Three Ways to Make Golden Milk
Golden Milk is a trendy name for a traditional Ayurvedic drink called “Haldi Doodh” in Hindi. This translates to Turmeric Milk and the name Golden Milk is a Western play off the golden colour from the turmeric in it this creamy and warming tea.
Though newly popular in the West (and kind of a fad item these days), this drink has been used as an Ayurvedic therapeutic beverage for centuries and is popular for combatting inflammation, reducing pain and easing digestion, but also because it’s really yummy and nice to sip on.
It’s a mix of warming herbs like turmeric, cinnamon, ginger along with honey and milk.
The combination of the ingredients provide a rich source of antioxidants that scavenge the body looking for free-radicals to quench. This makes it a wonderful tea to sip on while serving lots of benefits. I’ve listed some of the benefits below and also shared a Traditional Ayurvedic Turmeric Milk Recipe along with two fun variations that I enjoy.
10 Proven Benefits of Golden Milk
JOINT PAIN: Fights inflammation and can help reduce pain in the joints along with arthritis.
LIVER HEALTH: Is helpful for protecting the liver from damage. It’s perfect to enjoy before or after drinking to help protect the liver from the effects of the alcohol.
BRAIN HEALTH: Curcumin (found in turmeric) has been shown to increase levels of brain-derived neuroptrophic factor (BNDF)— a compound that promotes the growth of brain cells, helps the brain form new connections and low levels of it are potentially linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
MOOD SUPPORT: Depression has also been linked to potential low levels of BNDF (mentioned above), so when curcumin help increase these levels, it can simultaneously help with mood. Depression has also been linked to inflammation in the brain, the antioxidant compounds found within Golden Milk, help to combat that. Other studies have shown curcumin to work along side anti-depressants to help improve mood.
REDUCING OXIDATIVE STRESS: The high antioxidant profile of the ingredients in golden milk provide a potent dose of free-radical scavenging free-radicals that helps to reduce oxidative stress and the inflammation it causes in the body.
ANTIBACTERIAL, ANTIVIRAL + ANTIFUNGAL PROPERTIES: These properties help support a strong immune system and are perfect to enjoy when you feel like you might be starting to get sick.
BLOOD SUGAR SUPPORT: Curcumin has been shown to help control blood sugar and can reduce fasting glucose levels (when fasting glucose levels are high on blood tests, this can signify pre-diabetes or diabetes)
HEART HEALTH: Curcumin has been shown to be beneficial for heart health for numerous reason from improved endothelial function to the potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects are a few examples that also support a healthy heart.
DIGESTION + GUT HEALTH- The ginger and turmeric are helpful in aiding digestion, reducing nausea and curcumin is used with great benefit for inflammatory bowel conditions like Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
CALMS THE NERVES- a warm cup of milky tea with warming spices is soothing to sip on and great for a tense nervous system. The benefits of the ingredients and the way the tea settles your mind is nice on all levels.
Three Ways to Make Golden Milk
Below I have provided you with the traditional Ayurvedic recipe for making “Golden Milk” and I have provided 2 fun twists to this ancient recipe. Each of these can be enjoyed hot or cold and the base recipe stays the same for them all, so it’s usually just one or two ingredient that changes! So easy!
#1. Ancient Ayurvedic Golden Milk Recipe
1.5 cup of milk of your choice
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
a pinch of black pepper
1 tsp raw honey, maple syrup or monk fruit sugar
Directions: Blend everything together and then transfer to the stove top. Heat well. Strain if desired (otherwise the spices will all sink to the bottom, which some people don’t like) Adjust sweetener to your taste and enjoy.
Can be served either hot or cold.
TIP: The piperine found in black pepper helps boost the bioavailability of the curcuminoids found in turmeric by 2000%!
#2. Golden Matcha
1 tsp organic matcha powder
1.5 cup of milk of your choice
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
a pinch of black pepper
1 tsp raw honey, maple syrup or monk fruit sugar
Directions: Blend everything together and then transfer to the stove top. Heat well. Strain if desired.
Adjust sweetener to your taste and enjoy.
Can be served either hot or cold.
#3. Golden Butter Hot Chocolate
1 tsp raw cacao powder
1.5 cup of milk of your choice
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
a pinch of black pepper
1 tsp raw honey, maple syrup or monk fruit sugar
1 tsp cacao butter, grass-fed ghee or coconut butter
Directions: Reverse this one, add everything together on the stove top and simmer for a moment and allow all the cacao butter to melt.
Carefully transfer to a blender or use a hand-whisk to blend everything. Adjust sweetener to your taste and strain if dessired. Enjoy while hot.
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