Carol was as healthy as one could be and took very good care of herself. And then one day in 2015, as life happens, everything changed. One day she could suddenly not get out of bed. She could not even open her eyes and just going to the bathroom became a massive effort. We of course thought it was just “fatigue” and she slept in several days; and literally stayed in bed. She started to develop strange rashes at the same time. We didn’t realize it was all linked. 

We made many visits to different doctors and could not get any answers. When we did a comprehensive blood test, we got the first inkling of what the issue might be. Her kidney function was in steady decline, and her kidneys were worsening for no apparent reason. 

The doctors began to suspect Lupus: A prominent yet not fully understood disease. 

To keep this simple, and perhaps over-simplified, Lupus is an auto-immune disorder, one of the most common in the family of auto-immune diseases. In Lupus, basically the body’s own immune system goes “haywire” and can attack its own healthy tissues. This was what was happening to Carol’s kidneys; they were being attacked from within. Little is known about the underlying causes of Lupus and treatment is limited to regular dosages of steroids such as prednisone, to suppress immune function. When controlled, Lupus patients can enjoy a normal lifespan. But they can never stray far from their daily dosages of steroids, which come with their own ugly side effects. And no matter what the Lupus patient does, they are still plagued by “flares” when their Lupus awakens, and they are bedridden and under even higher dosages of steroids to bring the flares under control. 

Once Carol started taking daily prednisone, she truly transformed back to normal most of the time. But she would still get a massive flare every few months, and the effects of taking a steroid like prednisone were pronounced. Her face swelled up, very puffy and she had other physical impacts. 

Her daily dosage of prednisone was fairly typical. She took about 25 mg per day on “normal” days, and much higher dosages, up to double, when a flare appeared. 

Being a physiologist by training, I threw myself, along with Carol, into researching Lupus. We simply refused to accept the prognosis of, “There is nothing we can do beyond prescribing steroids” and we did our homework. 

What we found interesting is the role of inflammation. It’s not an exaggeration to say one of the single-largest health issues in the world today is chronic inflammation. Inflammation lies at the root of all auto-immune disorders certainly including lupus. It lies at the base of so many diseases today, from cancer to Alzheimer’s to even Covid-19. When you hear of someone succumbing to Covid, you will hear them talk of a “Cytokine storm”. Well, cytokines are inflammatory markers! To keep it simple, inflammation lies at the root of most diseases we talk about today. 

Inflammation is all around us, it can be caused by diet, environmental factors, lifestyles, so many elements in life cause inflammation. And, chronic inflammation, which so many people suffer from, is not always manifested as a disease. It can be a wide range of generic symptoms: Fatigue, low energy, swelling of the joints, non-specific joint pain, the list goes on and on. 

One of the best remedies for inflammation is turmeric, or curcumin, the essential ingredient in curry dishes. Literally reams of research have been done on the amazing anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin in the human body. Reams of research and peer-reviewed studies. 

The issue is what is called “bio-availability” which refers to how much of the curcumin a person ingests actually makes it into the bloodstream. The problem is, the bioavailability of curcumin is very low, under 10% of what you ingest makes it to being bio-available for the body to use. Now, if you are ingesting a diet of high levels of curcumin in every meal, well this can mean you actually get enough. But, if you don’t eat that much curry, or you take standard curcumin capsules from a health food store, chances are you aren’t getting any of the real anti-inflammatory benefits of the curcumin. 

In our research, we did find this doctor and researcher in The Netherlands, Dr. Michal Heger of University of Utrecht who had developed a unique and proprietary method of “micellizing” the curcumin molecules in a way that protects them from destruction in digestion and ensures high absorption and hence bioavailability. In-fact, his product delivers a bioavailability of over 90% (!) and means only several drops of the product in a glass of water delivers full benefits!

This product was named MOTIVA IMMUNO BOOSTER and we ordered several bottles. We started with merely 6-10 drops per day, and over a period of 3 months or so, we saw Carol’s dosage of daily prednisone drop from previously 25 mg to down to 10-15 range. And she experienced NO FLARES whatsoever during this time. We were excited. And hopeful.

We actually talked to Dr. Heger, and we discussed higher dosages. There has been extensive research done by Dr. Heger in his university labs, and as a natural food product, there is really no known toxicity. To go up to a level of 30 drops/day would not pose any issues whatsoever based on all the data. It’s safe and no side effects. It’s not a chemical, it’s taking a product directly from nature. 

So, we upped the dosage to 30 drops per day to see what happened. 

Within the first 6 weeks, Carol was able to reduce her daily intake of prednisone down to 5 MG. No issues, full of energy and no flares. So, she started splitting the little 5 mg tablets into half and taking 2.5 mg/day. And still no issues at all. And after a few weeks, of probably a bit of psychological addiction to the prednisone, one day Carol cut it to zero….and nothing happened! She kept going to the gym every day, felt great, and no flares at all!

Gradually all of the side effects of prednisone dissipated. Her swelling disappeared. Her Blood pressure returned to normal levels.

After nearly 6 months of this, we made a visit to Carol’s rheumatologist here in Dubai, one of the best in the world. And she ordered a full “Lupus panel” of blood work. It’s so many tests, they take 6 vials of blood! I will never forget what the doctor said when we went back after a week to review the blood results:

“If I did not know better, and know your history, I would say you do NOT have Lupus. Every single marker is perfect and there is no sign whatsoever you have SLE, or Lupus.”

“What is the name of this curcumin supplement you are taking?”