Change is hard. But I’ll get to that in a minute. I’m lucky enough to be getting older. And while I’m approaching my healthy aging with good habits and intentions, there are days when my knees, hips and shoulders let me know that they’ve been used. Those days I’m stiff and achy and grumpy. My sister wanted to try turmeric paste, or “Golden Paste,” for our aging dogs, and she suggested that I try it too. I agreed, because it’s all natural and I don’t mind the taste.
Benefits of turmeric
While there’s no real definitive study that proves this to be true, there are studies that suggest that turmeric, when combined with black pepper, is effective in reducing the risk of chronic inflammation and in reducing arthritis pain. Plus some research suggests that it helps fight cognitive decline, which is especially important for our healthy aging. You’ll note that turmeric is combined with black pepper for better absorption and effectiveness. I don’t like black pepper, especially not in large quantities.
How to incorporate the stuff into my diet?
So, there’s the dilemma. Change is hard. But I want to incorporate this “Golden Paste” into my diet. The paste is prepared by reducing a large amount of turmeric in water, then adding coconut oil and a large amount of black pepper as the mixture cools. I tried mixing the paste in my morning orange juice. It was terrible. I mentioned that I don’t like black pepper to start with, and mixing it in orange juice was really awful. But, I’m resilient. I can come back from this awfulness and think of something else.
An old-timey solution
Then my sister came up with the idea of mixing it with cottage cheese for breakfast. I had been eating an egg every morning, along with a tomato. (Don’t knock it – it’s good.) But cottage cheese could take the place of the egg – it’s high in protein and doesn’t have substantially more calories. And it’s good with tomato. Years ago, I remember my mom loved cottage cheese and tomato, spiced with seasoned salt. The golden paste could take the place of the salt. So I tried it, and the cottage cheese has a strong enough flavor to mask the pepper.
I’ve been eating this concoction for about a week, and things look promising. I don’t want to say much, because the paste is supposed to take several weeks for its effectiveness to be noted. But even though change is hard, this change is palatable.
The moral of this story? Even though we resist change, sometimes the results are worth it. And if this stuff works, even a little, I’ll be that much further toward my goals. Imagine not waking up to aching hips and knees. And if I’m not hurting when I fall into bed at night, a good night’s sleep will be that much easier.
