Origin & Traditions

The union of the herbs in the combinations specified by the recipes in the Ayurvedic scriptures, developed by the tradition, gives our Ayurvedic oils and supplements the highest efficacy. That's why our formulas really work! 

Our products are made by a family-owned company from Kerala in South India. The family is from the ancient Ayurveda tradition known as the Ashtavaidya lineage of Kerala (in South India).

This lineage was founded by Vaghbhata, the author of the classical text Ashtangahridayam over 1,400 years ago, when he migrated to Kerala from North India and introduced Ayurveda.

The Ashtavaidya's meticulously followed the principles of Ayurveda as a medical science and a philosophy of life. Their empirical knowledge contributed to the development of Ayurveda formulas and treatments in Kerala.

The formulas, that now form the basis of Tri Health's Ayurvedic oils and supplements, were called ‘yogas’, in this case 'yoga' means the ‘union of the herbs’.

The formulas were developed by the Ashtavaidyas in three ways:

• Through the merging of several streams of knowledge across families leading to unique 'Ashtavaidya' formulas
• Through improvised versions of the recipes from the ancient Ayurvedic texts.  Through their inherited wisdom, they came to understand exactly how to add a certain herb to a classical formula as certain herbs became extinct or difficult to obtain
• Through classical formulas from texts indigenous to Kerala

After the introduction of Ayurveda to Kerala, the Ashtavaidya’s were respected physicians.  They preserved the knowledge and kept the wisdom of the formulas and treatments alive for over 1000 years during India's occupation. This is how the practice of Pancha Karma survived.

Since India’s independence in 1947 there has been a resurgence of Ayurveda in modern India, and it is rapidly catching on in the West as a natural health care system choice.  Kerala is credited with not only preserving the knowledge but also evolving it based on the tradition to offer new formulas and treatments according to modern needs. Read more on quality

View a brief timeline of Ayurveda

Quality, Tradition

The tribal lady carries the wildcrafted herbs on her head from the forest, having picked them at exactly the moment when they are at their most potent.  As she delivers the basket of fresh leaves to the sorting area, she visually checks the herbs with her carefully trained eye, using knowledge handed down through the generations.  The Adivasis (indigenous people) of India have a special connection with the herbal medicines of the forest much like the native Americans and other Shamanic traditions.

Source of Herbs

Kerala is already largely 'naturally organic' with many farmers in the State cultivating without any use of chemicals. Availability of fresh herbs and other medicinal plants from the nearby rural hill stations helps the uninterrupted production of quality medicines. The rural hill village atmosphere ensures a naturally pollution free environment. Safe cultivation and processing ensures toxic free herbs at their most potent.  Our supplier states:

• 50% of the herbs and ingredients are grown at our suppliers facility without the use of any chemicals
• 30% are wildcrafted by the “tribals”, the people of the land, who make their living by harvesting plants from the wild. Their own tradition of sustainable natural cultivation ensures that no herb is ever depleted
• 20% have been contracted out to herb growers in the area.

Manufacturing

Our products are made by one of India’s most renowned Ayurvedic institutions, Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala.  The processing combines the best of Ayurvedic expertise, modern technology and research. The products are processed according to Ashtavaidya tradition under the strict monitoring by a council of Vaidyas. Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala enjoys a global reputation for the quality and effectiveness of their products.

Quality Standards

In addition to the thousands of years of unbroken Ayurvedic tradition our supplier meets various modern-day Quality Standards including:

• ISO 9001, an international quality standard covering all stages of processing
• GMP – Good Manufacturing Processes
• Compulsory heavy metals testing

Every shipment of products we receive from India is tested for heavy metal toxicity, which has been a mandatory requirement since January 2006 for all herbs exported from India.  We have records of the tests for every product carried out by the exporter.  All our products are safely below any levels of heavy metal toxicity. We make regular visits to the processing unit in Kerala to ensure high standards are being met.

 Sustainable rural development

• The company provides sustainable rural livelihoods through providing employment in the processing facility and through purchasing herbs from local growers and harvesters.
• Attached to one of the processing units, is a Herb Garden education facility, which spreads awareness of medicinal plants to village Self Help Groups (SHG).  This helps to educate rural communities in the need for conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. The plants belong to about 150 families of plants like Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Poaceae, Rubiaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Apiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Malvaceae and Solanaceae.

By purchasing from TriHealth, you are supporting the tradition of Ayurveda, your own health optimization and sustainable development in rural India.

Our products

The knowledge of the formulas used to create the products was inherited through many generations of the Ashtavaidya tradition.  (Read more on the tradition). Our range includes the following categories:

1. Herbal Massage oils  (Thailams) Decoctions of herbs infused in oil and other substances.  Provides lipid delivery to the cells.
2. Herbal Jams (Leyhams and Rasayanas) Decoctions or powdered herbs, cooked with sugar or honey to create a jam.  Absorbed through the small intestine, preserved for a long time.
3. Liquid formulas - Fermented  (Aristhams and Asavams) Decoctions or powdered herbs naturally fermented without the addition of extra alcohol. Easily absorbed into the blood stream, preserved indefinitely.
4. Liquid Formulas - Decoctions (Kwaths) Extracted juices of plants blended in a highly concentrated liquid formula.
5. Liquid Formula - (Thailam). Decoctions of herbs infused in oil and other substances for internal and external use.  Lipid delivery through the cells.
6. Liquid Formulas - (Ashtavaidya Formula).  Non-classical formulas, consisting of extracted juices of plants blended in a highly concentrated liquid formula.
7. Powdered Herbs - (Choornas). Finely pulverized herbs blended into a powder formula.
8. Herbal Ghee - (Grithams).  Decoctions of herbs infused in gritha (ghee – clarified butter). Lipid delivery through the cells.
9. Pills - (Vatis).  Finely pulverized herbs blended into a powder formula compacted into a convenient pill form.