It begins in the garden

What are the ingredients in Natural Elixir?

Ten, and the list is the whole product: turmeric, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, garlic, lemon, cayenne pepper, apple cider vinegar, sea salt and chaga mushroom.

Nothing else goes in. No sugar, no honey, no fruit juice to soften it, no preservative, no filler, and no water added to make it go further. That is a shorter list than most things in a kitchen cupboard, and it is the part of this product we would ask you to judge it on.

Every one of the ten has its own page here, going properly into what it is, what the research does and does not show, and who should leave it alone. This page is the map.

Why turmeric and black pepper are never separated

If you only take one piece of formulation trivia from this page, take this one, because it explains a decision most turmeric products get wrong.

Curcumin, the compound turmeric is studied for, is poorly absorbed. Swallow it on its own and most of it passes through you: it dissolves badly in water, the gut wall does not take much of it up, and the liver clears what does get through quickly. That is the single biggest problem in the turmeric literature.

Piperine, the pungent compound in black pepper, slows that clearance down. It is the reason almost every turmeric supplement on a shelf anywhere lists black pepper extract beside it, and the reason traditional cooking has been pairing the two for centuries without needing the mechanism explained.

Turmeric and black pepper. The pairing is old cooking practice and good pharmacology at the same time.

So black pepper is in every bottle, including the Lite and the CBD. It was worth correcting an old habit of ours to say so plainly: earlier labelling described the tonic as containing pepper or cayenne, which suggested the two were alternatives. They are not remotely the same thing. Piperine and capsaicin are different compounds doing different jobs, and cayenne is added for its own sake rather than as a substitute for the pepper.

What each ingredient is there for

One line each, with the compound that makes it interesting. The detail, the studies and the cautions are on the individual pages.

• TurmericThe source of curcumin, the most heavily researched compound in this bottle by a wide margin, and the reason the black pepper is here.
• Black pepperPiperine, present to improve how much of the curcumin actually reaches you.
• GingerGingerols. Ginger has the best human evidence of any culinary spice for settling nausea, and a long traditional association with digestion.
• CinnamonCinnamaldehyde, which is both the warmth you taste and the compound the research follows.
• GarlicAllicin, which does not exist in an intact clove. It forms only when garlic is crushed or cut, and it is unstable once made.
• LemonVitamin C and citric acid. The one ingredient here with authorised nutrient-function claims behind it.
• Cayenne pepperCapsaicin. The heat in the Classic, and the single difference between Classic and Lite.
• Apple cider vinegarAcetic acid. It carries much of the sharpness, and it is a large part of why the tonic keeps without a preservative.
• Sea saltTrace minerals, and a very small amount of it. Under 1 mg of sodium per 100 g, measured.
• Chaga mushroomBeta-glucans and an unusual amount of melanin. The quiet one: it adds almost no flavour.

Lemon, ginger and garlic. None of this is exotic, and that is rather the point.

Notice what that list is not. There is nothing here you have never heard of, nothing proprietary, and nothing with a trademark after it. These are kitchen plants that people have used for centuries, at a food-scale dose, in a form you will actually take every day.

What Natural Elixir does not contain

Worth as much as the ingredient list, and these are measurements from FACT Labs in Durban, a SANAS-accredited laboratory, rather than descriptions we wrote about ourselves.

• No sugarZero grams per 100 g, on an accredited method. No honey either, which a lot of “natural” tonics rely on.
• No fatZero grams.
• Gluten under 5 mg/kgAgainst a 20 mg/kg threshold.
• Very little sodiumUnder 1 mg per 100 g, despite the sea salt.
• No preservativesThe tonic sits at pH 3.06 and is acidic enough to keep itself, which is the same principle behind vinegar and every pickle in your cupboard. A real-time study put the shelf life at twelve months with nothing added.
• About four kilocaloriesIn a 25 ml serving, so it fits any way of eating and will not break a fast.

Does Natural Elixir have any side effects?

People ask this often and it deserves a proper answer rather than a reassuring one.

It is a food made of foods, and for most people taking it is uneventful. The one common complaint is predictable from the ingredient list: it is acidic and peppery, so it can give you heartburn or a burning stomach, particularly on an empty one. Taking it with food usually settles that, and so does a smaller measure to begin with.

The heat itself is capsaicin acting on nerve endings in the mouth and throat. It is a sensation, not a measure of potency, and it tells you nothing about whether anything is working.

Who should be careful with Natural Elixir

A short list, and each item is a real interaction rather than a theoretical one.

1. Reflux, a hiatus hernia, or an active stomach ulcerAn acidic peppery shot is the wrong thing for an irritated stomach. Leave it until that has settled and your doctor is happy.
2. Blood-thinning medicationGarlic, ginger and turmeric can all add to the effect of warfarin and similar drugs. This is the interaction most worth raising with a pharmacist.
3. Surgery coming upSame reason. The usual advice is to stop garlic and ginger a week or two beforehand.
4. Kidney stones or reduced kidney functionChaga is high in oxalate. The amount in a tonic is small, but if you have a history of stones it is worth a conversation.
5. Pregnancy and breastfeedingSeveral of these plants are fine as food and have not been studied at concentrated daily doses. Ask your midwife or doctor.
6. GallstonesTurmeric can prompt the gallbladder to contract, which is not what you want with a stone in it.

None of that is unusual for a concentrated botanical product, and all of it is on the individual ingredient pages in more detail.

Common questions about Natural Elixir ingredients

Ten of these, chosen and left alone.

The garden is still where this starts. Ten plants people have been using for centuries, pressed into something you can take in one mouthful before the day begins, with nothing added to make it easier to swallow. Read about any of them and you will know more about what is in your bottle than most labels will ever tell you.

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Natural Elixir is a natural health tonic and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always speak to a healthcare professional before changing your diet, supplements, or medication, and never stop prescribed treatment without medical guidance.