Cinnamon and Honey

[Ottershrew]

Hi everyone

The following is some stuff on honey and cinnamon, which might be of interest. It's from http://www.leaflady.org/honey.htm (among other sites), and seems to derive from Indian Ayurvedic and Unani medical traditions.

Honey and Cinnamon as a Medication

(Contributed by Raju Patel and edited by Gilgi Hauser)

Ayurvedic as well as Yunani medicine have been using honey as a vital medicine for centuries.

Today’s western scientists also accept honey as a "Ram Ban" (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases without producing any side effects. Today, honey is produced in most of the countries of the world and is therefore available worldwide. Modern science maintains that although honey is sweet, if ingested in the right dosages as a medication, diabetic patients will also be able to intake it.

According to Ayurvedic medicine, a mixture of Honey and Cinnamon can be beneficial to many ailments and diseases and on 17th January 1995, ‘Weekly World News’ - Canada, published a list of ailments/diseases that can be helped/treated with a Honey/Cinnamon mixture. Some of the important details of that information are as below:

HEART DISEASES
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, spread it on bread or chapatti instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. This can help to reduce the cholesterol in the arteries and maybe reduce the possibility of a heart patient from suffering a heart attack. Patients, who have already suffered attacks, are also advised to ingest the honey/cinnamon mixture to ward off further attacks.

Regular use of the mixture relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heartbeat. In USA and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that due to increasing age, the arteries and veins, which lose their flexibility and become clogged, are revitalized.

ARTHRITIS
Mix one part honey to two parts of lukewarm water and add a small level teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Make a paste and massage slowly onto the itching area of the body. It has been found that the pain can recede within a minute or two. Arthritic patients can also benefit from the daily intake morning and evening, of one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder mixed together. In a recent research program conducted at Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon honey and half a teaspoon cinnamon powder before breakfast; within a week, out of 200 patients who underwent the treatment, 73 patients were relieved of pain, and within a month most of the patients who could not walk or who had limited mobility due to their arthritis, started walking without pain.

HAIR LOSS
For people suffering from hair loss or baldness the following paste has been found to be effective: In warm olive oil, mix one tablespoon of honey, one teaspoon cinnamon powder, make a paste and apply before taking a bath. Leave on the scalp/hair for around 5 - 15 minutes, and then wash the hair.

BLADDER INFECTIONS
Stir two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and ingest. This can destroy the bacteria in the bladder that are the cause of the infection.

TOOTHACHE
Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply to the aching tooth. This may be applied 3 times a day until the tooth stops aching.

CHOLESTEROL
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of cinnamon powder mixed into 16 ounces of tea water, can aid in the reduction of cholesterol levels in the blood by 10% within a two hour period. As mentioned above for arthritic patients, if this mixture is ingested 3 times day, chronic cholesterol can be lowered. Pure honey, also ingested daily without cinnamon, taken together with food, is an aid in lowering cholesterol levels.

COLDS
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey mixed with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for 3 days. This will cure most chronic coughs, colds and clear the sinuses.

INFERTILITY
Yunani and Ayurvedic medicine have been using honey for thousands of years to strengthen the semen of men and improve impotence. Through the regular ingestion of two tablespoons of honey, prior to sleep, impotence can be greatly reduced. In China, Japan and Far-Eastern countries, women, who do not conceive and need to strengthen the uterus, have been taking cinnamon powder for centuries. Women, who are unable to conceive, may take a pinch of cinnamon powder in half teaspoon of honey and apply it on the gums frequently throughout the day, so that it slowly mixes with the saliva and can therefore enter the body. There is a story about a couple in Maryland, USA who were unable to produce children for 14 years and had lost hope of having a child of their own. When told about the honey cinnamon mixture both the husband and wife started ingesting the mixture and the wife conceived after a few months, giving birth to healthy twins.

UPSET STOMACH
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomachache and can also clear stomach ulcers.

GAS
According to studies done in India & Japan, honey, taken together with cinnamon powder can relieve the stomach of gas.

IMMUNE SYSTEM
Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.

INDIGESTION
Cinnamon powder sprinkled onto two tablespoons of honey taken before eating, relieves acidity and aids in the digestion of the heaviest of meals.

INFLUENZA
A scientist in Spain has proven that honey contains a natural ingredient, which kills influenza germs.

LONGEVITY
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take 4 spoons of honey, 1 spoon of cinnamon powder and 3 cups of water and boil as if making tea. Drink 1/4cup, 3 to 4 times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans also increases and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old.

PIMPLES
Make a paste from three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleep and wash it off the next morning with warm water. If applied daily for two weeks, the paste can remove pimples.

SKIN INFECTIONS
Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts can cure eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.

WEIGHT LOSS
Drink daily in the morning on an empty stomach, 1/2 hour before breakfast and at night before sleeping, a honey and cinnamon powder mixture boiled in one cup of water. If taken regularly, it is said to reduce the weight of even the most obese person. Also by drinking this mixture regularly, fat does not accumulate in the body even though the person maybe eating a high calorie diet.

CANCER
Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder, 3 times a day for one month.

FATIGUE
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful than detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Half a tablespoon of honey stirred into in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily n the afternoon at about 3.00PM when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, can help the body to have more vitality within a week.

BAD BREATH
In order to maintain fresh breath throughout the day, the people of South America, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water first thing upon awakening.

HEARING LOSS
Taken daily, morning and evening, honey and cinnamon powder taken in equal parts can restore hearing.

As well as this, Wikipedia also has the following comments on the medical use of cinnamon:

In medicine it acts like other volatile oils and once had a reputation as a cure for colds. It has also been used to treat diarrhoea and other problems of the digestive system. Cinnamon is high in antioxidant activity. The essential oil of cinnamon also has antimicrobial properties, which can aid in the preservation of certain foods.

Cinnamon has been reported to have remarkable pharmacological effects in the treatment of type II diabetes and insulin resistance. However, the plant material used in the study was mostly from cassia and only few of them are truly from Cinnamomum zeylanicum (see cassia's medicinal uses for more information about its health benefits). Recent advancement in phytochemistry has shown that it is a cinnamtannin B1 isolated from C. zeylanicum which is of therapeutic effect on type II diabetes, with the exception of the postmenopausal patients studied on C. cassia. Cinnamon has traditionally been used to treat toothache and fight bad breath and its regular use is believed to stave off common cold and aid digestion.

[...]

It is reported that regularly drinking of Cinnamomum zeylanicum tea made from the bark could be beneficial to oxidative stress related illness in humans, as the plant part contains significant antioxidant potential.

 

[webglider]

Thanks Ottershrew:

I can find immeditate use for this information!

 

[Gaby]

Apytherapy news:

Honey Increased Probiotic, Decreased Pathogenic Gut Bacteria

http://apitherapy.blogspot.com/2008/12/honey-increased-probiotic-decreased.html

High-Throughput Microbial Bioassays to Screen Potential New Zealand Functional Food Ingredients Intended to Manage the Growth of Probiotic and Pathogenic Gut Bacteria
International Journal of Food Science & Technology, Volume 43 Issue 12, Pages 2257 - 2267

A spectrophotometric bioassay was used to screen selected food ingredients intended for development of functional foods designed to influence the growth of gut bacteria.

Dose–response profiles displaying Δgrowth, the magnitude of deviation from growth of controls, were generated for probiotics Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium lactis and pathogens Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus.

Ingredients were manuka honey UMF™20+ (dose-dependently increased probiotics and decreased pathogens); bee pollen (biphasic growth effects against all); Rosehips and BroccoSprouts® (increased all dose-dependently); blackcurrant oil (little effect) and propolis (inhibited all strains).

Ingredients were also bioassayed in pairs to assess desirable or undesirable synergistic interactions. Observed synergies included manuka honey (predominantly desirable); rosehips or BroccoSprouts® (desirable and undesirable); blackcurrant oil (desirable) and propolis (tended towards synergies reinforcing its antimicrobial effects), collectively revealing a complex web of interactions which varied by ingredient and bacterial strain.

Manuka honey was particularly effective at influencing gut bacteria. The surprising frequency of undesirable synergistic interactions illustrates the importance of pre-testing potential ingredient combinations intended for use in functional foods.

Its too sweet though for an anticandida diet, but once the diet is finished... It certainly sounds good!

 

[ana]

Every morning since one month ago I take a glass of hot watter with the juice of a half lemon and a spoonful of a natural honey from Galicia the land of my mother's family. My great-grandmother gave it to my grandmother to avoid influenza and to feel more energetic.
It works!

 

[Myth of Myself]

Yeah, my great grandmother would make a ginger, cinnamon and honey tea for an upset stomach and it has always worked.

:)

 

[FireShadow]

I thought I remembered reading somewhere that cinnamon actually helps regulate blood sugar. I cannot remember where I read this, so I did a search

I found this article http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/cinnamon.htm
Excerpt:

But few could have predicted its current high profile. Recent headlines about cinnamon are the result of an accidental finding in a Maryland USDA research center. Incredibly, the catalyst was as American as good old apple pie, flavored with -- what else -- cinnamon. Scientists were testing the effects of various foods on blood sugar (glucose) levels. They expected the classic pie to have an adverse effect, but instead they found it actually helped lower blood glucose levels.

The researchers then took their surprising discovery and tested it in a small 60 patient study conducted in Pakistan, reporting in the journal Diabetes Care. All the patients had been treated for type 2, adult onset diabetes for several years and were taking anti-diabetic drugs to increase their insulin output. But they were not yet taking insulin to help process their blood glucose. The subjects were given small doses of cinnamon ranging from as little as a quarter teaspoon to less than 2 teaspoons a day for 40 days.

The results: Not only did the cinnamon reduce their blood sugar levels and increase their natural production of insulin, it lowered their blood cholesterol as well. Even 20 days after the cinnamon treatment had ended, the patients continued to see beneficial effects.

Then, I saw this article http://www.lifescan.com/diabetes/news/20080108elin023/
Excerpt

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cinnamon does not appear to have any impact on blood sugar or cholesterol levels in people with diabetes, Connecticut-based researchers report in the journal Diabetes Care.

"The preponderance of evidence currently available does not suggest that cinnamon has the ability to decrease a person's risk of heart disease by helping them control their diabetes or lower their cholesterol," Dr. Craig I. Coleman, of Hartford Hospital, who was the principal investigator, told Reuters Health.

Several studies have looked at the impact of cinnamon on blood sugar and lipids (fats) in patients with diabetes but had only modest sample sizes and yielded mixed results, Coleman and colleagues note in their report.

This led them to perform a large review, or "meta-analysis," of five studies in which a total of 282 type 1 or type 2 diabetic patients were randomly assigned to receive cinnamon or a placebo and were followed for up to 16 weeks.

All five studies used cinnamon cassia, "the same cinnamon most people have in their spice racks at home," Coleman noted. Doses ranged from 1 to 6 grams daily.

As mentioned, the use of cinnamon did not significantly alter hemoglobin A1C -- a marker of blood sugar control. It also had no effect on fasting blood sugar levels or lipid parameters. Analyses by subgroup and sensitivity did not appreciably alter these results.

Hmmm...perhaps this needs some further research.

I wonder if the second article is "damage control" - we can't have people using something that Big Pharma can't profit from...or is it accurate and the results found in the first article merely a fluke?

 

[gwb1995]

I have three of the areas listed that this might help with, fatigue/cholesterol/and some arthritis. I started using this today. I am using the most common recipe from the listed choices in the original post, which is the honey/cinnamon mixed with 16 oz of tea water. I have several areas listed that could use some help when it comes to my body at this time. I am thinking that this, in combination with the Far In-fared sauna and Detox diet will be very beneficial to my overall health. I used something similar years ago to help with my allergies and it was very helpful.

I will post any results that I can obtain. This may be difficult as I am doing so many things at one time, but will do my best to determine any actual results.

 

[Ottershrew]

Its too sweet though for an anticandida diet, but once the diet is finished... It certainly sounds good!

Thanks, Psyche, that's a really interesting article, and I agree that honey really isn't suitable for an anti-Candida diet.

Honey is apparently 39% fructose, 31% glucose, 9% other sugars (maltose and melezitose), and 17% water. Sucrose (table sugar) is a disaccharide which combines a molecule of fructose with a molecule of glucose. So honey isn't a million miles away from table sugar. Nevertheless, I wonder what difference melezitose might make? Apparently, this trisaccharide sugar can break down in the body to form one molecule of glucose, and one of the disaccharide turanose. Within the cell, turanose is used in carbohydrate signalling. It's not clear whether turanose plays a part in any significant signal transduction pathway in the human body - all the studies I've seen so far on the Internet concern plant biology.

On the other hand, monofloral honeys like Manuka honey (as the study on functional foods quoted by Psyche indicates) might contain important botanicals. Manuka honey is made by bees from the nectar of the Manuka shrub or Tea tree (Leptospermum scoparium). The antimicrobial properties of anything derived from Leptospermum could be useful in dealing with a range of health issues - including, of course, wound healing.

Perhaps honey and cinnamon work together in a synergistic way. Or could it simply be that honey is recommended in these Indian traditions because it helps to get the cinnamon down, i.e. it acts as a carrier for the cinnamon? I used to carry around a stick of cinnamon in my pocket when I was a boy, and chew on it every now and then, but I've never tried to eat a teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon on its own. And perhaps it'd be too difficult:

An urban legend holds that it is impossible to eat a tablespoon of powdered cinnamon without choking or vomiting. This has prompted the circulation of a large number of daredevil videos on the internet. Cinnamon is a strong desiccant, which resists swallowing, instead causing an irritating dry layer to form on the tongue, pharynx, and esophagus. The excess cinnamon remains in fine powder form and is usually inhaled into the lungs, where it causes irritation and choking.

If that's the case, then honey would be like "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down"!

So maybe it's really the cinnamon that's the most significant part of this traditional medical advice.

Perhaps also there's some coded information on this from the ancient world: the mythical phoenix built its nest of cinnamon before immolating itself, and then being born anew.

Possibly, though, that story just represents confusion with another mythical bird, the Cinnamologus, which also built its nest out of cinnamon. Perhaps, too, cinnamon was just mentioned in relation to the phoenix because cinnamon was something costly and exotic, and therefore picturesque - and thus useful in building up a more fabulous and wonderful picture of this bird.

But bearing in mind the language of the birds, it might be worth paying attention to anything connected to the firebirds of mythology - like the phoenix, griffin, Persian Simurgh and Slavic Zhar-ptitsa.

 

[webglider]

I did a quick search for agave which is a sweetner made from a cactus - the one from which tequilla is made. It is low in fructose so blood sugar doesn't fluctuate the way it does with the use of regular sweetners.

However, there does seem to be controversy about agave, I suggest that people who are interested in an alternative to sugar and honey research agave for themselves.

I have been using it for several months and the taste is wonderful. It doesn't have that "off" taste that many alternative sweetners have.

 

[Ottershrew]

I did a quick search for agave which is a sweetner made from a cactus - the one from which tequilla is made. It is low in fructose so blood sugar doesn't fluctuate the way it does with the use of regular sweetners.

However, there does seem to be controversy about agave, I suggest that people who are interested in an alternative to sugar and honey research agave for themselves.

I have been using it for several months and the taste is wonderful. It doesn't have that "off" taste that many alternative sweetners have.

The taste is nice - I had some almond milk recently which had been sweetened with agave syrup, and it tasted really good. Wikipedia says this about agave syrup though:

Agave syrup consists primarily of fructose and glucose. One source gives 92% fructose and 8% glucose; another gives 56% fructose and 20% glucose.

That seems to indicate that agave syrup, sadly, wouldn't be all that helpful on an anti-Candida diet.

 

[DavidHP]

Thank You!

This is great info! I will put this to good use starting today !!

 

[LQB]

For those coffee drinkers that use a drip coffee maker, a fine addition is to drop a bit of raw honey and a few shakes of good cinnamon on top of the coffee before brewing. Very tasty.

Honey and Cinnamon as a Medication

HEART DISEASES
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, spread it on bread or chapatti instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. This can help to reduce the cholesterol in the arteries and maybe reduce the possibility of a heart patient from suffering a heart attack. Patients, who have already suffered attacks, are also advised to ingest the honey/cinnamon mixture to ward off further attacks.

On the above comment on cholesterol - cholesterol, in itself, is not the problem. One of the major constituents of arterial blockage is lipoprotien a (a very sticky substance produced in the body). The body uses this substance to patch cracks in the collagen matrix of the arterial walls in the absence of the building blocks: ascorbates, L-Lysine, L-Proline. Cholesterol is the blood substance that delivers lipoprotien a to the sites that need it for temporary repair. If these building blocks are not provided, then lipoprotien a builds up and attracts all manner of other garbage - forming plaque. Reducing cholesterol - by itself - is an example of treating the effect - not the cause. Oftentimes, those that treat plaque and associated high blood pressure with large amounts of these building blocks, experience a spike in blood cholesterol indicating that the body is responding to sloughing off lipoprotien a by higher cholesterol levels necessary for carrying away the sticky stuff to the liver for processing. Statin drugs are an excellent example of treating the effect and ignoring the real cause.

 

[Oxajil]

Perhaps interesting:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=96

Honey may promote better blood sugar control. Proper fueling of the liver is central to optimal glucose metabolism during sleep and exercise. Honey is the ideal liver fuel because it contains a nearly 1:1 ratio of fructose to glucose. Fructose "unlocks" the enzyme from the liver cell's nucleus that is necessary for the incorporation of glucose into glycogen (the form in which sugar is stored in the liver and muscle cells). An adequate glycogen store in the liver is essential to supply the brain with fuel when we are sleeping and during prolonged exercise. When glycogen stores are insufficient, the brain triggers the release of stress hormones - adrenalin and cortisol - in order to convert muscle protein into glucose. Repeated metabolic stress from cortisol produced when less than optimal liver glycogen stores are available during sleep, leads over time, to impaired glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, diabetes, and increased risk for cardiovascular disease and obesity.

I know that (any form of) sugar is inflammatory, but perhaps honey once in a while is okay? (If you're not on an anti-candida diet)

 

[forge]

Update on cinnamon. Cassia - cheap type - of cinnamon is sold in most grocery stores. Real sort is Ceylon cinnamon = Cinnamomum zeylanicum and costs a lot more. Watch for high coumarin content of cheap cassia cinnamon:

Coumarin is a toxic, white crystalline substance, CHO, with the odor of vanilla, obtained from the tonka bean and certain plants or made synthetically: used in perfumes, soaps, etc

Maximum coumarin content of cassia cinnamon can be around 4400mg / kg

Recommended daily intake of coumarin - from eating cheap cassia cinnamon is 0.1 milligrams per kilogram bodyweight per day.
_http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/foodcomponentsresearch/additives/a01programme/a01projlist/a01073/

That is, if i weigh 90kgs, my allowed daily intake of coumarin is 0.1x90 = 9mg (for cassia cinnamon)

20gr cassia cinnamon bought at the grocery store contains unknown amount of real and expensive Ceylon cinnamon (presumably minimal) and possibly high amount of cassia rich in coumarin. I calculated:

If 1000gr cinnamon powder contains ---> 4400 mg coumarin
then 20 gr cinnamon contains ---> 88mg of the poison

Coumarin can cause liver damage in sensitive individuals, manifesting in jaundice, which heals if the stuff is not taken anymore.

My daily cinnamon intake is around 10gr - 20gr of cheap cassia cinnamon, therefore i must reduce my cinnamon intake to around tenth to go safe, consume only 2 gr of cinnamon. Or buy Ceylon cinnamon, which has very low levels of coumarin, around 63 times less than cassia:
_http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101103135352.htm

I took approx. 20gr of cinnamon per day eating this mix of homemade chocolate:
_4 x 0.5kg jars made from hot water, ~0.5kg raisins, ~0.5kg cocoa and 1 tblspoon of raw sugar, calcium lactium (eq.am. to 1gr magnesium daily intake) lasting for 10 days_
until this time in order to enhance brain function. Going to reduce, find Ceylon cinnamon, aiming for:
http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=22916.msg252980#msg252980
"Furthermore, you do not need to eat carbohydrates to have them available for energy. Your body can make carbohydrates as needed, if the protein supply is adequate. Reducing your daily intake of carbohydrates to 72 grams or less-6 bread units—will result in more energy at your disposal, as long as you eat plenty of fat and protein. Don't just take our word for it: Try it for yourself! Only by direct experience will you appreciate the effects of low-carbohydrate nutrition on your own energy levels."