Know the Health Benefits of Golden (Turmeric) Milk

Sunil Kumar D. and Madhumati Tyagi

Golden milk, also known as Haldi Doodh in Hindi or turmeric milk in popular culture is a drink with a lot of history and benefits. It has been a part of Indian Ayurveda for centuries. The drink is bright gold in color that is coming from yellow turmeric mixed into white milk. Golden milk contains antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds and offers health benefits. These can include protection against certain diseases.

Being rich in antioxidants, it helps protect cells from damage, fight off diseases and infections and contribute to your overall health. This bright yellow beverage is traditionally made by warming up cow’s or plant-based milk, with turmeric and other spices, such as cinnamon and ginger. It is very well known for its health benefits as it is often used as an effective remedy to boost immunity and get rid of illness.

What are science-based benefits of golden milk?

Loaded with antioxidants: One of the key ingredients in golden milk is turmeric, which gives yellow color to milk. Curcumin, is the active component in turmeric, has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries to fight cell damage, protecting your body from oxidative stress. Other ingredients in the golden milk are essential to the functioning of your cells. Many studies have shown that diets rich in antioxidants help lower your risk of infections and diseases. Golden milk with cinnamon and ginger becomes most impressive antioxidant drink.

Reduce inflammation and joint pain: Golden milk has powerful anti- inflammatory properties due to ginger, cinnamon and curcumin that are helpful in reducing chronic inflammation in chronic diseases, including cancer, metabolic syndrome, Alzheimer’s and heart disease. For this reason, diets rich in anti-inflammatory compounds reduce your risk of these conditions. These anti-inflammatory compounds effects reduce joint pain from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid.

Improve memory and brain function: Golden milk is good for your brain, as many studies have shown that curcumin help increase levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a compound that helps your brain form new connections and promotes the growth of brain cells while the low levels of BDNF are linked to brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.

In Alzheimer’s disease, there is an accumulation of a specific protein in the brain, called the tau protein and the compounds in cinnamon may help reduce this buildup. Ginger also boosts brain function by improving reaction time and memory. This is also effective to reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Curcumin helps improve mood and reduce symptoms of depression: Depression is linked to low levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The curcumin appears to boost levels of BDNF and reduce symptoms of depression.

Protect against heart diseases: Remarkably, cinnamon, ginger and turmeric ingredients in golden milk have all been linked to a lower risk of heart disease as well by lowering the total cholesterol, triglyceride and “bad” LDL levels while raising “good” HDL levels and improve the function of your blood vessel linings known as endothelial function.

Lower blood sugar levels: The ingredients in golden milk, particularly ginger and cinnamon, help lower blood sugar levels. For instance, 1–6 grams of cinnamon per day may lower fasting blood sugar levels by up to 29%. Moreover, cinnamon can reduce insulin resistance and that in turn lowers blood sugar levels. Cinnamon seems to reduce how much glucose is absorbed in your gut after a meal, which can further improve blood sugar control.  Similarly, regularly adding small amounts of ginger to your diet helps lower fasting blood sugar levels by up to 12%. Make sure to drink unsweetened golden milk for faster results.

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Reduce risk of cancer: Cancer is a disease marked by uncontrolled cell growth. Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, along with cinnamon, ginger can also kill isolated cancer cells and prevent the growth of new blood vessels in tumors, limiting their ability to spread.

Antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties: In India, golden milk is often used as a home remedy against colds because of its immune-boosting properties. Moreover, compounds in fresh ginger and cinnamaldehyde, the active compound in cinnamon are able to inhibit the growth of some bacteria and fight the human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV), a common cause of respiratory infections. These strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties help treat respiratory tract infections caused by fungi and strengthen your immune system as well.

Ginger and Turmeric improve digestion: Chronic indigestion, also known as dyspepsia is characterized by pain and discomfort in the upper part of your stomach. Delayed stomach emptying is a potential cause of indigestion. Ginger help relieve this condition by speeding up stomach emptying in people suffering from dyspepsia and turmeric help reduce indigestion symptoms and also help maintain proper digestion and prevent flare-ups in individuals with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory digestive disorder resulting in ulcers in the gut.

Calcium and vitamin D contribute to stronger bones: Golden milk made with cow’s or plant milk that are generally rich in calcium and vitamin D contributes to a strong skeleton. If your diet is too low in calcium, your body starts removing calcium from your bones to maintain normal calcium levels in your blood.

Over time, this makes bones weak and brittle, increasing your risk of bone diseases, such as osteopenia and osteoporosis. Vitamin D contributes to stronger bones by improving your gut’s ability to absorb calcium from your diet. Low levels of vitamin D in your body leads to weak and brittle bones even though calcium level is normal. Therefore, for making golden milk, use cow’s milk often enriched with vitamin D.