Gold milk is the fabled "milk and honey" of the promised land and provides tremendous nourishment. Its fragrant spices will awaken your appetite for its nurturing satisfaction. In South Asia, people believe milk is sacred because it (along with fruits) are one of the few foods freely given without violence to the plant or animal. A mother freely gives milk to a calf with love. Gold milk is thus a loving way to relax and enjoy the holiday season.
Healthy Holiday Cheer
There are many special dishes and foods that evoke the holidays: holiday cookies and fruitcakes, hams and rich side dishes, even eggnog. But how many of these foods and drinks ultimately help you to feel good? December is full of joy and family. It is also full of rich feasts, gatherings, and meals-on-the-run due to last minute shopping. These activities can exhaust your system, creating fatigue and making you vulnerable to viruses. Sometimes you need something that is delicious in a traditional, holiday way, but also is supportive to your health. This sweet, warm milk recipe, reminiscent of eggnog, is spiced to infuse you with that essential holiday cheer and strengthen your body.
A Recipe for Those Who Need Milk Most
Gold milk strengthens and rehabilitates those with weak constitutions. Cow's milk is the star of this drink and it is a supreme rasayana, or rejuvenative, aiding you through the chilly, demanding weeks of the holiday season. Just as milk nurtures a baby, it can satisfy your every nutritional need. However, there are many misconceptions about milk and the best ways to consume it. Cow's milk is difficult to digest and many find it downright indigestible. Thin, emaciated, weakened individuals (Vata types) need milk's nourishment most, but often these are the very individuals who cannot digest milk. Gold milk makes the nourishment of milk accessible to all. The key to this improvement on milk is in the spices. Vata individuals often suffer from poor digestion due to dryness, cold, weakness and digestion. The turmeric, cinnamon and cardamom in this drink add heat and stimulate extra blood flow to the digestive tract, counteracting coldness and making the milk easy to digest.
Enjoyable for Those who Love Milk Most
Vata types aren't the only ones who have trouble with milk. Milk can create instant congestion for those with a Kapha-type body (i.e. those who tend to have low metabolism and gain weight). Kapha people who drink too much milk soon end up with excessive mucus in their digestive tract and sinuses. Since it is nutrient-dense, milk has a tendency to cool, congeal, and clog the blood. As circulation becomes more stagnant, thick mucus and fluids tend to collect in the lungs and sinuses. This kind of mucous lodges deep in the lungs and can be very difficult for Kapha individuals to expectorate. The spices in gold milk, on the other hand, actually destroy mucous in both in the respiratory and digestive tract, making this nutritive tonic supportive even for Kapha types.
The Golden Spice
Colds and flus are as much a part of the holidays as caroling and jingle bells. The herb that gives this recipe its namesake, the golden turmeric, heats, thins and invigorates the blood. Thin blood circulates freely, mobilizes the immune system and making Kapha body more warm-blooded in colder winter months. Additionally, turmeric is a natural antibiotic and antimicrobial that is appropriate for even weak individuals. The heat in cinnamon, beloved in many fall and winter desserts, also helps you rebound from a cold or flu.
A Good Night's Sleep
Suffering from insomnia? Spiced milk is an age old formula for relaxation in Ayurveda. From a western standpoint, the calcium and magnesium levels in milk indicate its ability to relax a racing mind and tight muscles. From an Ayurvedic perspective, Gold Milk contains all the qualities that bring on sound sleep- it is heavy, warm, and nourishing. Milk is what lulls babies to sleep; it innately offers a sense of peace.
WHY EAT AN AYURVEDIC DIET?
Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. An Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body type and the specific imbalances you are working with at any given time. Ayurveda shows you your specific body type’s needs and what should be favored in your Ayurvedic menu. Watch as you eat less but feel more satisfied because what you are eating truly nourishes you. Since Ayurveda believes all disease begins in the digestive tract, food is your first medicine. By eating a healthy diet that’s ideal for your body, you experience optimal health.
Here are the herbal actions of Gold Milk:
Digestion: CARMINATIVE Stimulates the release of gas. Helpful for bloating or cramping abdominal pain. Propels food downward. Carminatives typically expel gas by relaxinines.
Cleanse & Detox:
BURNS-TOXINS
An herb that detoxifies by helping your body metabolize toxins, as opposed to eliminating them.
Energy Vitality:
STIMULATES-ENERGY
This category groups thyroid and adrenal stimulating herbs.
NUTRITIVE
An herb that is strengthening and nourishing.
TONIC
A tonic herb restores function through strengthening tissue. This can happen through a combination of nourishing the tissue, and invigorating tissue metabolism. The tonic should not be withering, as in caffeine.
Skin Care & Beauty:
DEMULCENT
Herbs that coat or form a soothing film over a mucous membrane, relieving minor pain and inflammation of the membrane.
SKIN-TONIC
An herb that strengthens and nourishes skin, improving tone, color, moisture and complexion.
Respiratory-Health:
DECONGESTANT
An herb that reduces mucus production often by restricting blood flow to mucus membranes.
BRONCHODILATOR
An herb that encourages the widening or opening of the lung airways. They are helpful in wheezing and asthma.
Immune System:
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
Reduces inflammation in the body. Different herbs and carriers target different body systems.
Heart & Circulation:
CARDIAC-STIMULANT
Herbs that increase the heart rate. Useful in cardiovascular health, blood stagnation, and subjective feeling of heaviness in the chest area.
VASODILATOR
A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area.
ANTIOXIDANT
An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals that lead to a chain reaction causing damage or death to cells. Antioxidants terminate these oxidation reactions.
ANTIPLATELET
An herb that inhibits clotting, dissolves clots, thins the blood, or destroys platelets, therefore reducing the tendency of blood to form clots. They are useful in cardiovascular disease, clots, and stroke. Aka anticoagulant.
BLOOD-TONIC An herb that produces more blood cells in the body, or otherwise improves blood cell quality or hemoglobin content. Helpful for anemia and other types of deficiency.
Liver & Gallbladder:
CHOLAGOGUE
Cholagogues stimulate the production & release of bile from the liver & gallbladder. This refreshes and cleanses these organs, as well as increases bile in the small intestines.
Reproductive Health:
EMMENAGOGUE
Herbs which stimulate menstruation. Emmenagogues are used for scanty menstruation, to relieve menstrual pain, and improve blood flow in the pelvic area and uterus.
GALACTAGOGUE Increases production of breast milk, often by raising prolactin and diaphoresis.
INDUCES-OVULATION Herbs that encourage ovulation.
APHRODISIAC
Herbs that increase sexual arousal through various actions including increased circulation, relaxation, stimulation, or tonics that strengthen glandular health.
MALE-TONIC
Generally increases male reproductive strength and stamina.SEE ALL 'MALE-TONIC'
PROMOTES-VIRILITY Encourages virility and potency.
Bone & Joint: BONE-TONIC An herb that strengthens the bones and joints.
Strength, Muscle Health:
ANTISPASMODIC
Herbs that reduce or inhibit muscle spasms or cramping, such as in asthma, menstruation, hear palpitations, migraine, or IBS.
*Recipe from the Joyful Belly.
https://www.joyfulbelly.com/Ayurveda/recipe/Gold-Milk/991?ref=4774350
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