For over 2,000 years, turmeric has been revered as a healing powerhouse, from ancient Ayurveda to today’s booming $155M+ curcumin supplement market. With more than 11,000 scientific publications supporting its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits, it’s long been considered one of the safest “superfoods” on the planet.

So why are global regulators suddenly issuing liver safety warnings?

In Episode 91 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we unpack the emerging controversy around turmeric-induced hepatotoxicity and explore the real issue: not the spice itself, but how modern bioavailability “hacks” may be overwhelming the body’s natural safety systems.

Inside this episode:

Why curcumin’s naturally low absorption was actually a built-in evolutionary safeguard

How piperine can increase bioavailability by 2,000%  and what that means for liver metabolism

Why Health Canada, Australia’s TGA, and European regulators are mandating warning labels

The rare but serious liver injury cases linked to high-potency supplements

The “genetic gamble” behind idiosyncratic liver reactions

Why your curry is likely safe, but your capsule might not be

This episode isn’t anti-turmeric. It’s a deeper conversation about potency, delivery systems, and what happens when we outsmart the body’s natural defenses.

Because in the pursuit of wellness, sometimes more isn’t better - it’s riskier.

Ultra-processed foods now make up over half of the average adult’s calories and nearly 60% of children’s diets.

They look harmless. They’re marketed as “natural.” Some even carry health halos.

But behind the packaging lies a system built on loopholes, engineered starches, and thousands of additives the FDA may never have formally reviewed.

In Episode 90 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we unpack the growing bipartisan alarm around ultraprocessed foods - from the controversial GRAS loophole to the striking alliance between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler under the “Make America Healthy Again” banner.

This isn’t about fear.

Because the real question isn’t just what are we eating?

High heat built the modern food system. But it may also be limiting it.

In Episode 89, we explore how Novel Food Processing (NFP) technologies are transforming protein at the molecular level, unlocking better texture, higher bioavailability, improved digestibility, and cleaner labels without sacrificing safety.

From electricity-powered milk processing to ultra-high pressure seafood engineering, this episode breaks down how food science is moving beyond the burner and into the future.

If you work in food innovation, functional ingredients, protein R&D, or regulatory strategy, this one changes how you think about what’s possible.

What if many of the ingredients in your food were never reviewed by the FDA?

In Episode 88 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we break down the newly introduced GRAS Oversight and Transparency Act (February 3, 2026); a bill that aims to close one of the most controversial loopholes in U.S. food regulation.

For decades, the “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) framework has allowed companies to self-determine ingredient safety without notifying the FDA, leaving regulators and consumers in the dark. This episode unpacks how that system works, why it matters, and how this new legislation could permanently reshape food ingredient oversight.

From legacy ingredients approved decades ago, to a new interagency GRAS Review Board with real enforcement authority, we explore what this bill means for manufacturers, regulators, and the future of food transparency.

Erythritol has earned a near-perfect reputation in the clean-eating world. It’s natural, calorie-free, keto-friendly, and widely considered one of the safest sugar substitutes on the market.

But new research from the University of Colorado suggests that this confidence may be dangerously misplaced.

In Episode 87 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we unpack a startling new study from the DeSouza laboratory that shows how erythritol may quietly compromise the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the brain’s most critical line of defense against toxins, inflammation, and vascular injury.

This episode breaks down:

• How erythritol triggers a 75% surge in oxidative stress inside brain endothelial cells

This isn’t a story about extreme overconsumption.

If you consume sugar-free snacks, energy drinks, or keto products, this episode is essential listening.

Many wellness and nutraceutical companies believe that calling a product a dietary supplement creates a regulatory safe zone. FDA enforcement actions tell a very different story.

In Episode 86 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we break down the FDA’s Bioresearch Monitoring (BIMO) Program and analyze recent FDA Warning Letters that caught sponsors, CROs, and IRBs completely off guard.

This episode explains a hard regulatory truth:

We explore three critical lessons drawn directly from enforcement actions involving U.S.-based clinical trials:

• Why study design, not product category, determines whether something is legally a drug

If your clinical trial measures disease outcomes, targets pathology, or recruits diagnosed populations, the FDA will treat it as a drug study, regardless of what’s on the bottle.

This episode is essential listening for sponsors, CROs, regulatory teams, and anyone designing human research in the supplement space.

For years, protein dominated the wellness conversation. Shakes, bars, and macro tracking became the gold standard of “healthy.” But a new movement is rapidly reshaping nutrition culture  and it isn’t coming from gyms or supplement brands. It’s coming from the gut.

In Episode 85 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we unpack the science behind #Fibermaxxing - the viral trend shifting attention from protein obsession to microbiome-driven health.

This episode explores why fiber has suddenly become the internet’s most powerful nutrient and how it connects directly to the decade’s most talked-about pharmaceutical target: GLP-1.

We break down:

• How fiber naturally stimulates GLP-1 -  the hormone behind fullness, glucose control, and metabolic regulation

Fibermaxxing isn’t a hack. It’s a return to biological fundamentals.

For decades, America’s food system operated in a gray zone where chemicals could quietly enter the supply chain, nutrition guidance lagged behind chronic disease, and safety was often reactive rather than preventive.

That era is ending.

In Episode 84 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we unpack the FDA’s newly solidified Human Foods Program (HFP) and its sweeping 2026 agenda, a regulatory blueprint that signals one of the most aggressive transformations in food policy in modern history.

This episode explores how the FDA is shifting from a watchdog to an architect of national health, built around three core pillars: Food Chemical Safety, Nutrition, and Microbiological Food Safety.

We dive into what’s actually coming in 2026, including:

• The dismantling of the GRAS loophole and the rise of mandatory pre-market chemical transparency

This is not incremental regulation. It is a structural reset of the relationship between government, industry, and the grocery shelf.

For nearly a century, U.S. cosmetic regulation remained largely unchanged. That era officially ended with the passage of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), and now, the FDA is racing to catch up.

In Episode 83 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we unpack five major regulatory developments that signal a fundamental shift in how cosmetics are tested, labeled, and enforced in the United States.

Drawing from recent FDA actions and the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda, this episode explores:

• The FDA’s long-awaited move to mandate asbestos testing in talc products

We discuss what these shifts mean for brands, manufacturers, regulatory teams, and consumers, and why companies should already be preparing their quality systems, documentation, and compliance strategies.

This episode isn’t just about beauty. It’s about accountability, transparency, and the future of consumer protection.

The world is facing a neurological emergency. Dementia cases are projected to nearly triple by 2050, and despite decades of pharmaceutical research, effective, scalable solutions remain limited. This has pushed scientists to look beyond single-target drugs and toward food-based, systems-level interventions.

In Episode 82 of the Orange Pill Podcast, we explore why red beetroot is emerging as a serious scientific contender in the fight against what many researchers now call “Type 3 Diabetes” , the metabolic and insulin-resistant decline of the aging brain.

This episode unpacks groundbreaking research showing that beetroot’s benefits are not just nutritional, but neurological, vascular, and microbiome-dependent.

It also reframes brain health as a mouth-to-microbe-to-mitochondria conversation, and positions beetroot as a powerful example of how whole foods may influence neurodegeneration.

🎧 Listen to Episode 82 to discover why the future of cognitive resilience may begin not in the pharmacy, but in the produce aisle.