In part 5 of HANAH's Purity Quality Results series we discuss the qualities that make HANAH Turmeric+, Ashwagandha+, and Shilajit+ so effective 

The previous post in this series explored how with our flagship product, HANAH ONE, we started with desired results like improved focus and cognition, increased immunity, and greater vitality and then worked backwards to find and combine 30 pure, high-quality botanicals that would provide these. This quality-centric approach doesn’t apply to HANAH ONE, but to all of our products. In this article, we’re going to look at how the precise formulation of three others – Turmeric+, Ashwagandha+, and Shilajit+ – increases the potency, efficacy, and bioavailability of each ingredient. We’ll also examine the unique, traditional way that Ashwagandha+ is created, and the positive impact this has on the final product.

1 + 1 = 2,000

Here at HANAH, we often talk about the accumulative benefits that can be derived from taking HANAH ONE and our other offerings every day. Doing so is like compound interest for your health and wellbeing, as the long-term effects far outweigh the acute ones you’d get from eating a spoonful occasionally – just like being active every day delivers better results than only hitting the gym or pounding the pavement once or twice a month.

There’s another component to the notion that the sum of HANAH’s ingredients are greater than that of its parts. This comes into play with both the amount of each botanical that’s included in each serving, and also how our pure ingredients are combined. One example is HANAH Turmeric+. All too many turmeric supplements use low-grade roots that are either grown in factory-farm conditions, are not harvested at the proper point of maturity, or are even just the leftover scraps discarded from higher-grade roots and ground up. Not so with the main ingredient in HANAH Turmeric+, which we source only from a woman’s collective who hand-harvest the roots from the pristine soils watered by fresh mountain springs in Bhutan at just the right time every year.

Once we’ve selected the finest turmeric and discarded the rest, we then combine it with black pepper. Research shows that the piperine phytochemical in the pepper enhances the absorption of turmeric’s immunity-boosting, cancer-fighting curcumin compound by up to 2,000%.

Bringing the “Destroyer of Weakness” to the West

Another HANAH product that is made greater than the sum of its parts through our proprietary formulation is Shilajit+. As the earth’s tectonic plates shift, layers of rock get compressed under extremely high pressure. In the Himalayas, this results in all kinds of organic matter becoming squashed between stones over centuries and millennia. During warm summer months, a resin known locally as “black gold” seeps out. HANAH Hero/Academy award-winning Free Solo director Jimmy Chin witnessed this firsthand when locals asked him to climb up a steep rockface to collect it during a trip to Bhutan.

Shilajit is prized in mountain communities because of its ability to boost energy levels, increase vitality, elevate stamina, and deliver better focus and clarity. Recent chemical analysis revealed the source of such advantages: a bevy of fulvic and humic acids, along with 85 minerals in a highly absorbable ionic form.

By itself, Shilajit is often called “destroyer of weakness” by Himalayan tribes that have long enjoyed its benefits. Our team of Ayurvedic experts found that it’s even more efficacious when combined with two other powerful adaptogens: ashwagandha and Mucuna pruriens extract. The former reduces stress and anxiety according to a review published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, while the latter boosts cognition, assists in nervous system function, and moderates mood, as noted in a detailed study conducted by researchers at the University of Siena in Italy. Once again, the power of Shilajit+ comes from how its formulated, as well as the purity and quality of all three ingredients.

In a recent interview, Dr. Venugopal, an Ayurvedic expert who oversees the development of all HANAH products in Kerala, India, explained the thinking behind this additive approach:

“Shilajit+ is more than plain shilajit. It’s a brain tonic, it’s cardio-protective, and it’s an aphrodisiac,” Dr. V said. “In the modern lifestyle things have changed and we have so much stress. We need something that can help us deal with our stress threshold, so we add ashwagandha, which is not only good for stress management, but is also a tonic. Mucuna is a neuromuscular coordinator and modulator, and improves your mood, which is one of the most important requirements for people. The combination gives more benefits than plain Shilajit.”

Ancient Methods Provide Modern Results

It has become commonplace for supplement companies to create their blends in laboratories and factories using low-grade (and often synthesized – see our deep dive into the great cordyceps swindle) raw materials that provide little if any benefit to the consumer beyond the placebo effect.

In contrast, we not only hand-harvest wild ingredients from the jungles and forests of India and the slopes of the Himalayan Plateau in the Kingdom of Bhutan, but also process these using ancient techniques handed down through generations via oral traditions and Ayurveda textbooks. Modern methods often involve high heat and pressure levels, harsh solvents, and fast, large-batch processing that aims to get as much product on store shelves as quickly as possible.

This can degrade or even destroy the ingredients, leach chemicals into the mixture, and lead to low-quality output. Whereas the time-tested methods utilized by our team in Kerala, India and the Kingdom of Bhutan emphasize preserving the properties of the full plants and herbs with gentle, patient cooking and distillation of small batches that are meticulously executed by experts with years of experience.

In some cases, such techniques actually enhance the bioavailability of the finished product. This is the case with the preparation of Ashwagandha+. Rather than just grinding up roots and putting them in jars, we soak them in nutrient-dense grass-fed cow’s milk first. In Ayurveda, milk is regarded as an anupana (vehicle) that increases the herb’s bioavailability and potency. It also helps reduce bitterness, making the end product more palatable. And as such milk and ashwagandha are rasayanas (rejuvenators), Ashwagandha+ is a double rasayana that is even more effective at helping the body deal with stress, improving endurance, and increasing resilience.

 “In Ayurveda, there is a particular process that when translated, means cleansing or purifying,” he said. “It turns the original root into a more acceptable form for human digestion and absorption. So what we do is process the ashwagandha with pure cow’s milk. This processing changes the structure in such a way that all its potency needed for human physiological functions are made available. This makes HANAH Ashwagandha+ special.” Dr. V’s take on our one-of-a-kind process.

To learn more about HANAH's commitment to Purity, Quality and Results - take a peak at our PQR series below:

• PQR: The HANAH promise: Purity, Quality and Results
• PQR: HANAH's quest for Purity
• PQR: HANAH's Quality promise
• PQR: HANAH's commitment to Results