How to Make Spiced Milk & Honey Lung Tonic

SERVINGS: 1

PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 10 MINUTES

MEAL: SNACK-DESSERT, DRINK

STYLE: AYURVEDIC

PREPARATION: BOILED

EAT IN: AUTUMN-WINTER

FOR OCCASION: MOVIE-NIGHT, BUSY-DAY, BED-TIME

How Does This Ayurvedic Recipe Improve Wellness?

CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW

Like a cozy fire, this Spiced Milk & Honey restores a warm, nurturing glow that seems to emanate from your chest. Grab a hot cup, don a pair of mittens and nestle into a warm blanket for the evening. This heartwarming holiday drink restores warmth to your fingertips and supports your whole body. Cinnamon's aroma will fill your kitchen, and your hearth with holiday cheer. This formula also supports your lungs and opens up airways so you can breathe freely.

Calming & Supportive

Winter's bitter chill and a blast of cold air can leave you feeling a bit scattered. When your bones are rattling, find relief from the stress of the season by drinking a warm glass of spiced milk. Milk is nature's symbol of motherly affection. Nourishing, strengthening, and rich, milk coddles an infant when he's upset, and can allay your concerns as well. Milk's creaminess is a balm for frayed nerves. Like a hug, warm milk will lull you into a night of winter hibernation after a busy day.

A mug of warm spiced milk & honey not only soothes your nerves, it strengthens your whole constitution. In Ayurvedic terms, that means milk nourishes your ojas. This drink is especially useful in autumn for depleted Vata individuals with exhaustion, a cold feeling in the chest and persistent cough.

Warms You Up

The secret to this warmth lies in the spices. The pungent kick of the spices stimulates your heart to beat faster. As your heart rate quickens and your blood vessels dilate, you feel toasty down to your bones. Winter's coldness causes constriction. These stimulating spices spread the wealth of your blood's warmth.

Nurture Your Lungs

Stuffy noses are your body's way of forcing you to breathe through the mouth. Unfortunately, the name does injustice to the physiology. As we explain in this article on The Brilliance of Stuffy Noses, a stuffed nose is actually not stuffed at all - it is swollen. Nasal passages may swell due to several factors: 1) Cold temperatures, 2) Infection, and 3) Irritation (from dryness due to heated air).

The secret to restoring healthy breathing is found in this spiced tea. Milk and honey are demulcents that coat dry, irritated respiratory passages. These coating properties also help you expectorate mucus lodged in the lungs. Spices in this tea liquefy mucous, so it flows freely, flushing out pathogens along the way. Finally, the warmth encourages sinuses to dilate, so you can breath easy.

For added respiratory support, add 1 teaspoon of ghee to your hot milk. This recipe may be enhanced by a pinch of pippali (long pepper), an Ayurvedic favorite with milk.

AYURVEDA'S GUIDE TO VITALITY & WHOLESOME NOURISHMENT

Your Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body and your specific imbalances. With an Ayurvedic diet you feel joy and satisfaction because what you are eating truly nourishes and balances you. Disease results from diets and lifestyles that are incompatible with your nature. By eating a personalized diet matched to your body, you experience optimal health. See How it Works.

See a complete list of all biocharacteristics.

INCREASES Increases These Biocharacteristics (Gunas) Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics (gunas). Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick. Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic. Learn More	LIGHT ABOUT LIGHT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Lightness is identified by reduced weight. LEARN MORE ABOUT LIGHT MOBILE ABOUT MOBILE BIOCHARACTERISTIC Mobile refers to anything that stimulates the nervous system, muscles, or activity. LEARN MORE ABOUT MOBILE CLEAR ABOUT CLEAR BIOCHARACTERISTIC Clear refers to anything that cleanses or flushes out wastes, or that digests ama. LEARN MORE ABOUT CLEAR EASY ABOUT EASY BIOCHARACTERISTIC Easy refers to anything easy to digest, or digests quickly. LEARN MORE ABOUT EASY HOT ABOUT HOT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Hot is identified by increased body temperature, metabolism, or inflammation. LEARN MORE ABOUT HOT DRY ABOUT DRY BIOCHARACTERISTIC Dry is identified by lack of moisture, lack of fat, or anything that causes diuresis. LEARN MORE ABOUT DRY
TASTES The 6 Tastes Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below? Learn More	PUNGENT ABOUT PUNGENT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Pungency is characterized by irritation, or sharp, spicy foods that irritate the mouth such as black pepper. LEARN MORE ABOUT PUNGENT
DOSHAS The Three Doshas / Body Types According to the biocharacteristic theory of medicine, people tend to get sick, over and over again, due to habitual causes and imbalances that are unique to the person. Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness. Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency. Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses. The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history. The 3 functional body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha). Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. They are easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry. Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. They tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed. Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. If they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Anabolic people tend to be stable and grounded. Learn More	PACIFIES AGGRAVATES
HAS THE FOLLOWING	Subtaste: Aromatic AROMATIC Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues. SEE ALL 'AROMATIC' FOODS / HERBS , Bland BLAND Bland means doesn't have much taste. In Chinese medicine, bland taste refers to afood without little macronutrients, such as cabbage, radish or bok choy. SEE ALL 'BLAND' FOODS / HERBS Tissue (dhatu): Blood Plasma Lymph BLOOD-PLASMA-LYMPH Plasma (Rasa Dhatu) includes plasma, white blood cells, and lymph. SEE ALL 'BLOOD-PLASMA-LYMPH' FOODS / HERBS Family: Bovidae
HERBAL ACTIONS (see all)	Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Spiced Milk & Honey Lung Tonic Experiences are Personal Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition. Digestion: Quenches Thirst QUENCHES-THIRST An herb or substance that relieves thirst. SEE ALL 'QUENCHES-THIRST' FOODS / HERBS Mind, Stress & Sleep: Nerve Relaxant Grounding NERVE-RELAXANT-GROUNDING Encourages feelings of stability and heaviness. Makes you feel settled, mentally relaxed. Mildly sedates the nervous system to ease stress. Can bring a spacey or anxious person back to earth. Reduces agitation, irritation, stress and racing thoughts. SEE ALL 'NERVE-RELAXANT-GROUNDING' FOODS / HERBS Energy Vitality: Satisfies Stomach SATISFIES-STOMACH Provides a sense of gratification and fullness in the stomach. SEE ALL 'SATISFIES-STOMACH' FOODS / HERBS , Nutritive NUTRITIVE An herb that is strengthening and nourishing. SEE ALL 'NUTRITIVE' FOODS / HERBS , Tonic TONIC A tonic herb restores function through strengthening tissue. This can happen through a combination of nourishing the tissue, and invigorating tissue metabolism. The tonic should not be withering, as in caffeine. SEE ALL 'TONIC' FOODS / HERBS Skin Care & Beauty: Diaphoretic DIAPHORETIC An herb that induces sweating, often by dilating blood vessels close to the skin. SEE ALL 'DIAPHORETIC' FOODS / HERBS , Soothing SOOTHING Calms and alleviates irritation, discomfort or pain in a particular region. SEE ALL 'SOOTHING' FOODS / HERBS , Demulcent DEMULCENT Herbs that coat or form a soothing film over a mucous membrane, relieving minor pain and inflammation of the membrane. SEE ALL 'DEMULCENT' FOODS / HERBS Respiratory-Health: Warms Chest WARMS-CHEST Warms the chest and lungs, clearing mucus and allowing for clear breathing. Often these herbs are hot, aromatic, and pungent. SEE ALL 'WARMS-CHEST' FOODS / HERBS , Flushes Sinuses FLUSHES-SINUSES An herb that relieves sinus congestion by flushing out mucus. SEE ALL 'FLUSHES-SINUSES' FOODS / HERBS , Soothes Throat SOOTHES-THROAT Soothes throat discomfort, including from a sore or ticklish throat. SEE ALL 'SOOTHES-THROAT' FOODS / HERBS , Bronchodilator BRONCHODILATOR An herb that encourages the widening or opening of the lung airways. They are helpful in wheezing and asthma. SEE ALL 'BRONCHODILATOR' FOODS / HERBS , Lung Tonic LUNG-TONIC Strengthens the lungs. Lung tonics include antifibrotic, vessel tonic, or nourishing herbs with an affinity for the lungs. They aid recovery in acute or chronic lung conditions. SEE ALL 'LUNG-TONIC' FOODS / HERBS , Decongestant DECONGESTANT An herb that reduces mucus production often by restricting blood flow to mucus membranes. SEE ALL 'DECONGESTANT' FOODS / HERBS , Expectorant EXPECTORANT Expectorants help you eliminate mucus from the lungs. These herbs often work by increasing the quantity of mucus, or thinning the mucus. Expectorants are indicated when phlegm congests the lower respiratory tract. SEE ALL 'EXPECTORANT' FOODS / HERBS Heart & Circulation: Warms Ears WARMS-EARS Stimulates peripheral circulation to warm extremities, including the ears. SEE ALL 'WARMS-EARS' FOODS / HERBS , Vasodilator VASODILATOR A vasodilator is an herb that widens the blood vessels by the relaxation of smooth muscle cells within the vessel walls, thereby increasing circulation systemically or to a local area. SEE ALL 'VASODILATOR' FOODS / HERBS Reproductive Health: Promotes Virility PROMOTES-VIRILITY Encourages virility and potency. SEE ALL 'PROMOTES-VIRILITY' FOODS / HERBS , Aphrodisiac APHRODISIAC Herbs that increase sexual arousal through various actions including increased circulation, relaxation, stimulation, or tonics that strengthen glandular health. SEE ALL 'APHRODISIAC' FOODS / HERBS , Galactagogue GALACTAGOGUE Increases production of breast milk, often by raising prolactin and diaphoresis. SEE ALL 'GALACTAGOGUE' FOODS / HERBS Bone & Joint: Bone Tonic BONE-TONIC An herb that strengthens the bones and joints. SEE ALL 'BONE-TONIC' FOODS / HERBS Strength, Muscle Health: Antispasmodic ANTISPASMODIC Herbs that reduce or inhibit muscle spasms or cramping, such as in asthma, menstruation, hear palpitations, migraine, or IBS. SEE ALL 'ANTISPASMODIC' FOODS / HERBS Constituents: Phosphorous, Aromatase Inhibitor AROMATASE-INHIBITOR Blocks estrogen synthesis by inhibiting conversion of progesterone and testosterone into estrogen. SEE ALL 'AROMATASE-INHIBITOR' FOODS / HERBS , Calcium CALCIUM Calcium nourishes bones and muscles. A muscle cell is activated when calcium enters the cell. It relaxes when the calcium is secreted. SEE ALL 'CALCIUM' FOODS / HERBS , Coumarin COUMARIN Moderately toxic, vascular tonic, hypotensive, and anti-inflammatory. SEE ALL 'COUMARIN' FOODS / HERBS , Fats

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Joyful Belly is a recognized school of biocharacteristics medicine.