Bye-bye Coffee Jitters, Hello Black Turmeric: A Natural Energy Alternative
It’s a Monday morning, and you’re stumbling around your kitchen like a zombie. You can barely keep your eyes open, and your brain is moving slower than a snail in molasses. Your hands are shaky, and you only have one thought on your mind: caffeine, please! In fact, you might even consider coffee to be your lifeblood, unable to be a coherent functional human being without at least three cups of coffee. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you – if you’re anything like how I was, you’re probably fatigued, low on energy, and addicted to coffee (or Monster energy). Whether you’re a student trying not to drown in endless midterms and papers or a corporate worker flooded with never-ending meetings and emails, everyone has experienced a time in their lives when they are just chronically tired and addicted to caffeine. I totally get it.
But here’s the thing, my fellow caffeine addicts: caffeine may be our go-to fuel, but it’s not exactly a superfood. In fact, it has some pretty negative effects on our gut health, skin, metabolism, quality of sleep, and our bank accounts (yes, spending $6.65 on a Grande Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso every morning adds up – believe me, I know). And so, knowing this, you try to decrease your caffeine intake, but then you realize that you are at a point where you’re too tired and too far down the caffeine addict pipeline to do so. Now you feel hopeless, bloated, still tired, and also broke. Does this sound like you?
An actual picture of the copious Starbucks coffees I consumed in one sitting during Northwestern’s exam week
Well, fear not! Recently, I have found the perfect alternative that helped me out of my raging caffeine addiction that left me feeling more energized than ever before: black turmeric tea. I know, I know; if you’re anything like how I was when my life depended on coffee, you’re probably looking down at your screen incredulously, thinking, “Seriously? Tea? That’s your idea of a solution?” But in black turmeric we trust – I went from falling asleep in lectures and walking around in a daze even after six shots of espresso daily to being able to enjoy coffee on an occasional basis and living every day on my own, natural energy. And guess what? You can, too! So sit back, and let’s dive into the energy boosting world of black turmeric.
What is black turmeric?
First, let’s find out what exactly this black turmeric is and why it’s so special. Black turmeric, or kali haldi, is a very powerful, anti-inflammatory antioxidant native to northeastern and central India. Contrary to its name, black turmeric is actually a beautiful mix of purple, green, and blue hues. It is extremely rare, but here in Easeland Organic Farm, it grows rapidly in the nutrient-dense soil in sustainable harvests. Although pretty unheard of in the West, black turmeric is recognized as one of the most effective and potent medicinal herbs throughout South and Southeast Asia.
How is black turmeric different from regular turmeric?
Just like yellow turmeric, black turmeric offers a plethora of benefits for overall health, including boosted immunity, improved digestion, speeded weight loss, increased stamina, and so much more. These benefits can be mainly attributed to curcumin, a compound contained in turmeric that gives it its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, anti-bacterial, and anti-carcinogenic properties.
However, what makes black turmeric so special is that it has the highest curcumin percentage compared to any other variety of turmeric in the world, containing 14.8% of curcumin compared to its yellow counterpart with 6.8%. If that’s difficult to visualize, think of it this way: 1000-2000 mg of curcumin is seen as the most beneficial daily amount of consumption for the best effects. Now, a typical turmeric finger is about 100 grams. In one finger, yellow turmeric contains 6,800 mg of curcumin while black turmeric contains a whopping 14,800 mg!
What causes fatigue?
Fatigue can have many causes, but the most common cause of chronic fatigue and low energy levels is inflammation. Inflammation can be caused by harmful pathogens and chemicals, but it can more commonly be caused by daily regimens, like sitting for long periods, stress, and lack of high quality sleep. Every single person has inflammation in their body to some degree, although on a daily basis, it doesn’t have many effects that you would notice. Our body generates the energy needed to function in our daily lives through ATP production. Our bodies make energy by using glucose in foods as the currency to ‘pay’ for making ATP. However, when our body has inflammation, our immune systems focus on trying to get rid of whatever is causing the inflammation. As a result, the glucose and energy that we intake are used to fight the inflammation instead of being used to power ATP production. As a result, the energy you are consuming is being taken up by the immune system to fight inflammation instead of being used to keep you awake, alert, and energized.
Why is curcumin so special?
Upregulation of ATP Production
Now here is where our black turmeric’s energy boosting powers come into play. Black turmeric, with its immense amount of curcumin, increases levels of ATPase, an enzyme that helps to boost ATP production in cells. In an experiment done with mice at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, researchers found that when fourteen-week-old mice orally consumed curcumin for four weeks, their ATPase activity increased by 152% compared to fourteen-week-old mice that did not consume any curcumin. This means that when we consume curcumin, the cells in our body are able to produce ATP faster and more easily than if we don’t consume curcumin. Thus, we will have much more energy in our day-to-day functioning.
Resolution of Inflammation
Simple Depiction of Efferocytosis of Inflammation
In addition, curcumin has extensive anti-inflammatory properties, helping to reduce inflammation in our bodies. Every day, our bodies are constantly going through a process called efferocytosis in which cells ‘eat’ and remove unnecessary and harmful cells, including things that cause inflammation. The faster our cells go through this process, the faster our bodies are able to get rid of inflammation.
The speed of efferocytosis can be increased with the presence of special cells that help our immune cells find and eat the harmful cells faster – aka specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs). Researchers at the Center for Immunology and Inflammation found that the chemical properties in curcumin increase the levels of one type of SPM called peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) by 125%. So curcumin increases PPAR-γ, thereby resolving inflammation more efficiently.
What does this mean?
So what does all of this mean? The reason we are tired is because of inflammation in our body, even if it’s such a small amount that you would barely notice on a daily basis. Inflammation causes our immune cells to ‘steal’ the energy we need to get rid of whatever is causing the inflammation instead of powering the production of ATP. However, black turmeric contains extremely high levels of curcumin, a natural chemical that helps to boost ATP production and speeds up the process of removing inflammation. So black turmeric is a natural, healthy energy booster that keeps you energized for a long time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, black turmeric tea provides a natural and healthy alternative to caffeine consumption. Its benefits for overall health, specifically for immunity, digestion, weight loss, and stamina, make it a valuable addition to anyone’s diet. By reducing the dependency on caffeine, individuals can improve their overall well-being and reduce the negative effects that caffeine has on the body. And there’s no catch because despite its abundance of benefits, black turmeric is also affordable! Thanks to black turmeric, I am no longer a raging caffeine dependent – my gut health, skin, metabolism, and my bank account are very, very happy. On top of that, no more caffeine crashes, Starbucks splurges, or foggy brain syndrome throughout the day! So why not give it a try? Your body will thank you.