In 2014 my body broke.

One debilitating injury led to another, and then another. I was in pain, inflamed, and exhausted. Conventional medicine offered me management. I wanted something more.

I had been brought up with the adage "Let food be thy medicine" and so, instead of accepting what I was told, I went searching. I wanted something ancient, pure, and powerful enough to support my body day after day without compromise.

That search led me to turmeric. Not the supermarket kind. The rare kind.

Most people have no idea what they are actually buying when it comes to turmeric. Research from Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute found curcumin content in ordinary turmeric at approximately 0.3%. Factor in age, poor storage, light exposure and careless processing, and independent testing of commercial products has found curcumin levels as low as 0.03%. (Source) Consumers are largely in the dark about what they are actually getting. This is why how turmeric is grown, sliced, dried and sourced is everything.

I quickly learned that the best turmeric is measured by its curcumin content, and not all turmeric is created equal. Alleppey turmeric, one of the finer varieties, reaches 4% to 6%. But Lakadong turmeric, grown in the wild hills of Meghalaya in northeast India, contains 7% to 12% curcumin, the highest curcumin content of any turmeric variety in the world. It has since earned India's prestigious Geographical Indication tag in recognition of its exceptional quality.

Because it is as rare as true saffron, Lakadong turmeric cannot be replicated or replaced. To put its potency into perspective, just one teaspoon delivers the curcumin equivalent of anywhere between 3 and 10 teaspoons of ordinary turmeric, depending on its quality. You need far less, and you get far more.

My research also uncovered the ancient wisdom of moringa, known as the miracle tree and the tree of life. Traditionally, every part of the moringa tree has been used for its medicinal purposes, from the leaves to the roots, across cultures and centuries. Moringa leaf is considered the most nutrient-dense plant on earth, and it is now a vital part of the Emaya family.

In the wild hills of Meghalaya, our rare Lakadong turmeric is gathered entirely by hand by the women of the Khasi Hills, one of the world's last great matrilineal societies, where ancestry, property, and identity all pass through the mother. There is something quietly profound about a product rooted in feminine wisdom, grown in feminine land, made for a body that deserves daily care.

I also discovered that how you take turmeric matters just as much as which turmeric you choose.

The Khasi people have known this for centuries. They dry their Lakadong turmeric traditionally, in sunshine, sliced at the precise thickness that preserves the highest possible curcumin content. This is not folklore. Published research has since confirmed that the way turmeric is sliced during drying directly affects its curcuminoid content. (Read the study) Science is confirming what tradition long understood.

Curcumin is fat-soluble. Without the right natural companions it passes through the body largely unabsorbed. This is the fundamental problem with turmeric juice shots, which separate curcumin from the fat-soluble matrix and activating compounds it needs. And with isolated curcumin capsules, which strip away the very compounds that make turmeric work in the first place.