As per Ayurveda, the best time to consume milk for adults is before bedtime. As for kids, Ayurveda recommends an early morning dose of milk. Drinking milk at night promotes 'Ojas'. Ojas is referred to as a state in Ayurveda when you achieve proper digestion.
A glass of milk is packed with protein and drinking one before going to sleep will help you feel full all night long, resulting in a better night's sleep.
You should have milk first thing in the morning: While milk is great for breakfast as it gives you the essential nutrients right at the start of the day, drinking it on an empty stomach may not be the best thing. You should avoid it if you suffer from poor digestion and gastric issues.
Milk contains tryptophan which is an amino acid that helps us sleep better. Tryptophan converts into serotonin, the hormone that gives you pleasure. Serotonin also increases the amount of melatonin in your body and melatonin is the hormone responsible for good sleep.
Help sleep well
Milk has tryptophan and bioactive peptides, which can improve your sleep quality.
As per experts drinking cold milk at night can affect the digestion even for people who drink milk daily. This is because the stomach is already full and drinking milk after a heavy dinner can strain the digestive system and may lead to constipation.
Milk consumption is recommended by many nutritional guidelines for meeting daily requirements for calcium, animal proteins and vitamin B12 intake. In the United-States, the national dietary guidelines recommend that adults should drink three cups or 732 mL/d of milk [1].
The Bottom Line. If you aren't lactose-intolerant or allergic to dairy, it's totally OK to enjoy a regular glass of milk each day. From improving bone health to helping mitigate cognitive decline, drinking milk and incorporating other dairy items into your diet can come with some health benefits.
The Ayurveda expert says consumption of this combination could even lead to adverse effects in the long run. "These effects may include gut-related issues such as stomach ache, nausea, indigestion, gas, bloating, ulcers, bad odour, constipation, acid reflux and many severe skin disorders," she adds.
Be it hot milk or cold milk, both are equally healthy and nutritious. Generally, people make their preferences based on the weather and season. While it is your personal choice to decide if you like your milk hot or cold, we advise you drink at least a glass of milk every day.
The proteins found naturally occurring in milk help boost the elasticity of our skin so we get fewer wrinkles, and they develop slower. Milk also contains retinol (an antioxidant) and vitamin D which can help protect our skin from damaging sun rays.
Drinking warm milk enhances the nutrition quotient in the milk. The heating process activates the enzymes present in milk, and they are better absorbed by the body, thereby improving bone density. “Drinking warm milk reduces the risk of bone-related diseases like osteopenia, osteoporosis, and fractures”, says Dr Rani.
Should I cut back on my milk intake? A Swedish study suggests that while milk may be good, more is not better. This study found that too much milk – three or more glasses a day – was not only associated with mortality but also an increased risk of fracture and hip fracture.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recommends drinking one to two glasses of milk daily. For the six billion people around the world who regularly consume milk, that adds up to 2.4 billion liters every day – or the capacity of 960 Olympic swimming pools.
Which type of milk is the healthiest? The Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise that people choose fat-free or low fat milk instead of whole milk. This approach is to help keep a person's saturated fat intake to less than 10% of calories per day and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
Drinking milk at night increases the chances of weight gain as metabolizing and digesting the protein and milk fats take time. A glass of milk has around 120 calories, this is one of the reasons why you must avoid drinking milk at night as the calories don't get burnt easily and this leads to weight gain.
Better sleep: One major benefit of consuming hot milk before retiring to bed is good sleep. Milk contains amino acid which helps in inducing better sleep. These acids get activated when milk is warm. Cure for common cold: Drinking hot milk and honey is an excellent home remedy to cure common cold.
Drinking milk after the meal at night helps in increasing the concentration level and also results in deep sleep.