About a year ago when I was finalizing the rVita business plan, one prominent silicon valley VC asked me (probably to test my knowledge on the subject) - “does a pinch of turmeric with warm milk cure sore throat?” he heard this on one of his conference calls with entrepreneurs in India. Obviously it was clear that my VC friend was having trouble on the con call and they told him a traditional Ayurvedic remedy. My answer was “YES, DEFINITELY”; why? because my mom and grandma swear by it. That’s what kids in India got when I was growing up there - a safe, effective and nutritious therapy passed down from generation to generation. No scientific trials were needed, we knew it just worked. His follow-up question was “where do I buy it?” - More on that later.

My second run in with Turmeric for rVita came a few months ago. When I had mentioned my business idea to another CEO in the Valley, he said “good idea”. He had already been practicing alternative medicine. As it turns out, his wife makes him take turmeric capsules (he had the bottle in his briefcase). Apparently she’s a Dr. Andrew Weil follower and had read on drweil.com that the anti-inflammatory properties of Turmeric prevent skin cancer. Guess golf has its side effects!

Just yesterday, my wife Dr. Shashwati Kale, a family medicine doctor and co-founder of rVita.com got another comment on Turmeric from one of her patients. “If turmeric can prevent Alzheimer’s why are there not any medical trials on this? Why don’t they publish this? Why aren’t Indian pharmaceutical companies packaging it and selling in the US?”

Here’s the background for her comment: Folks see news articles like “Turmeric can prevent Alzheimer’s”, but the article leaves them hanging. The article’s logic goes like this - India has 1/4 the amount of Alzheimer’s cases per capita than the US and Indians eat meals with at least some amount of curry everyday, and turmeric is the main ingredient, so that’s it! Turmeric prevents Alzheimer’s, right? The scientific minded reader is probably going to say “no, no no, not so fast, this doesn’t prove anything; what about other factors genetics, climate, etc.; i.e. there is no causal relationship between eating turmeric and preventing Alzheimer’s”. OK, so we need scientific trials, but don’t hold your breath, efficacy data won’t be available right away for most of these remedies. Why? Because no one has a vested interest in testing a commodity product on a medical condition. No patents, no Billion Dollar (or Euro or Rupee) revenue streams, so no quick controlled Phase III trials. As a result, it’s left to research funded by the government, and non-profits grants to find out whether it “really” works. We know that things move much slower in absence of “pure” profit motivated endeavors. Also, given nature of Alzheimer’s (or cancer for that matter) things will take a long time to prove, but the scientific community IS on it. (See research from UCLA neurology department).

But what about something less serious; sore throat. We think this is where the wisdom of the many can help us. Wouldn’t it be nice if moms and grandmas told us which herbal remedies they know will work based on their backgrounds and cultures? This is the power of rVita; to provide a complete 360 degree view on remedies for various conditions from the scientific, practitioner, and user communities. It may no be a substitute for scientific trials, but we have to ask ourselves if these natural remedies with minimal side effects really need detailed trials for conditions such as a sore throat. Also, we do not necessarily recommend you run to the store and buy supplements. In most cases, it is best to visit an Ayurvedic or Herb clinician who can evaluate you and give you a personalized dose for your condition. This is our goal; to get you educated and get you in touch with Trusted practitioners. In addition, there may not be obvious side effects to natural remedies, but sometimes there can be interactions with conventional medication, so seeing a knowledgeable CAM provider or working with your PCP can eliminate that risk.

At rVita, we believe that consumers need to be empowered to take control of their health. In this vein, we hope to give users the complete picture from the Integrative, complementary, and alternative medicine (ICAM) perspective, as well as provide you with all the tools need to pursue the right path towards better health.

To your Health (Vita)!

Niteen