Our Story

One man's journey to health

As a pharmacist, my story is still one plagued with illness – one that stayed with me for 10 long years. Yet, my journey to health led to the creation of Golden Life Turmeric Blend, and a renewed vitality in my own life. For that, I am grateful every day.

My story begins 10 years ago, in my early thirties. I considered myself to be a fit, healthy individual. My diet was balanced and leaned toward the healthier side, and I exercised most days of the week. I would run, lift weights and hike – I love the outdoors, and the Western Cape offers endless, beautiful outdoor escapes.

A few months into a new, more intensive training regime, I started contracting upper respiratory infections in my nose, throat and chest. It began a cycle of two weeks of training, followed by two weeks of illness. As an amateur ‘outdoorsman’, this was heartbreaking. I felt as if I wasn’t living the life I wanted, and of course this led to other symptoms that affected my daily life, on an emotional and psychological level as well.

I turned to daily immune boosters to try to heal the core issue. I used echinacea, vitamin C and multivitamins, but almost always defaulted to antibiotics for the “quick fix”. However, once I had recovered and was back to training, the sickness would return. So I would start another cycle of antibiotics.

The result was an overuse of antibiotics, and I developed a resistance to most of these commonly prescribed cures. It’s a strange feeling to be taking a pill you believe to be your route to recovery, and not feeling one shred of benefit.

Eventually, I developed severe tonsillitis and was hospitalised. Despite a procedure to straighten my nasal septum, and a tonsillectomy, the infections continued to persist. It had now been 10 years since I first contracted an infection.

“I felt frustrated and knew I couldn’t go back to antibiotics. I started researching alternate remedies and turmeric and ginger came at the top of every search. Turmeric in particular fascinated me, with its anti-inflammatory properties and the endless list of health benefits.”

I read more, and immersed myself in the science of the spice, where I learnt about the importance of the quality of the ingredients. Luckily, I had some pure Indian turmeric on hand, and combined this with fresh ginger, milk and honey – and drank my first cup of golden milk. It was an amazing turn around for my health. But it tasted awful!

This wasn’t something I was going to be able to drink every day, but I knew I needed it to rebuild my immune system and protect myself from the cycle of ill health.

Science brings out the flavour

My pharmaceutical background helped me understand what was genuinely needed in a healthy turmeric blend, and why. Black pepper is an important component to boost the activation of curcumin in the turmeric, and a delicate balance is required for both taste and effect.

And so, I started experimenting.

Thankfully my wife, who is also a pharmacist and an antibiotic steward at Cape Town’s Groote Schuur Hospital, was with me on this journey, and we worked our way through countless formulas. Ginger and cinnamon were added (both for taste and because of their individual health benefits), and when combined with the turmeric, a powerful blend was created.

Together with our spice merchant, who sourced the most premium ingredients and expertly blended them to reach the perfect balance, we finally found our formula – it had optimal extraction and was flavourful. After months of hard work, and years of learning, we finally had a blend that was wholesome and delicious to consume.

“I started drinking a cup of this new Golden Life Turmeric Blend every day, and the immediate effect was evident. I started sleeping better, which made me less grumpy and I generally felt much calmer.”

Not one to keep a good thing a secret, I let my customers in our pharmacy experience the blend for themselves. I could see the need for a product that would offer natural, holistic wellness, prevent illness and help others to live their Golden Life – and the feedback was positively amazing! The healing stories I continue to hear from my customers are gratifying and inspiring.

My own healing journey with Golden Life Turmeric Blend has been greatly rewarding. My overall health has dramatically improved and I find I don’t get sick as often. With 10 years of illness behind me, my antibiotic usage is down from around 10-12 a year, to two a year.

What’s amazed me more is the improvement in my fitness level. I’m back to my outdoor hikes and trail runs, and I’m beating my previous running times. My improved endurance and muscle recovery time means I can now run almost daily. The muscle pain and exhaustion I used to feel has been eliminated. I’m also now able to bench press above my own body weight with no severe pain the next day. The increased strength, stamina and endurance I feel blows me away.

My hope now is that my journey to my Golden Life will continue to encourage others towards theirs.

 

Amaan Kajee – Founder of Golden Life Turmeric Blend

Amaan Kajee is a retail pharmacist and Director of the iconic community-based Synergy Pharmacies group in Cape Town. You may recognise him from the Benylin Cough Syrup commercial, but others know him simply as their local, trusted and respected pharmacist, and often seek out his advice for maintaining health and wellness.

With 21 years of experience in retail pharmacy and marriage (to a Hospital Pharmacist), Amaan remains dedicated to developing sustainable healthcare solutions.

He also currently serves on the Reckitt and Benckiser Pharmacy Advisory Board.