Before you beat me to the punch, I will stop you right there, I realize that golden milk has become a bit of a “golden child” (pun intended) in the food blogging world. I am not the first to share a golden milk recipe and I am sure I won’t be the last. It’s a buzz food, currently and I am not one bit mad about it, I love the stuff, I have been enjoying it for years.  I decided to still go ahead and share my personal recipe here on the site, despite the mass amount of golden milk recipes floating around the web, with the intent to share with you some important bits, tips and thoughts often left out, in regards to the proper means to assimilating all of the many benefits of turmeric.

The term “superfood” has certainly become a bit of a buzzword in recent years, an often overused term, at that. Often, these foods that have been used for healing for many centuries become adopted by modern culture and as the foods become more readily available, we reap the benefits. Win win! But, people tend adopt these foods and run wild making claims for health and healing, often without doing the research for themselves or fully understanding the claims they are making. Unfortunately, often, much like the phone call game we played as kids, the details and important facts can be lost along the way.

Before I get into what is often left out and what we aren’t always told, let’s talk about the benefits! Turmeric and curcumin, the well-studied main bioactive component of turmeric, have been found to promote health and protect against a wide variety of health conditions.

Some of the Over 150 Boast-Worthy Benefits of Turmeric and Curcumin Include:

• it’s one of the most potent anti-inflammatories in nature, powerful for use against arthritis, IBS, sports injuries, Crohn’s disease, autoimmune conditions and more
• it contains powerful anti-microbial, anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties
• great analgesic for use on pain relief following trauma
• lowers blood sugar and may lower risk for diabetes
• aids in healthy digestion
• daily curcumin supplementation has been shown to reduce triglycerides by 47%
• boosts the immune system
• great for heart health, uspected to be able to protect against cardiac hypertrophy, inflammation, and thrombosi
• promotes healthy cholesterol levels
• curcumin suppresses microinflammation in the GI tract associated with inflammatory bowel disease
• improves brain function, reduces risk of brain disease and may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s
• and so much more.

Turmeric, referred to in India as “holy powder,” has been used for centuries to treat wounds, infections, and other health problems and has now become the buzziest of  superfoods here in the states, popping up in anti-inflammatory drinks, smoothies, juices, puddings, cookies etc., it is everywhere. I adore turmeric, it is a part of my daily healing protocol, I take it the morning and the evening and I enjoy my homemade golden milk a couple times a week. Something often missed however, are the important facts that without the proper cofactors to boost and enhance it’s absorption, the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric, as well as those others listed above, may actually be totally lost on us.

To Fully Take Advantage of Turmeric and Curcumin’s Therapeutic Properties, You’ll Also Need to Make Sure it is Well Absorbed.

Curcumin is the active, primary pharmacological agent in turmeric. Curcumin and turmeric should both be boosted by piperine (the alkaloid compound found in black pepper) to fully activate them. Piperine may actually increase the bioavailability of curcumin by up to 2000%!! {source} That’s some no-joke enhancing power, guys. Healthy fats are also recommended for enhanced absorption, as turmeric is fat soluble and has poor oral bioavailability. So what does that mean exactly?  This means that the body will not assimilate the healthful benefits in it’s simple, raw state. So those golden milk recipes floating around without these two powerful co-factors, as tasty as they likely are, they won’t bring the promised anti-inflammatory magic that this golden beauty is so well known for.

In a nutshell, if you are looking for the anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin systematically, as most of us are, absorption from the intestines is necessary (and this is where the piperidine and healthy fats come in).  However just a note, if you are taking the curcumin for use exclusively for inflammation in the colon and not systematically, then consumption without the boost for absorption, is certainly advisable.

So, that’s a lot of information, but, honestly all worth mentioning. I know so many people that are still popping their turmeric pills daily and dropping tons of money at trendy juice shops on their golden milks, not realizing that without these boosts, they are literally paying for pretty yellow pills and a tasty golden tea, that do very little for you. Up until a couple of years ago, I was one of those people, dropping money on highly concentrated doses of unavailable turmeric, taking it daily and waiting for the magical effects to set in! This is why I have customized my golden milk recipe to bring these boosts, to bring maximum anti-inflammatory effects to this beautiful, vibrant, cozy, comforting drink, that is so delicious and so incredibly powerful.

I personally like to make my golden milk with fresh turmeric and ginger, I find the flavor and the benefits to be heightened, but you can certainly opt for dried and ground, instead. It’s just as good and just as effective. I find the combination of the ginger and the turmeric to be a fantastic one, but beyond taste ginger, is also quite the healing food in it’s right, bringing some anti-inflammatory effects, it’s soothing to the digestive tract, it’s cancer fighting, immune boosting and more.

I hope you make yourself a mug of this tasty, anti-inflammatory turmeric golden milk this week, your body will thank you. I especially love a mug of it, just before bed.

Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Golden Milk

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Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 2

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Ingredients 

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• 1 tablespoon grated fresh turmeric root, or 2 teaspoons dried ground turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root, or 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger powder
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or ghee
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns or freshly ground black pepper*
• 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk, homemade almond or cashew milk or full-fat coconut
• raw honey or maple syrup, to taste

Instructions

• Other optional add-ins: ground cinnamon, fresh or ground cardamom, vanilla bean
• Add the fresh turmeric, ginger, oil or ghee and peppercorns to a mortar and pestle. You can also use a small food processor or blender. Grind until you create a fine, smooth and creamy paste.
• Add the milk of your choice to a medium saucepan. I usually use half coconut milk (the canned kind) and half homemade almond milk. You can use whatever you prefer. Add the turmeric ginger paste. Whisk well to combine. Bring mixture to a low and gentle boil, reduce the heat to barely a simmer and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. Stirring often. Remove from the heat and sweetened to taste with raw honey (or maple syrup). I use about 1 tablespoon local raw honey. Strain the mixture to a fine mesh sieve, if you want it smooth. I rarely bother. Serve warm. Enjoy.
• Try Quicker Alternative Method: If you have a high speed blender that heats, like certain models of Vitamix or Blendtec, add all of the ingredients to the blender, run on high until heated and well blended. Anywhere from 3-6 minutes.

Notes

Note:
You can make a larger batch of the golden paste ahead of time and just store that and make your golden milk a cup at a time, too. The paste will store for a couple of weeks.
If you can get your hands on it, a small amount of pure piperine extract, would be amazing for the ultimate boosting power.

Sources:

• http://examine.com/supplements/Curcumin/
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9619120
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16807698
• http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/turmeric

This post is for educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.