What Is Golden Milk?
If you follow just about any clean-eating community, you’ve probably seen someone raving about golden milk or Instagramming photos of the frothy, yellow beverage. But what exactly is it, and why are so many people suddenly drinking this turmeric-based concoction?
As it turns out, golden milk isn’t actually new. At all. It’s an age-old Ayurvedic beverage known as haldi doodh (“turmeric milk”), that has recently gained a cult following thanks to devotees — like Gwyneth Paltrow, who shared her own golden milk recipe on Goop — who swear it has all sorts of health benefits.
How to Make Golden Milk
- In a small saucepan, heat two cups of almond milk or coconut milk.
- Stir in a teaspoon of ground turmeric and a pinch of black pepper.
- Add flavor with any of the following: ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon of ginger powder, or 1 Tbsp. of coconut oil. This step is optional.
- Sweeten with raw honey (to taste).
- Simmer for five minutes until it has the consistency of steamed milk.
The result tastes vaguely like chai, and makes your kitchen smell amazing. But is it the miracle elixir it’s made out to be? Well… maybe.
Are there Benefits to Drinking Golden Milk?
Curcumin — the active ingredient in turmeric — is said to have many beneficial properties. The ingredient is being researched to determine its potential use in helping to support healthy digestion, cardiovascular health, and even recovery from intense exercise, though the amount needed to support these benefits might be different than the amount contained in golden milk.
The other ingredients featured in golden milk have also been researched for their own benefits: Cinnamon may help support digestive health and markers of overall health, almond milk contains vitamin B, and coconut oil has become a popular way to add texture and flavor while replacing other dietary fatty acids.
But you can have too much of a good thing, and turmeric is no exception. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, you should ideally limit your turmeric intake to the equivalent of 1 to 3 grams of powdered turmeric per day. The teaspoon of turmeric in golden milk hits that quota, so if you also eat curry dishes on the regular, you may want to forgo the golden milk, or at least cut back on how much turmeric you add.