From the ancient times of the Egyptian beauty queen called Cleopetra to today’s advice of famous beauty gurus, dieticians, and nutritionists, turmeric milk has been a common popularity. Turmeric milk is basically a mixture of milk and turmeric powder, and is also known as the ‘Golden Milk’, which refers to its golden color as well as its ‘golden’ effects on the skin, hair, and bodily health. One of the benefits of turmeric milk that it has been a popular traditional medicine used in Asia and other countries to heal inflammation, wounds, and to increase immunity.

How to Make Turmeric Milk?

While it is obvious that you mix turmeric powder in milk, there are some variations that you can add to make the drink healthier, tastier, and more beneficial. Moreover, the type of turmeric and milk that you would use also plays a large part in determining how well you are using the properties of the ingredients. Needless to say, fresh dairy milk is the best option for making turmeric Milk as it is in its purest form with all minerals and nutrients that your body can feast on. As for turmeric, you can either use turmeric root and grind it in a powder at home, fresh for every use, or buy a ready-made packet of turmeric powder from any grocery store. However, the home made turmeric powder is a better option for obvious purposes.

Here are some variations of how to make your turmeric milk, but note that all variations work best when taken warm:

1. Warm a glass of cow’s milk without bringing it to a full boil. Add in a half teaspoon of pure turmeric powder in the milk. Mix it and drink it. This is the simplest form.
2. You may add a teaspoon of organic honey to the warm turmeric milk to add a little bit of flavor and as a natural sweetener. There can be a whole list of benefits that organic honey can add to your diet, including weight loss, digestion, and antibacterial properties.
3. You may half boil the milk with some cinnamon before adding the turmeric. Cinnamon is in itself a spice used widely in medicine and has been used since ancient times to treat sicknesses of various sorts.
4. Some people swear by the antibiotic and immunity-boosting properties of turmeric milk when mixed with some ground ginger. Ginger looks like turmeric and has similar effects. It can instantly cure cold when drank in warm milk or tea, and has various other benefits.
5. For people who do not like cow’s milk can substitute it with plant-based milk. However, cow’s milk is a better choice in this blend.

Health Benefits Of Turmeric Milk?

Turmeric alone is a very beneficial spice that, if incorporated into the regular dietary patterns, can yield many profits in terms of health and beauty. However, when mixed and drank with milk, the benefits of turmeric milk are more impressive and effective. Read on to find why the term ‘Golden Milk’ is fit for this drink, other than its color reference:

Turmeric Milk Has Antioxidants

Turmeric alone is a spice that has ample of antioxidants. However, taking this spice alone would not be very pleasant in taste. Hence, mixing it with milk helps its intake as well as its digestion, along with it providing benefits of the milk as well.
Turmeric has Curcumin as one of the main components which make it one of the most commonly used ingredients in Ayurvedic medicine.
Antioxidants in turmeric are found to have the ability to fight off cell damage, which makes it a great immunity drink for you. This antioxidation from turmeric is also responsible as the infection-fighting ingredient in turmeric milk.

A Miracle for Joint Pain and Inflammation

One of the best benefits of turmeric milk that it is rich in components and properties and that makes it a miracle medicine for joint pain and anti-inflammation. In fact, this medicinal spice is thought to decrease the symptoms associated with many diseases that cause inflammation including Alzheimer’s disease, heart-related problems, and even cancer.
The Curcumin in turmeric has amazing anti-inflammatory qualities which can ease your joint pain and muscle pain if you regularly drink the turmeric milk. It has been found by research to be as good (in some cases, even better) as a prescription drug for arthritis. For joint pain, the addition of ginger to turmeric milk has yielded better results.

Turmeric Milk Helps You Think Better

The magic tonic has been found to have many health benefits accredited to it, including the improvement of brain functioning and memory. In fact, curcumin is behind the main activations of turmeric, and it is said to promote the formation of new brain cells by increasing BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor).
This reduces the risk of mental health disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, because Alzheimer’s is somewhat caused by a decrease in the levels of BDNF. Adding cinnamon to the turmeric milk drink can further help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease by preventing the tau protein in the brain from building up.
However, for a better memory function, you can have turmeric milk with a little ginger instead, which prevents aging of the brain, as well as makes you reaction time quicker.

Feeling Down? Have Some Turmeric Milk

Odd as it may seem, but turmeric milk is actually a great natural cure for occasional depression or low moods. If you are feeling blue lately for no apparent reason, having a glass of turmeric milk may just be what you need to feel better.
In fact, in a study of 60 people who were suffering from depressive symptoms, it was concluded that turmeric’s main component i.e. Curcumin had the same effect as antidepressants.
This means that the next time you feel down and just want to spend the weekend hiding in your blanket, skip the binge eating of chocolates hoping for a better mood and try turmeric milk instead.

Give Your Heart a Break

Since the day you are born, your heart is an organ that never rests. The heart being the most essential organ for your existence is also the most fragile one, and needs to be taken care of the most.
Turmeric milk that has been mixed with ginger and cinnamon is extremely beneficial to those who are suffering from heart diseases, or anyone who wants to reduce the risk of having one.
More particularly, cinnamon has been linked to an increase in HDL (High Density Lipoproteins, also known as Good cholesterol) and a decrease in LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins, also known as Bad cholesterol).

On the other hand, ginger has been found to cause a substantial decrease in the risk for heart diseases. The decrease was found to be up to 28 percent when given 2 grams of ginger powder each day, which you can add to your turmeric milk.
There is also an apparent link between intake of curcumin (found in turmeric) and a decrease in the chances of having a heart attack. This conclusion has been made by a research study conducted a few days after the sample had heart surgeries.

Reduction in Blood Sugar Levels

The ginger and cinnamon, when added to turmeric milk, expand its benefits to the balancing of blood sugar levels, too. To be precise, turmeric milk mixed with ginger and cinnamon is an effective drink to lower insulin resistance, which is directly linked with a decrement in blood sugar levels.
The cinnamon in this drink also decreases the amount of glucose that is absorbed from your food into your body, while ginger’s consumption can lower your fasting blood sugar as much as by 12 percent.
However, if you have added any sweeteners like honey or sugar in your turmeric milk, you are unlikely to be able to benefit from its blood sugar lowering properties.

Turmeric Milk Aids in Cancer Prevention

Turmeric milk is not just turmeric and milk, but it has a lot of variations as detailed earlier. The cancer preventing properties of turmeric milk are activated when it is mixed with ginger because of the substance called 6-gingerol present in raw ginger.
While turmeric milk cannot prevent or cure cancer, it does help reduce the symptoms that follow the discomfort of cancer medication as well as help reduce the risk of cancer by controlling abnormal cell growth to some extent.
In fact, some small research studies have found that curcumin, an active component of turmeric, have the ability to kill isolated cancer cells. These studies also noticed that curcumin can limit the spread of cancerous tumors.

These benefits of Turmeric milk span to not only physical health and appearance, but also mental well-being and more. However, it is to be noted that this is an area of ongoing research, and turmeric milk’s medicinal properties are still to be confirmed and explored. The type of turmeric and milk that you would use also plays a large part in determining how well you are using the properties of the ingredients. Needless to say, fresh dairy milk is the best option for making Golden Milk as it is in its purest form with all minerals and nutrients that your body can feast on.
Moreover, night is the best time to have some warm turmeric milk because taking it on an empty stomach may cause gases and nausea for some people. It even helps you sleep better, so have some turmeric milk, and rest yourselves.