According to Ayurveda, milk is considered to be essential for the human body and should be an important part of the diet. Ayurveda ardently encourages the consumption of warm milk on a regular basis by all healthy individuals. It contains vitamins (A, K and B12), thiamine, and nicotinic acid, minerals like calcium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium.
There are conflicting arguments regarding the best time to drink milk. If consumed in the morning, it makes us active the entire day. At night, it can calm our minds and make us sleep better. Ayurveda however emphasizes on drinking milk at night.
Effects Of Drinking Milk Depending Upon Time
- Morning: Drinking milk in the morning is not advised as it is heavy to digest.
- Afternoon:Drinking milk in the afternoon promotes strength in old people; it also helps to alleviate certain medical conditions such as urinary calculi or stones.
- Evening: Drinking milk in the evening is beneficial for the eyes.
- Night: Night is the best time to drink milk as it reduces tiredness and is helpful for inducing good sleep.
Thus drinking your way to a good night’s sleep might be beneficial due to the following reasons:
- Drinking Milk at night facilitates the sleep process, as it contains the amino acid tryptophan, which helps in increasing the melatonin (also known as the sleep hormone) level in the body
- Milk is a good source of calcium, which is important for maintaining bone health .Also the calcium will be absorbed optimally due to low activity levels in the evening
- Proteins present may be beneficial for those trying to gain lean muscle mass.
As with everything else in life you will find different outlooks. Have a look at the few factors below you must take into consideration too.
Factors To Be Taken Into Consideration While Drinking Milk
- People suffering from conditions like fresh fever, weak digestion, certain skin conditions, cough, loose bowel movements and intestinal worms should avoid drinking milk.
- Milk should never be taken during the meals as it is difficult to digest. It should always be consumed separately and should be warm, for easier digestion.
- Milk if taken cold, homogenized, combined with unsuitable foods and in excess will definitely be harmful for health.
- Milk should be avoided completely for people who are lactose intolerant.
Drinking milk at night before sleep may be fattening.
Thus modern Ayurveda scientists suggests that the secret to milk being a healthy food lies completely in the way it is consumed, prepared, stored and maintained.
