Golden Milk has been used as a medicinal drink in India since ancient times. Although the natural and powerfully healing turmeric tea has been wildly popular elsewhere for decades, it is only now coming into common use in the United States outside of herbalist circles.
Turmeric is my favorite healing herb of all time; I use it in nearly every single natural remedy and herbal electuary that I made. The vibrant orange spice, or more specifically the curcumin it contains, provides the foundation of any variation of a Golden Milk recipe.
Golden Milk is consumed hot like a tea, prompting many users to refer to it as “Turmeric Tea.” The healing beverage can be taken daily as a preventative and more frequently to treat general cold and flu symptoms when you become ill.
Top 10 Reasons To Drink Golden Milk
1. This healing drink may greatly enhance the immune system and help prevent you from becoming ill with the common cold or the flu – or treat the symptoms naturally and quickly.
Drinking the herbal milk before bedtime can help give you relief from a congested cough, and allow you to get a decent night’s sleep while fighting off illness.
2. Golden Milk has been known to help treat the respiratory woes often associated with both the common cold and the flu. The curcumin in turmeric enhances the production of mucus to flush out bacteria and microbes that do not belong in your respiratory tract, and cause you great discomfort.
3. The turmeric milk has also been credited with helping to relieve general digestive problems such as heartburn, diarrhea, gas, and bloating. Curcumin prompts an increased bile flow to help the body digest the fat that can lead to either indigestion or a loss of appetite.
4. Curcumin may be a powerful natural agent to ward off worms in both humans and livestock – yes, Golden Milk is safe for most, in not all, common barnyard animals – but getting a horse to drink milk will not be easy, and should only be given in limited doses when the animal is ill.
Golden Milk Facts
Golden Milk was a staple in Ayurvedic medicine. This type of holistic medicine is the oldest type of health treatment known to man – it originated in India more than 3,000 years ago.
Turmeric tea must always be served at least warm but preferably hot. You can make a large batch of Golden Milk and put it in the refrigerator where it should keep for at least a week, but it must be placed back on the stove and warmed through before drinking.
When the ingredients in the milk are heated, their antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties are released. The percentage of fat in the milk should also help the curcumin absorb into the body – in addition to the black pepper.
In addition to the potential healing and immune system boosting power of Golden Milk, many users find it incredibly calming and stress-relieving, prompting consumption to become a pleasant part of the daily before bedtime routine. It’s often recommended to drink the turmeric tea on an empty stomach to garner the maximum benefits from the healing herbs.
There are slight variations of ingredient amounts in all of the Golden Milk recipes floating around the internet, but the actual ingredients are always the same.
Golden Milk Ingredients
- Turmeric
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Black Pepper
- Milk
- Honey
Always use raw honey to achieve optimal health benefits from Golden Milk or any other natural medicine recipe. It is always best to use locally cultivated honey if possible when attempting to treat a seasonal allergy.
Manuka honey is all the rage and does boast, on average, an enhanced percentage of healing properties, but because it has to be imported from Australia or New Zealand, it can be fairly expensive.
This is one ingredient you really won’t mink choking down. In fact, you will likely enjoy sipping it down to the very last drop.
Sure, the black pepper in it milk might not sound too enticing, but you really cannot taste the tiny bit of pepper in Golden Milk recipes. Do not leave this ingredient out, curcumin is truly difficult for the body to absorb and black pepper is one of the few and best things you can use to garner the maximum benefit when taking turmeric for health reasons.
How To Make Golden Milk
Ingredients
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• ½ a cup of milk
• ½ a teaspoon of cinnamon – grated stick, powdered, or spice
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• ½ a teaspoon of ginger – root, spice, dried, or powdered
Directions
1. Mix all of the turmeric tea ingredients together in a small to medium pot.
2. Heat the Golden Milk mixture to boiling while stirring frequently to prevent scorching or a skin forming on top.
3. Allow the mixture to reach a rolling boil before quickly reducing the heat to a simmer.
4. Simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a fine strainer after removing the pot from the stove.
6. Pour the Golden Milk into a mug and enjoy as soon as it is cool enough to drink without burning your mouth.
If making Golden Milk seems intimidating because you are not very good in the kitchen (but seriously it is super easy to make) you can buy turmeric tea – but doing so might mean browsing online for a provider.
Quickie Golden Milk Alternative Recipe
A quickie alternative to full-fledged Golden Milk is also feasible without reducing much of its healing properties.
1. Simply melt one teaspoon of either coconut oil or butter (real butter, not that one ingredient away from plastic margarine junk) in a pot.
2. Stir in ½ a teaspoon of turmeric.
3. Add 1 pinch of black pepper
4. Over low heat, stir constantly until the coconut oil or butter all melt and are completely combined with the turmeric.
5. Next, stir in a cup of warm milk and enjoy.
If you want to make a more shelf-stable version of turmeric tea, watch this video to learn how to make Golden Paste:
Do you have a different variation on these Golden Milk recipes or a testimonial about the positive or negative effects of drinking turmeric tea? Please share them in the comments section below so we all can learn more about the healing properties this curcumin-based herbal drink together.
Tara lives on a 56 acres farm in the Appalachian Mountains, where she faces homesteading and farming challenges every single day, raising chickens, goats, horses, and tons of vegetables. She’s an expert in all sorts of homesteading skills such as hide tanning, doll making, tree tapping, and many more.