Ayurvedic Botanicals

For thousands of years, Ayurveda has used foods, spices, and botanicals as part of a broader approach to nutrition and wellness. Today, many of these ingredients, including turmeric, green tea, cinnamon, and amalaki, are also being studied for their naturally occurring phytonutrients and other compounds.

But botanical ingredients can vary significantly in quality and purity. Plants may absorb naturally occurring heavy metals and other environmental contaminants from the soil, water, and surrounding environment, making careful sourcing and testing especially important.

That focus on purity is one of the things that sets IQed Smart Nutrition apart.

Across the two IQed flavors, the formula features 10 carefully selected botanicals. Each flavor contains the same core botanicals, with cinnamon in Vanilla and cayenne pepper in Chocolate, along with nutrient-rich chia.

IQed has earned the Clean Label Project Purity Award and is tested for heavy metals and 150+ environmental contaminants, providing an exceptional level of transparency and quality assurance alongside its patented nutritional formula.

Explore the Botanicals in IQed

Select each botanical below to learn more about its history, traditional use, naturally occurring compounds, and role within the IQed formula.

Turmeric [Curcuma Longa]

Turmeric is one of the most recognizable botanicals associated with Ayurveda and has been valued for centuries as both a culinary ingredient and a traditional wellness botanical. Its vivid golden color comes from naturally occurring compounds called curcuminoids, including curcumin, which have made turmeric one of the most extensively studied botanicals in modern research.

Beyond curcuminoids, turmeric naturally provides a complex mixture of plant compounds and phytonutrients. Its long history of traditional use, combined with continuing scientific interest, makes it a natural example of the connection between ancient food traditions and modern nutritional science.

IQed includes turmeric as part of its carefully selected botanical blend, bringing this celebrated golden root together with high-quality protein, essential vitamins and minerals, omega-3s, soluble fiber, and complete everyday nutrition.

Amalaki [Emblica officinalis]

Amalaki, also known as amla or Indian gooseberry, has been valued in Ayurveda for thousands of years and is traditionally regarded as a rejuvenating food. The small green fruit has an unusually rich nutritional profile and naturally contains vitamin C, polyphenols, tannins, and other plant compounds.

Modern research continues to explore Amalaki because of its diverse phytonutrient composition and antioxidant activity. Its combination of traditional use and naturally occurring plant compounds has helped make it one of the most recognized fruits in Ayurvedic nutrition.

IQed includes Amalaki as part of its botanical blend because it represents exactly what the formula was designed to bring together: nutrient-dense foods with deep traditional roots, carefully incorporated into a modern, convenient source of complete nutrition.

Haritaki [Terminalia chebula]

Haritaki is the fruit of the Terminalia chebula tree and has held an important place in Ayurveda for centuries. It is traditionally known as a rejuvenating botanical and is one of the three fruits used in Triphala, one of Ayurveda’s best-known traditional botanical preparations.

The fruit naturally contains polyphenols, tannins, flavonoids, and other phytonutrients that continue to attract scientific interest. Haritaki’s unusually complex plant chemistry helps explain why it has remained part of traditional food and botanical practices for generations.

Within IQed, Haritaki contributes to a broader botanical blend designed around the idea that complete nutrition can include not only protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential fats, but also carefully selected foods and botanicals with a long history of use.

Gymnema [Gymnema sylvestre]

Gymnema is a climbing plant native to parts of India and has been used in Ayurvedic

tradition for centuries. Traditionally known as gurmar, meaning “sugar destroyer,” the plant is especially interesting because its leaves contain distinctive naturally occurring compounds known as gymnemic acids.

Researchers continue to study Gymnema and its plant compounds, particularly in relation to taste perception, metabolism, and the way the body responds to sweetness. That combination of traditional knowledge and modern scientific curiosity makes Gymnema one of the more fascinating botanicals in the IQed formula.

IQed includes Gymnema as part of its carefully balanced botanical blend, complementing the product’s complete nutritional foundation with an ingredient that has a unique history and plant chemistry.

Green Tea [Camellia sinensis]

Green tea has been consumed for thousands of years and today is one of the most widely studied plant-based beverages in the world. It naturally contains polyphenols called catechins, including EGCG, along with numerous other phytonutrients.

These naturally occurring compounds are one reason green tea has remained the focus of extensive nutritional research. Its long history of use throughout Asia, together with its modern scientific profile, makes it a particularly good example of traditional food wisdom meeting contemporary nutrition science.

IQed incorporates green tea into its botanical blend alongside complete protein, vitamins, minerals, omega-3s, and soluble fiber. It is another way IQed goes beyond the nutritional profile of an ordinary protein shake.

Chia [Salvia]

Chia has an ancient nutritional history of its own. Native to Mexico and Central America, chia seeds were valued as an important food by Mesoamerican cultures long before they became a modern “superfood.”

These tiny seeds naturally provide plant-based omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid, soluble fiber, protein, minerals, and a variety of plant compounds. Their remarkable nutritional density has helped bring chia back into prominence as researchers and consumers have rediscovered foods that traditional cultures relied on for generations.

Although chia is not historically an Ayurvedic botanical, it plays an important role in IQed’s broader nutritional formula. It complements the Ayurvedic ingredients while contributing valuable nutrients that help make IQed a more complete nutritional food.

Guggul [Commiphora Mukul]

Guggul is one of the most distinctive ingredients in IQed. Rather than a fruit, seed, or leaf, guggul is an aromatic resin obtained from the Commiphora mukul tree and has been used in Ayurvedic tradition for centuries.

The resin naturally contains a complex mixture of plant compounds, including phytosterols and compounds known as guggulsterones. Its unusual botanical origin and long traditional history have made guggul an ongoing subject of scientific study and interest.

IQed includes guggul as part of its proprietary botanical blend because the formula was designed to draw from a broad range of traditional plant foods and botanicals rather than relying on one trendy ingredient. It is another example of the depth and diversity built into IQed.

Cocoa [Theobroma Cacao]

Cocoa brings much more to IQed than chocolate flavor. Cacao has been valued as a food for centuries and naturally contains flavanols, polyphenols, minerals, and other phytonutrients that have made it the subject of extensive nutritional research.

The cacao bean is a remarkably complex food, and many of the compounds responsible for its characteristic color and flavor are also the compounds that continue to attract scientific attention. That makes cocoa an especially appealing bridge between enjoyable food and serious nutrition.

Cocoa is included as part of the core botanical blend in both Chocolate and Vanilla IQed. It contributes to the formula while reinforcing one of IQed’s central ideas: nutritious food can be functional, carefully formulated, and still genuinely enjoyable.

Cinnamon [Cinnamomum verum]

Found in Vanilla IQed

Cinnamon has been treasured for thousands of years as both a culinary spice and a traditional botanical. Its distinctive aroma and flavor come from naturally occurring plant compounds that have made cinnamon valuable in food traditions around the world.

Cinnamon also contains polyphenols and other phytonutrients that continue to be studied in modern nutrition research. Its long history spans Ayurveda, traditional culinary use, and contemporary interest in how plant compounds interact with human nutrition and metabolism.

Vanilla IQed includes cinnamon as its ninth botanical, alongside the eight core botanicals shared by both flavors. It adds warmth and complexity to the Vanilla formula while contributing another traditional plant food to IQed’s unusually diverse nutritional profile.

Cayenne [Capsicum annuum]

Found in Chocolate IQed

Cayenne pepper has been used as both a food and traditional botanical for thousands of years. Its characteristic heat comes primarily from capsaicin, a naturally occurring plant compound that has been extensively studied and gives peppers their distinctive sensory qualities.

Cayenne also naturally provides carotenoids and other phytonutrients. Because only a small amount is needed to provide its botanical contribution, it can be incorporated into a formula without making the finished product taste noticeably hot or spicy.

Chocolate IQed includes cayenne as its ninth botanical, complementing cocoa and the eight core botanicals shared by both flavors. It adds another layer to a formula intentionally designed to combine complete modern nutrition with a diverse range of traditional foods and botanicals.