection, we join ourselves with the cosmic agni, the creative force of life and healing.

The agni from plants is magnetically attracted by its opposite nature to the negative life-force of the ama, or various toxic accumulations in our body. The result is their neutralization and a restoration of harmony.

healthy_herbs

Herbs can be used to supplement agni and thereby restore our autoimmune system. This restores the power of our aura, which is nothing more than the glow of our agni.

By their very nature the fight herbs and spices can feed agni, directly strengthening the basic energy of the body-mind, allowing for the right digestion, not only of food but also experience.