With so many natural remedies floating around the web, it's hard to know which ones are worth a try. Although I'm mildly interested in many of them, I usually don't find the motivation to actually buy the ingredients for any of them. However, on a recent family vacation, my aunt began making me golden milk for sleep every day, and I'm never going back.
What is Golden Milk?
My aunt Sandra has touted the health benefits of this cure-all drink at the last few family get-togethers, but I never took it too seriously. However, after hearing about my nightly struggles to get a good night's sleep, she took the matter into her own hands and began handing me a mug of golden milk every evening.
At first, I was a little hesitant to drink the strange-looking sleep potion. With its strong scent of turmeric and vibrant orange color, it's not your typical evening drink. However, soon enough I was fully converted to team golden milk.
Golden milk, also called turmeric milk or turmeric latte, is an Indian drink similar to turmeric tea that has slowly been gaining popularity throughout the West as we learn more about naturopathic and alternative medicines. The drink is warm and flavorful, full of rich spices like turmeric, cardamom, and cinnamon.
Health Benefits of Golden Milk
The wellness benefits of a golden milk latte are nearly endless, from boosting your immune system to being helpful for weight loss. The yummy concoction has been shown to protect against many illnesses, along with improving mood, supporting brain function, lowering blood sugar levels and fighting neurodegenerative disease.
The active component in turmeric is curcumin, which has been commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries for its antioxidant properties. Antioxidants aid cell function, lower the risk of infections and disease and fight cell damage.
Along with this, cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric are anti-inflammatory, and shown to reduce the risk of many diseases, from cancer to heart disease to Alzheimer's. They also reduce joint pain from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
While I'm all for not getting cancer, my motivation for trying golden milk was its purported sleep benefits, which my aunt had enthusiastically explained. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. After only one evening of sipping the spicy, pungent beverage, I fell asleep within minutes.
How to Make Golden Milk
?Golden milk is a great remedy for many conditions, but I can only speak to how much it improves my sleep. This concoction is the perfect way to get better sleep using natural ingredients while profiting from its many other benefits.
The base of my aunt's golden milk is coconut milk, but one can also use dairy milk or dairy-free nut milk if that's what you have on hand. Whether you use cow's milk, cashew milk, oat milk or unsweetened almond milk, your sleep will benefit from the warm milk and its many other components.
Along with milk, the basic golden milk recipe contains ground turmeric, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, coconut oil or ghee, a pinch of black pepper and a sweetener. The sweetener can be maple syrup, raw honey, sugar or vanilla extract. You can also use a cinnamon stick in place of ground cinnamon, or grated fresh ginger instead of ground.
One of the best parts of this natural remedy is how quick and easy it is- with no prep time and a total time of 5 minutes, you'll have a steaming mug of golden milk in no time. To make this magical sleep potion, simply combine in a small saucepan, heating the mixture while whisking often.
If you choose to use fresh ginger or fresh turmeric, you can either strain the golden milk or blend thoroughly before drinking. Serve immediately and get ready to sleep the whole night through.
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