Wellness Wednesday - Golden milk for aching joints

I am little harsh on my joints. I train hard and I train often. I always have. I especially love to lift heavy weights. As much as exercise is good for your joints, I know they have taken a beating over the years. I never used to pay any attention to warming up, cooling down or stretching and that has played a BIG part in it. I've learnt a lot since then and all of those are now a permanent part of every training session but unfortunately, some of the damage has been done.

Fortunately, I have found a natural remedy that is just perfect for my achy joints. It's also perfect for you if you suffer from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis or any illness that attacks your joints. If you just train a lot like I do, and put your joints under a lot of strain, this is definitely for you.

The key ingredient in golden milk is turmeric. You've probably heard of it. It's a golden/orangey colour spice that is used predominantly in indian cooking. 

It's also been used in ayurvedic medicine for thousands and thousands of years. If you buy it from a grocery store you're probably accustomed to it looking more yellow in colour. That's because it's been heat-treated and stripped of all of its natural goodness and is about as nutritious as beach sand.

If you are going to use turmeric for anything, you really want to make sure you buy organic, non-irradiated turmeric. (this actually applies to ANY spice) You will find it here if you're based in Jhb or here if you're anywhere else in South Africa. Dischem also sells some non-irradiated spices but check the label carefully because some of them LOOK more natural but actually are irradiated.

The ingredient in turmeric that gives it so much healing power is curcumin. Research has shown that it has 150 potentially therapeutic properties. Here are some of the benefits:

• Anti-inflammatory
• Lubricates joints
• Antioxidant
• Antiseptic
• Analgesic
• Anti-fungal
• Anti-bacterial
• Boosts immunity
• Anti-carcinogenic
• Helps maintain cholesterol levels
• Promotes digestive health
• Liver detoxifier
• Regulates metabolism and weight management
• Lowers high blood pressure
• Improves memory and brain function
• Helps various skin conditions
• Helps various neurological disorders
• Lowers Triglycerides

So many good reasons to drink this stuff and guess what? It tastes great! It's actually a fantastic drink to have just before bed. You will sleep like a baby while the turmeric works its magic on your body:)

When I make my golden milk I also add organic, ground black pepper. The reason for that is that black pepper enhances curcumin’s bioavailability by 2000%. As good as curcumin is for you, there is one problem with it. It has low levels of bioavailability. That means that most of the curcumin that you eat is metabolised before your body can absorb it and it ends up not doing much good. An ingredient in black pepper called piperine helps make curcumin more bioavailable for your body. Studies found that when curcumin was ingested, it had no effect. However, when piperine was added to curcumin the bioavailability increased by 2000%! So, if you can handle a slight burn, it's definitely worth adding the black pepper.

I also add a bit of ginger and cinnamon to my golden milk because these spices also have loads of good, healing benefits. Read more about those here. If you don't like them, simply leave them out. I find they make it even more delicious.

How to make golden milk

First you need to make the turmeric paste:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup of filtered water

Method: (hint: wear an apron if you are wearing clothes you'd like to hang on to. Turmeric stains like nothing on earth)

• Mix all ingredients in a small pot
• Mix well
• Turn the heat to medium and stir constantly until the mixture is a thick paste
• Add a little more water if it's too thick (you should still be able to pour it out of the pot, not scrape it out)
• This doesn't take long so don’t walk away from the pan or it will stick and burn
• Let your paste cool and then keep it in a small jar in the fridge (it will keep for about 3 weeks in the fridge)

Using turmeric paste to make golden milk:

Ingredients:

1 cup of milk (You can also use coconut milk, almond milk, goat's milk or soy milk but make sure it's organic soy because most soy is genetically modified these days)
1 tsp coconut oil
¼ or ½ tsp of turmeric paste (this depends on how strong you can handle)

Raw honey (or some other natural sweetener)

Method:

• Combine all the ingredients, except honey in a small pot
• Turn the heat to medium
• Stir constantly and don't allow the mixture to boil. It will taste burnt but also, cleaning it up if it boils over will be horribly messy. Your stove top will be yellow for weeks!
• Pour golden milk into a mug
• Add coconut oil
• Add honey to taste
• Drink

There are many different recipes for golden milk and it really comes down to taste. The spices you add will depend on what you like. The types of oil you use are also up to you. A lot of recipes use sesame oil. I've really struggled to find organic, cold-pressed sesame oil and, since I always have coconut oil in my kitchen, it works for me.

If you have arthritis or joint issues, or things like back pain and neck pain, I'd recommend drinking this at least twice a day. If you just want to use it as a tonic for all the other benefits you get from it, once a day just before bed is perfect. It's great for kids too. They will love it, it's really good for them, PLUS it will give them a good night's sleep!