Turmeric sounds a bit like a wonder herb sometimes. We’re told it’s anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, anti-asthma and anti-toxin. Sounds like it does a lot! For many of us, this medicinal herb is extremely helpful. And best of all, it’s a medicine you might have lying around your kitchen.
Turmeric can be a little bit confusing because in Ayurveda, we say that it can help when a person has any dosha increased. But we also say that turmeric has a heating virya, so why would we want to take a warming herb when our pitta is already up?
Pitta is the fire and water elements, like hot lava in your body. It has a biological and energetic function of transformation, but you want it in the right amounts. Have too much and you will burn. Have too little and you freeze and get stuck.
So why take something heating when you’re already dealing with fire issues in your body?
Well, if we have ama, then that’s when taking turmeric can be very helpful.
Ama is a broad term used in Ayurveda for metabolic byproducts in your system that are not being properly digested or released from the body. You know one manifestation of this as plaque. Ama can happen because the body isn’t processing its food completely enough, or because there are problems with the detox and excretion pathways of the body.
If you have ama in your body, then your pitta can go up as an attempt to clear the body of the toxins. It’s sort of like how you get inflammation when you get a cut. The body wants it out. If we can remove the ama by transforming and getting rid of the toxins, then after that, the pitta will actually go down too.
Turmeric has a long history of medicinal use, dating back at least 4,000 years. Modern biomedical research has supported the idea that turmeric can be very beneficial to human health in many scientific studies.
One study published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology found that curcumin, an active compound found in turmeric, had an anti-inflammatory and analgesic (pain reducing) effect on people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.(1)
Another study published by the US National Library of Medicine reported that curcumin was effective in treating chronic anterior uveitis (inflammation of the eye).(2)
A study published by the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists showed that curcumin modulates the growth of tumor cells.(3)
In addition to its anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anticancer effects, research suggests that turmeric may also be effective for many chronic conditions that I see people often turn to complementary medicine for including ulcerative proctitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel disease, peptic ulcer, gastric ulcer, oral lichen planus, gastric inflammation, vitiligo, psoriasis, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and many more.(4)
Overall, there is strong evidence to support the use of turmeric for a wide range of medical conditions.
However, turmeric is much more than just curcumin. It’s also a kitchen spice that you can add to recipes at home. You can add it to coffee, oatmeal, soups, cooked veggies, and much more! It’s actually one of the herbs I commonly add to my hot chocolate.
It’s a powerful blood cleanser and can have an impact on the liver, lungs, uterus, bladder, skin, and many other areas of the body.
Below is a delicious Heavenly Plant-Based Golden Milk that uses turmeric, and is caffeine and dairy free. It’s perfect for a warming, late winter beverage in the morning instead of having breakfast if you're beginning to explore fasting. It’s also a lovely thing to drink as a snack in the late afternoon when unwinding or getting together with a friend.
Before you make the golden milk, you must first make a batch of Heather’s Heavenly Spice Mixture. This is going to make you feel very witchy. You likely have most of these spices in your house if you ever bake.
Heavenly Spice Mixture
Ingredients:
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground clove
¼ tsp ground or cracked black pepper
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a small jar, mug or bowl
You can store and use this spice mixture for several purposes. It can be used to aid digestion in several dishes, and to make medicine when you have a cold, but we’ll have to save those recipes for another day! Today, we’ll focus on how to make the golden milk latte.
Heavenly Plant-Based Golden Milk Latte
Ingredients:
1 cup of oat milk
½ tsp spice mixture
2 tsp honey
Directions (stovetop):
Pour the oat milk into a small saucepan and turn the burner to medium-high heat
Sprinkle in the spices and mix with a spoon
Continue mixing slowly as the milk gets hot
Remove from the burner before the milk boils
Pour into two mugs
Add 1 tsp honey to each mug
Enjoy!
Heavenly Plant-Based Golden Milk modifications for each dosha:
Vata: Add 1 tsp ghee to each mug
Pitta: Replace honey with maple syrup
Kapha: Use ½ cup warm and ½ cup oat milk instead of 1 cup of oat milk, and add more black pepper to taste
References:
Jagetia GC et al. (2007). "Evaluation of antirheumatic activity of curcumin (diferuloyl methane)". [Frontiers in Pharmacology]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2276492/
Singh S et al. (2012). "Therapeutic Roles of Curcumin: Lessons Learned from Clinical Trials". [The US National Library of Medicine]. https://www.ncbi.nlm
Ravindran, J., Prasad, S. & Aggarwal, B.B. Curcumin and Cancer Cells: How Many Ways Can Curry Kill Tumor Cells Selectively?. AAPS J 11, 495–510 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1208/s12248-009-9128-x
Gupta SC, Patchva S, Aggarwal BB. Therapeutic roles of curcumin: lessons learned from clinical trials. AAPS J. 2013 Jan;15(1):195-218. doi: 10.1208/s12248-012-9432-8. Epub 2012 Nov 10. PMID: 23143785; PMCID: PMC3535097. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23143785/