Krish Raja

 

Purchase Online

Husband and wife team Krish Raja and Rema Balambika are the scientific minds behind Spread Health Foods. Born in Kerala, India’s spice capital, both are PhD chemists who received their degrees from the Indian Institute of Science. (Raja is an organic chemist who trained to help create medical vaccines, and Balambika is a chemistry professor at one of New York City’s CUNY Colleges.) They have now applied their knowledge of biomedical chemistry to create a superfood product.  

Raja and Balambika’s idea to “spread health” began two years ago, with hopes of bringing some Eastern philosophy to the West. After hundreds of hours of home-based formulations and research, Raja devised an organic nut butter formula that provides a significant amount of turmeric—one of India’s most consumed spices, studied for its anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, anti-cancer, heart healthy and neuroprotective and antibacterial properties. The nut butter contains curcumin—turmeric’s primary active ingredient. Knowing that curcumin needs a fat to help it dissolve and be properly absorbed into the body, Raja chose almond butter as the carrier, for its heart healthy properties.

The result: Nutmeric, a fusion of turmeric and almonds in the form of a versatile spread.  “What India eats in a day, you can get in one serving,” notes Raja. Spread Health Foods offers three products: Nutmeric, Mixed Nutmeric and Nutmeric Ultra. All offer 1,000 times more solubility of turmeric and curcumin and also contain black pepper, which improves turmeric’s blood absorption. Nutmeric Ultra, a 2010 sofi™ Silver Finalist for Outstanding New Product provides Turmeric Extract. Raja refers to it as the “Cadillac among nut butter spreads,” for its taste and potential health benefits.

Raja shared more of his story with us:

What was the inspiration behind the creation of the Nutmeric products?

 “I was already in the profession of helping people, but I wanted to do something that would help them immediately. I also had been researching turmeric for quite some time and noticed that it was completely lacking in the American diet. It is a fusion of Eastern and Western ingredients and also a way for people who cannot tolerate spicy Indian foods to get the benefits of turmeric—it is taste appropriate for the Western palate. I love food and I love health. Nutmeric is a way to share that.

Was it a challenging product to make?

Yes, especially to make turmeric taste good. My goal was to disguise healthy in tasty. Rema also has a very sophisticated palate—everything had to pass her taste cut!

Although we are chemists, we had to get up to speed with food chemistry. We did a lot of research, read a lot of books, talked to many food venture centers and heeded the advice of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT). Based on their feedback, we got a professional designer and redid our labels more professionally.

Do you see a difference between food and science?

Not really. The human body is like a big chemistry lab. For our bodies to function well, we have to supply it with food (the biochemicals). When we work health into taste, this becomes easier to do.

Who can benefit from Nutmeric?

Everyone! We have a friend whose four-year-old ate half a jar. That convinced us we were ready to take it to the public.

Can you have too much turmeric?

There are no known side effects of turmeric.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Well, I think I always knew I wanted to do something that involved helping humanity and improving health. My parents wanted me to be a doctor but cutting up cadavers was not for me.

What are your daily food rituals?

Believe it or not, I make sure to have a healthy dose of Nutmeric everyday. I eat it on a blue corn tortilla chip.

What are your favorite foods?

Don’t call me the ‘nutty professor,’ but I’m nuts about nuts. Rema and I are lacto-ovo-vegetarians so there are always plenty of colorful vegetables in our fridge. We enjoy a Mediterranean diet and enjoy Greek and Italian foods.

Are there foods you dislike?

Okra. It is too slimy!

0 comments