Pin RecipeNext time you have a pain (or if you suffer from chronic pain), you might want to try my turmeric tea recipe instead of taking an anti-inflammatory or over-the-counter pain medication.
Trust me, I am someone who very much understands how difficult it is to live with pain and I totally understand that sometimes it is absolutely necessary to take “real” pain medication (for example, there is NO way I could have not taken something for pain when I had a 7-hour surgery for a femoral derotational osteotomy almost 2 years ago—turmeric tea would not have cut it back then!) But ALL pain medications, even the seemingly harmless over-the-counter ones, have negative consequences…
Natural Turmeric Tea Recipe Can Prevent Nutrient Depletion from Over-the-Counter Pain Medications
Did you know that even taking seemingly harmless over-the-counter medications such as Advil (Ibuprofen) and Aleve as well as prescription anti-inflammatory medications such as Celebrex can all interfere with B-vitamin metabolism by depleting your B-vitamins (birth control pills also deplete B-vitamins!) And all pain killers with Tylenol deplete one of your body’s most important detoxifiers, glutathione. Pretty much any medication has some sort of side effect.
Although turmeric is a “whole food” (or spice, I suppose I should say) and not a medication, it absolutely has potent “medicine-like” benefits such as reducing inflammation, protecting against the oxidation that accelerates the aging/ disease process, supporting the health of your heart and liver and so much more. With turmeric you get “side benefits” rather than side effects—and there’s a BIG difference!
When I was recovering from my surgery ordeal (you can read the full story HERE ), I did take pain meds because the pain was so severe I would have lost my mind without them— but once I weaned off the meds I got in the habit of making the turmeric tea recipe below every day. My “tea” took 5 minutes to make and consisted of the following ingredients:
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Turmeric Tea Recipe
- Yield: 1 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup organic coconut milk
- Juice from 1 whole lemon
- 1 teaspoon raw manuka honey
- 1 teaspoon organic turmeric
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat on the stove for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Sip hot.
New Chapter Turmeric Force is a Great Alternative to My Turmeric Tea Recipe
If it is inconvenient for you to make the turmeric tea recipe you can also consider supplementing with “whole” turmeric capsules. But I would avoid isolated turmeric compounds in the form of curcumin.
Isolated compounds are more like taking a medication and they do not contain the full spectrum of phytonutrients, antioxidants and other beneficial compounds found in the “whole” food (or spice, herb, etc.) You can think of isolated compounds such as curcumin as being like refined food and turmeric as being an unrefined “whole food”.
New Chapter is one of my favorite brands for turmeric capsules and includes the complete spectrum of beneficial phytonutrients in their “whole” and natural profile.
You can purchase New Chapter Turmeric Force here.
How much fresh turmeric root can you substitute for the powdered?
Thanks
Hi Kaneez, As a general rule of thumb: 1 inch fresh turmeric = 1 tablespoon freshly grated turmeric = 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Hope this helps?
I literally just made this for my man and two 5 yo boys. Delicious. Is it naughty that I added 1tsp of cinnamon and when finished a scosh of organic half and half and a sprinkle of nutmeg? I thought it would be festive.
★★★★★
Ivy, I originally got the idea to make this tea from your book. I have since then modified a hundred times and now I am making it with fresh Turmeric Root that I got at Whole Foods here in NJ. It really does wonders for pain.
Hi Rose! Oh I am so glad you are drinking the tea regularly 😉 And yes, it really does do WONDERS for pain! It’s pretty amazing, actually. Thank you so much for commenting and sharing your experience.
My body seems to have an issue with coconut milk (bloating, cramps). From the reading I did, I got the impression that coconut has a high inflammatory index. Is that true? Is there an alternative to coconut milk for the recipe (I can’t do almond milk either) or it ok to use regular organic milk?
Hi Lori, Coconut milk does have a high saturated fat content and while normally animal-based saturated fat is considered inflammatory, coconut milk is a type of plant-based saturated fat that is totally different biochemically from the animal-based saturated fat you would get from say, butter or meat. Normally, coconut milk should not be inflammatory, however, if it does not agree with your body and you experience bloating, cramps, etc. then it IS inflammatory for YOUR individual body. My recommendation is to just avoid it and instead use hemp milk (the protein in hemp milk is VERY easy to digest). Be sure to let me know if you have an issue with the hemp milk too though…