Once a staple in Indian homes, milk is increasingly made out to be a villain. Many people you meet have already declared themselves lactose-intolerant, saying milk makes them sick, is difficult to digest
and unsuitable for adults.
Yet, milk had a special place in the traditional diets of Ayurveda and Yoga, where it was regarded as saatvik and nourishing, and an excellent food for Yoga practitioners.
What changed? Is milk really a troublemaker, or is that only a half-truth?
Dr Pankaj Chansarkar, Indore-based Ayurveda specialist and holistic healing expert, breaks it down.
When Milk Nourishes the Body and Mind
Yoga and Ayurveda value milk for three reasons: nourishment, strength, and balancing the nervous system. Consuming saatvik milk, as well as ensuring its proper digestion, not just helps the body, but also makes the nervous system vitalised and the mind steady and calm during spiritual practice.
We say in Ayurveda that we become what we digest. When we digest saatvik milk, sattva increases in the mind.
However, milk is saatvik only when procured properly and consumed fresh. Like it was in the earlier days: it came from a single cow, it was collected after the calf had fed itself—and without using any force.
Why Has Milk Lost Its Traditionally Honoured Status?
There is no one culprit per se, but a totality of several factors that has resulted in this fall.
First, the quality of milk is different from what it used to be. Earlier, milk came from local cows, was boiled at home and consumed fresh. Today, procurement is large-scale. Milk is pasteurised, stored, transported, homogenised. It is sourced from multiple animals. This has increased the tamasic vritti of milk.
Second, lifestyles have changed. More stress, late-night eating, untimely meals, combining foods improperly and excessive consumption of processed food. All these weaken digestion and when digestion is weak, even good food feels heavy.
Third, our understanding of nutrition has evolved. People are aware of intolerances, metabolic health, etc., and milk is also undergoing re-evaluation—instead of being blindly accepted just because our elders consumed it.
So, if it is not being tolerated, it is because milk has gone through changes, and so have people’s physical activity, emotional stress, food habits, etc. Naturally, reactions to milk have also changed.
Sattva in Today’s Milk Is Diluted
Today’s milk is a mixture taken from many cows—all of whom may have different emotions. Often, this milk is also collected forcefully using machines and hormonal manipulation to make the cow produce more milk.
This industrialisation of milk causes many disturbances in its digestibility. The process has become very intense and thus the Sattva concept gets diluted.
When Milk Triggers Heaviness and Bloating
Milk will cause digestive disturbances firstly if you already have weak digestion. Acidity, gas, bloating, constipation, loose motions and irritability kind of symptoms are all signs of digestive disturbance.
Uneasiness will occur if:
a) You have cold or refrigerated milk.
b) You combine it with incompatible foods. Mixing milk with fermented foods, salt, sour fruits, fish etc. is not recommended, as it causes excessive air generation in the gut.
c) You drink milk immediately after food, or even if you have it as dessert after a heavy meal—like custard with fruits. Don’t blame the milk then.
Since milk is a complete food, having it after food means you have eaten two meals at one go. When digestive strength is not enough to digest even one meal, processing two meals places a lot of pressure on the system.
d) You drink milk in large quantities.
Who All Benefit From Milk
It helps those with high mental stress. Individuals with strong digestion can take milk on a regular basis.
It is beneficial for those underweight or depleted because it reduces degeneration. Similarly, for people recovering from illness. Milk is a complete food and contains fat, sugar, protein, etc. required for energy and metabolism, so keep it simple and don’t mix anything in it.
It is good for the elderly because it provides strength, energy, helps maintain bone strength, and aids sound sleep. However, their digestion must be taken into consideration. Adding spices like nutmeg, pepper and cardamom can improve its digestibility. Warm turmeric milk at night is traditionally used to support the nervous system and sleep, and to reduce swelling and inflammation.
Children and adolescents, of course, need it for growth and health because of the calcium, protein, and growth nutrients it contains.
Who May Experience Discomfort With Milk
Those who have weak digestion or heaviness in the body.
Those who eat heavy food—or many different kinds of food—in a single day.
Those who have proven milk allergy.
Those who have excessive mucus formation or respiratory system congestion.
Certain autoimmune issues also cause milk to be rejected.
Milk and Lifestyle Disorders
It can still be included in small quantities for people with obesity, thyroid issues, diabetes, cancer, neurological disorders, and autoimmune disorders—but only after checking if they are able to tolerate it. That varies from person to person.
So, the key is individualisation and first understanding each constitution.
How Milk Should Be Taken
Always have boiled and warm milk, which removes heaviness, improves digestibility, destroys unwanted microbes, and helps in better absorption. Cold milk, on the other hand, can slow digestion, and increase mucus formation in the gut and other parts of the body.
Some spices boiled with milk help its digestibility—turmeric is the foremost one. Cardamom makes milk lighter. Pepper is used for respiratory disorders. Cinnamon promotes digestion and reduces acid. Nutmeg helps with calmness, relaxation, sleep. Dry ginger can be added in small quantities.
Buffalo Milk in Ayurveda
Buffalo milk is more commonly consumed in India than in most parts of the world, where the buffalo is considered a wild animal. It produces a large amount of milk.
However, the buffalo is lethargic and unbothered even about the torture during milk extraction. Its milk is therefore heavy in nature—tamasic, causing weight gain, and difficult to digest.
The Takeaway
Completely eliminating milk based on hearsay is unnecessary. Milk alone should not be blamed for discomfort. Its consumption needs to be individualised. It must be taken properly, and the sourcing is important.
As Dr Chansarkar puts it, “When taken calmly—with the cows’ permission—milk is among the most saatvik foods one can have.”
(The author is a journalist, cancer survivor and certified yoga teacher. She can be reached at swatikamal@gmail.com)
