The Ultimate Golden Milk Recipe - backed by Mic-Drop Research

“Let food be thy medicine….”

–Hippocrates

Is there a better example of food providing medicinal benefits than Karen’s “Golden Milk” recipe made of fresh almond butter, fresh turmeric, fresh ginger, pepper, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and honey?!  

Superfoods get their name from the fact that their chemical components have a medicinal effect on the body.

Hear Karen rave about the ingredients in golden milk in the video above. (You’ll get bonus points if you can keep up with her!)

Let’s review some of the researched benefits of the ingredients in Karen’s Golden Milk recipe.  All sources included today reference peer-reviewed medical publications of clinical trials and research analyses. Thank you to all the RESEARCHERS out there!

First up to bat… ginger!

Ginger can:

• Reduce nausea (including pregnancy morning sickness and chemotherapy-induced nausea)
• Reduce inflammation and arthritis symptoms
• Improve digestion
• Reduce exercise-induced muscle pain and menstrual pain
• Lower the risk of infections
• Lower blood sugar levels and LDL cholesterol
• Slow the growth of cancer

Turmeric can:

• Improve memory and cognitive function (curcumin—the main active ingredient in turmeric—has shown to increase levels of the hormone BDNF in the brain. Low levels of BDNF have been linked to Alzheimers, Depression, and other disorders, and high levels have been linked to improved cognitive ability)
• Combat free radical damage (free radicals cause cancer) with its powerful antioxidants, reduce the growth of cancer cells, and particularly help prevent cancers of the digestive system
• Reduce inflammation and arthritis symptoms
• Clean and improve the lining of blood vessels, lowering the risk of heart disease
• Boost neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine (acting as an antidepressant)
• Help clear amyloid plaques, which is a build-up of protein tangles directly related to Alzheimer’s Disease

White pepper can:

• Support proper digestion
• Reduce inflammation and free-radical damage
• Boost absorption of curcumin—the main beneficial ingredient in turmeric
• Help treat diarrhea
• Decrease blood pressure
• Because of piperine, be effective against vitiligo (a skin pigmentation-loss condition), and block the formation of new fat cells
• Support healthy bone development because of its mineral content, and improve dental health

Black pepper can:

• Block the expression of a gene responsible for arthritis (due to the active ingredient piperine)
• Reduce pain perception and inflammation, acting as a natural pain killer
• Provide vitamins A, C, and K
• Assist in the absorption of other nutrients in the body, especially curcumin by up to 2,000%
• Improve blood sugar metabolism and reduce cholesterol levels
• Support healthy gut bacteria
• Provide antioxidants (which fight cancer and other internal damage)

Cayenne pepper can:

• Improve circulation! (cayenne is perhaps most famous for its effect on circulation)
• Boost metabolism by increasing body temperature
• Reduce hunger due to its high content of capsaicin
• Help the body fight infection
• Increase digestive fluid production and deliver enzymes
• Reduce joint, muscle, lower back, surgery-induced, or nerve-related pain (can also be applied topically to help these things—again, thanks to capsaicin)
• Attack different pathways in the cancer cell growth process

Unprocessed Raw Honey can:

• Provide enzymes (which are essential to pretty much every chemical process that happens in your body) and antioxidants
• Improve reflexes, mental alertness and IQ
• Also be used topically to treat wounds, burns, bedsores, and many infections due to its antimicrobial properties
• Provide magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chloride, sulfur, iron, phosphate, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and C
• Provide benefits to those dealing with diarrhea, ulcers, infections, irritable bowel syndrome, gastrointestinal problems, staphylococcus infections, and even cancer

Unprocessed Almonds (we don’t recommend roasted and salted or flavored kinds—the heat denatures the enzymes and fat in the almond) can:

• Provide fiber, protein, healthy fat, vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, copper, vitamin B2 and phosphorus to the body
• Significantly reduce oxidative stress/free radical damage in the body due to rich antioxidant content
• Promote healthy blood sugar levels, due to both being high in magnesium (which improves insulin function) and naturally low in carbs but high in fats, protein and fiber
• Lower LDL levels in the blood AND protect LDL from oxidation (which leads to heart disease)
• Reduce feelings of hunger (very satisfying)

Cinnamon can:

• (thanks to being an excellent source of the trace mineral manganese) activate enzymes involved in healthy bone formation and physiological processes
• Lower blood sugar levels by improving the body’s ability to respond to insulin
• Prevent the clumping of platelets in the blood, acting as a natural blood thinner
• Lower levels of triglycerides, LDL, and total cholesterol in the blood
• Prevent colds, cases of flu, the growth of bacteria, fungus, and yeast (including Candida)—it has been used for its anti-microbial qualities in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries
• Improve memory and attention, and reduce chronic inflammation associated with neurodegenerative diseases
• Help with nausea, diarrhea, and indigestion, and support healthy digestion

 And...... DROP THE MIC!!

(the crowd goes wild!)  How's that for compelling research?

(For anyone unfamiliar with this expression... Wikipedia: "A mic drop is the gesture of intentionally dropping one's microphone at the end of a performance or speech to signal triumph.")

So what's the recipe? 

1-2 TB Almond butter

1 chunk of fresh ginger (about the size of a large grape) 

1 chunk of fresh turmeric

1-2 TB honey

Cinnamon, black or white pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste or tolerance level! (We put in about 1/4-1/2 tsp. of each) 

1-2 cups water 

*You can blend it with a cup of ice and enjoy it as a smoothie, or enjoy it warm (my personal favorite) by blending it with warm water or heating it over the stove after. 

If you are still in your seat and haven’t gotten up to make this magical one-stop-wonder of a beverage yet, feel free to do so now.

But REMEMBER: Buy these ingredients ORGANIC and RAW as much as possible!  Many of the benefits these foods provide are easily nullified or decreased by poor processing, spraying chemicals, adding heat or radiation, and losing nutrients to oxidation by sitting on the shelf. 

The researchers at GreenMedInfo (we love that site by the way) remind us: “make sure to buy all your spices USDA certified organic because many conventional brands irradiate their raw material with intense doses of radiation.”

Karen leaves the skin on her turmeric and ginger if it’s purchased organic and washed at our home beforehand, so that makes things a little faster! 

Enjoy the videos everyone and have a spicy day!

-Amy Sprouse and the team at Karen’s Holistic Health and I2H2E 

Special thanks to Healthline.com for their researchers who compiled literally hundreds of medical publications into one place.  The studies referenced in the articles below came almost exclusively from the United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health database.  

https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/6-healthy-reasons-eat-more-real-cinnamon-not-its-cousin

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/top-raw-honey-benefits#heal-wounds

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-proven-benefits-of-almonds#section8

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/8-benefits-of-cayenne-pepper#section1

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-benefits-of-ginger#section11

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-turmeric#section10

https://www.dovemed.com/healthy-living/natural-health/7-health-benefits-of-white-pepper/

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/black-pepper-benefits#7%E2%80%9310.-Other-benefits

https://guidedoc.com/health-benefits-of-black-pepper

https://draxe.com/white-pepper/