With the temperature starting to dip below freezing at night, winter is almost officially here. On a cold night, I love winding down with a warm cup of golden milk before bed.
Golden milk is an ancient, simple recipe that has powerful wellness boosting properties. It’s primarily a mix of turmeric, black pepper and coconut milk, although you can add a little raw honey for some delicious sweetness as well. Golden milk comes from the Ayurvedic medical tradition, and has been made for thousands of years.
What makes golden milk so special? First off, the turmeric. Turmeric is a root used commonly in Indian cooking. It can be grated or sliced, but it is most often sold in powdered form on the supermarket spice rack. Regardless of how you prepare it, turmeric is packed with health benefits.
Turmeric contains a chemical called curcumin, which is a natural anti-inflammatory. Inflammation is both a cause and side effect of many health conditions. While medications like ibuprofen are commonly used to treat inflammation, they can put significant stress on the body if used regularly. Curcumin can help treat inflammation without those side effects.
Curcumin is also an antioxidant, has anticancer properties, and could even help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. It has also been shown to have antidepressant effects in some studies. In other words, it’s definitely worth trying.
Golden milk also contains black pepper. This isn’t just because it adds an interesting flavor note—black pepper has been shown to vastly increase the body’s ability to process curcumin. Black pepper contains a chemical called piperine that increases the absorption of curcumin by roughly 2000 percent.
If you want a sweeter drink, you can add a teaspoon or two of raw honey to your golden milk. Raw honey has significant health benefits of its own, including seasonal allergy reducing properties. Do make sure to always wait until your golden milk has cooled to comfortable drinking temperature before adding raw honey, as many of its most beneficial effects are destroyed by too much heat.
Try golden milk today!
Recipe (from Health Impact News)
Paste:
1/2 cup Organic Turmeric Powder
1 cup water
1.5 teaspoons black pepper
5 Tablespoons virgin coconut oil
In a stainless steel pot, cook the water, turmeric and black pepper until it forms a thick paste, stirring and cooking for about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and add virgin coconut oil, using a whisk to fully mix in the coconut oil. Transfer the Golden Paste into a glass jar with a lid, and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. You will use this paste to make your Golden Milk below.
Golden Milk:
1 teaspoon Golden Paste
2 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
Honey to taste (optional)
Pinch cinnamon (optional)
In a stainless steel pot, gently heat, but do not boil, 2 cups of milk with 1 teaspoon of golden paste. A whisk is helpful to fully mix the paste into the milk. Add optional vanilla, honey and/or cinnamon.
Savor!