This drink with the medicinal properties of Ayurvedic plants is less known than golden milk or golden milk, but its effects on physical and mental well-being impress. Learn how to prepare it at home in just a few minutes.
Restless nights and trouble falling asleep, who doesn’t know? Moon milk, a medicinal and slightly spicy drink can counteract these problems. Soothing ingredients that promote sleep make this trendy drink a healthy aid for sleep problems and stress.
WHAT IS MOON MILK?
To find your way to the land of dreams, you sure got warm milk with honey as a child. The Ayurvedic version is also based on the sleeping effect of cow’s milk, rich in the amino acid tryptophan, which promotes the formation of hormones of well-being (serotonin) and sleep (melatonin), but also adds the properties of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera, the scientific surname says it all), one of the most relevant plants of traditional Indian medicine, Well known for its adaptogenic properties (helps to cope with everyday stressful situations).
INGREDIENTS OF MOON MILK
MILK
As the name moon milk suggests, it is impossible to imagine this drink without the main ingredient, cow’s milk, but vegans and people who do without cow’s milk for other reasons can equally enjoy moon milk by replacing it with oat or cashew milk. Plant-based alternatives contain less tryptophan, but provide a significant amount of this amino acid.
If you choose cow’s milk, select it of ecological quality and if possible, without homogenizing (it is distinguished because the cream of the milk accumulates in the neck of the bottle, but it is not easy to find a milk that has not undergone this treatment).
SPICES
Both in terms of taste and overall effect, spices make a big difference in homemade moon milk. Cinnamon and turmeric have a calming effect and give a unique flavor to the hot drink.
Turmeric is a medicinal plant with anti-inflammatory, digestive, antioxidant and soothing effects. Cinnamon stands out for its relaxing effect and its regulating action on energy metabolism.
You can give it a personal touch with many other spices. How about the popular combination of cinnamon and cardamom, for example? Clove, saffron, and ginger are also good choices.
ASHWAGANDHA
Ayurvedic ashwagandha completes the effect of moon milk. The powdered root helps in cases of sleep disorders, nervousness and restlessness.
HONEY
A little honey brings a pleasant sweetness. Although this is not decisive for effectiveness, it scores in terms of taste and contains a dose of antioxidants that protect the body’s cells from oxidative stress.
If you make moon milk with an oatmeal or cashew drink, depending on your taste, you may not even need a sweetener. And for vegans, if they want to replace honey, you can easily do it with maple syrup.
LAVENDER FLOWERS
The beautiful and fragrant lavender flowers contain an essential oil whose main components, linalool and linalyl acetate, have a positive action on sleep and psyche.
ADVANTAGES OF HOMEMADE MOON MILK
The good thing about homemade moon milk is that you can choose the ingredients for yourself. This means you can calibrate the quality of individual ingredients. For example, you can use high quality Ceylon cinnamon, instead of cassia cinnamon, very similar, but with a higher proportion of coumarin, which is somewhat toxic to the liver and kidneys, so if consumed in moderation there is nothing to worry about.
MOONMILK RECIPE
Ingredients for two 250 ml glasses:
- 500 ml oatmeal drink
- 1 teaspoon dried lavender flowers
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ashwagandha powder
- 2 teaspoons honey
Elaboration:
- Put the oatmeal drink, lavender flowers, cinnamon and ashwagandha in a saucepan and heat it. Bring to a boil briefly, remove from heat and let cool a little. Add the honey and mix again.
- Lather with a mini hand mixer, divide between 2 glasses and serve.
You only need five minutes to prepare the moon milk. It is highly recommended that you drink it about an hour before going to sleep so that it gives time for its effect to unfold relax and nothing gets in the way of your peaceful sleep.
THE OTHER MOON MILK
If you google “What is moon milk?” you will find a Wikipedia article that has nothing to do with what we have explained, because this expression is also used to name a white and creamy substance found inside the caves. This substance is a precipitate of limestone and other minerals that can be turned back into stone. It was first discovered in the sixteenth century, in the Moon milk Cavern (Hole Mondmilchloch, in the Swiss Alps). This substance was used for the treatment of skin ulcers and various diseases, as well as cosmetic. Moon milk was later found in caves in several European countries, in America, in Southeast Asia, in Africa and in Australia. As a curious fact, in a cave of the Ernio macido, in the valley of Aizarna (Guipúzcoa), a river of moon’s milk has been discovered.
