Turmeric
My favorite nightcap is a hot drink made with turmeric, non-dairy milk, ginger, black pepper and coconut oil.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a native perennial plant to Asia. It is used both as culinary and medicinal spice. It gives it strong flavor and color to curry. The compound in tumeric is called curcumin. Curcumin is a potent antioxidant with impressive radical- scavenging abilities and a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. It not only lowers levels of inflammation, it also lowers levels inflammation producing compounds.
It is difficult for the body to absorb turmeric. To enhance absorption, you can blend and cook your spices in oil, as in cooking curries. Another way for better absorption is to take your turmeric capsules with bromelian and piperine (found in black pepper). Once the turmeric is absorbed into blood stream, it can pass easily into the brain. I remember reading many years ago, that there is a very low percentage of Alzheimer's disease in India. When they performed autopsies, they found that they had a strong yellow color in the brain. They believed it was from the curry. We do not consume curry every day, so adding this hot drink is a great way to add turmeric to your daily diet.
2 Servings
1" ginger sliced into 1 cup of boiling water simmer for 5 minutes.
Add 2 cups of non- dairy milk coconut, almond, hemp, or soy
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper.
Simmer for a few more minutes, strain and add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
Sweeten with maple syrup - optional.
In a pinch you can use 3/4 teaspoon of ground ginger from your spice rack.-Then you do not need to simmer in water. Just use milk only. Your drink will be thicker and creamer.
Eliminate coconut oil if you are using full fat milk.
Cheers and to your health!
Blessings!
Mimi Lam