Turmeric Toxicity: PART TWO! – with Dr Lisa Raskin; your SV Ayurveda Newsletter March 5, 2026, #8, Vol 16

This week we cover the topic of Turmeric – again – as you can guess there is more, much more, to share about the golden spice and its rampant misuse!

We now know that consuming spices is not just a matter of adding flavor to your meals – even though popular belief and a quick google search still confirms this! 

“Spices are primarily used to enhance food through:

• Flavor/Aroma: Ranging from sweet (cinnamon) to pungent (clove).
• Color: Turmeric and paprika are used specifically for their vibrant yellow and red hues.”

We are truly blessed to have the full ayurvedic picture of what the human body is, and how it operates via the digestive fireS nestled within the 7 bodily dhatus/tissues, as well as the 5 bhutagni-s that govern the liver. These ayurvedic teachings help us begin to understand how each spice has unique distinct properties on different levels of the digestive process. This is why, spices are NOT be what they seem! For example, did you know that the green chili that is oh-so-pungent on the tongue actually only has its action in rasa dhatu with is the first tissue? Its effect fuzzes out like a cheap firecracker and its pungency has no impact after that first level – it only helps not make ama of food we are eating, but it cannot help digest things on the deeper tissue levels. On the other hand, did you know that Saffron – the highly prized and higher priced multi-faceted spice – even though mild in flavor – is so heating, sharp, and penetrating that is travels all the way deep into the 5th tissue, the bone tissue, and there, through its hot virya/property, detox fat and helps build bone? 

Ayurveda opens up a fascinating world of properties and usages for spices. In this context, the use of Turmeric is so wrong, as Dr Lisa Raskin reminded us last week through Vaidya Mishra’s “prediction” that its misuse would be confused with its balancing properties. This is why in this week’s newsletter we cover more of Vaidya’s videos on the topic in addition to two new testimonials – scroll down to read more. Plus we are happy to announce that Dr Lisa Raskin is offering 20 minute “clarity call” sessions during which she will guide and advise you on specific questions you may have – more details below. 

Here’s to your health through the ayurvedic use of the golden spice - namaste! 

 ”If this resonated and you’re wondering whether what you’re taking might be working against your body rather than with it, I offer a 20-minute Clarity Call to explore whether this path fits what your body is asking for. $50, applied to your care if you move forward. No pressure, just listening. Click here: Clarity Call with Dr Lisa

Dr. Lisa Raskin, DC

Soma Radiant Wellness

Personalized, Root-Cause Care for Women

somaradiantwellness.com

 More Info Here

A testimonial from Ken G. (March 3, 2026)

“Four weeks ago my hands broke out in severe swelling and itchy rashes. We self-identified that I had had too much ‘curry’ too many days in a row — curry powder, curry sauce and also a curcumin supplement. We have seen this body reaction for me when my liver dislikes processing food ‘toxins’ I ingested. I got this eating too much ham (nitrates and other processing?) and from coconut milk (gums?). […]

(BTW – my […] sweetheart is an expert muscle tester and so she figured it all out, and I have been on a slow rebuild diet since then — cooked vegetables, beans/lentils, millet/barley/quinoa separated by 3 hours from uncooked fruit).  

Thanks for your article on the dangers of curcumin as a supplement … that might explain what we observed.  I had only started on that curcumin supplement a few weeks earlier. So, thank you for it!

Thank you also for the opinion piece you wrote about covering the back of the head/spine/vagus. It jibes with a few of my […] clients’ experience, so I point them to the article to read more.”

Turmeric Sutra with Vaidya Mishra

A Testimonial from Jay S. (March 5, 2026)

I met the SVA Team at the Conscious Life Expo almost two weeks ago. I learnt that the use of raw turmeric in my morning smoothies, as well as sprinkling uncooked turmeric to my salads/meals was definitely NOT a healthy move! I had been doing this for quite a while to address health issues but things had not been improving at all. After learning of Vaidya Mishra’s deep insights and teachings on the topic, I decided to give it a try. It’s been a week since I stopped consuming turmeric gratuitously in my shakes and meals without proper preparation and I confirm that my skins rashes, are abating, my anxiety levels do not peak anymore, I feel less hot and bothered, and more at ease. I am ready to explore SVA precepts and protocols further. THANK YOU for keeping the knowledge going! 

Top 20 Benefits of Turmeric

In case you missed Dr Raskin’s article from last week, we are re-running it for your convenience below.

Turmeric Toxicity

Truth

or

Hype?

~ with Dr Lisa Raskin (DC)

About 18 years ago, I organized a public talk for Vaidya Mishra when he visited my practice in Austin.

I will never forget what he told the audience that night.

He predicted that within a decade or two, turmeric would be declared toxic and possibly even banned.

People were stunned.

Turmeric? The golden healing spice?

How could something used safely for thousands of years become problematic?

But Vaidya wasn’t talking about turmeric itself. He was talking about the way we were beginning to use it.

Here’s what he explained to us:

“Raw turmeric — or isolated curcumin in pills — is not the same thing as turmeric cooked properly in food.

And used incorrectly, it can overwhelm the liver.”

Same substance. Completely different effect.

Fast forward 18 years, and his prediction has come true.

We now have clinical reports and published cases of drug-induced liver injury caused by turmeric supplements — especially concentrated curcumin combined with piperine (black pepper extract), used in conjuction to force absorption!

The patterns are consistent:

• elevated liver enzymes

• hepato-cellular injury

• onset weeks to months after starting supplements

• improvement after stopping

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration issued an alert. The U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network published cases. Medical journals are documenting severe reactions. Genetic susceptibility (specific HLA variants) is being reported.

I learned this lesson myself a few years ago!

I was dealing with significant joint pain. Long story. And I gave in – I bought one of those curcumin supplements.

Day one? Felt amazing. Day two? My body broke out in hive-like eruptions all over.

And I knew immediately what had happened. I’d been practicing SVA for so long that my body had developed an intelligence – it couldn’t bypass the principles anymore. It rejected what wasn’t safe, even when my mind wanted a quick fix.

Vaidya Mishra was right: it was never the turmeric — it was the form.

Food turmeric – the kind you cook with – is not the same as isolated curcumin in capsules, even at regular doses.

When you isolate curcumin, you strip away the plant’s intelligence — the cooling, balancing, buffering components that nature built around it. The liver gets hit with a single, potent, heating molecule and has to work double-time to process.

A hot liver loses its fine intelligence.

And that heat radiates outward — into the blood, immune system, and tissues.

But when you cook turmeric with other spices into food?

The other spices balance it. Protect it. Activate its intelligence without overwhelming your system.

The fats (ghee or olive oil) and water extract both the fat-soluble and water-soluble healing properties in a form your body can actually use.

Mom’s Super-Spice – with or without green chillies, with Turmeric and 20 more spices – is a tridoshic ready-to-use ayurvedic spice mix. Most masalas need to be cooked but “Mom’s Masala” is pre-toasted so you can sprinkle it on your soup, make a dressing with some olive oil and lime for a salad, or just add it to anything – delicious with fruit too! It satisfies cravings, balances all doshas, supports metabolism and absorption too. Get the benefits of all spices without worrying about preparation!

Dr Raskin continued:

And it goes into your body as food, not as a drug your liver has to frantically process. This is what “At what cost?” means.

Does a curcumin supplement reduce inflammation quickly? Yes. Does it come with a cost? Immediately for some people, years later for others.

If you want turmeric’s benefits, cook with it. Use it the way it’s been used for thousands of years.

Add it to your tridoshic spice mix. Cook it into your vegetables with ghee and water. Let it work as part of a whole system, not as an isolated compound.

Your liver will thank you.

Vaidya Mishra saw this coming. He understood that when we take ancient healing substances and turn them into pharmaceuticals, we lose the “intelligence” – and we create new problems.

Your body knows the difference between food and isolated compounds. Trust it!

Lisa Raskin (D.C.)

www.somaradiantwellness.com

Did you know that in addition to adding it to food, Turmeric has been used transdermally for thousands of years in India? Newly weds have to go through a turmeric paste ritual BEFORE their wedding day to make their skin glow! One of the properties of Turmeric is “varnya” – it enhances the radiance of the skin and is the perfect ingredient for daily use for skin care for nourishing and detoxing safely and effectively!

Take Vaidya Mishra “With You” – Everywhere You Go!

if you ever had the opportunity to meet Vaidya Mishra in person, or have encountered him via his many youtube videos or online courses, then you know what we mean! We all want to have him travel with us in this earthly journey, to help us in our decisions along the way, through the timeless wisdom and knowledge of SV Ayurved. And now we can! If you have not discovered our podcast channel yet, we invite you to look it up and explore the timeless teachings of SVAyurveda, as well as fabulous talks by other SVAyurveda doctors and educators.

We want to help you protect your purchase – there’s been an increase in lost/stolen packages.

To protect your shipment – in case your shipping address is not secure – we have now added the “signature delivery” option upon check-out on www.chandika.com and we highly recommend you select it to ensure your package is guaranteed to reach you after it leaves our warehouse. Kindly note we are unable to replace stolen/misplaced packages once they are confirmed delivered by the carrier of your choice.