Yesterday, I had an email which was forwarded to me by a good friend in Mysore. It contained details of the benefits of consuming cinnamon with honey.
I am not a doctor and have absolutely no knowledge of health matters. I live a simple life and eat mainly what my wife puts on the table. I did not take any medicines for many many years, and although I have been a borderline diabetic, it really never crossed over till my recent visit to India, where the partying almost every day, the rich food, plenty of Indian sweets, pushed me right over the top.
When I visited the diagnostic clinic in Chennai, the doctor was worried and put me on a crash 2 month 1500 calorie diet advice with a string of medicines and health supplements.
My partying continued for another week in Mumbai (as we had a class 50th year reunion) and then I went on to the advice given by the doctor.
A month later, before I left Delhi, I went to check the values that were problematic at another diagnostic clinic. My problem values had halved, bringing most of them in line with normalcy.
I have continued the medicines for another month and will get myself tested in Oulu shortly.
When I received this email from my friend, it seemed very interesting, as it sort of handled all my problems.
I discussed this with Annikki, who reads all the possible health news sheets that she can lay her hands on. She pointed me to a book by an Indian author she had picked up almost 16 years ago called "Herbs That Heal". (The author does not sing great praises about all discoveries being ofIndian origin and gives the history of the medicinal uses of most herbs as it is knwn from literature.)
H. K. Bakhru was an employee in the Indian Railways till his retirement in 1984. But he has a countrywide reputation as an naturopath and has written much on the subject.
The book contained quite a bit about cinnamon which sort of agreed with the contents of the email.
I went to the supermarket, yesterday, and got myself a large bottle of cinnamon powder. I had a couple of cups of cinnamon / honey tea yesterday. This morning I replaced the jam on my toast with a spread of cinnamon and honey.
I like the taste and smell of cinnamon. Before coming back from India, i bought large tube of toothpaste, which is cinnamon flavoured. (I also bought one which is neem flavoured as I also like neem.)
I enjoyed the tea and the breakfast. Now that I am off my medicine routine, i hope that this combination with my wife's control of my diet, will keep my in trim.
I reproduce below the contents of the email I received.
CINNAMON AND HONEY
FYI....Here's some new uses for cinnamon and honey.
NEVER GIVE HONEY TO A BABY UNDER THE AGE OF ONE YEAR.
Cinnamon and Honey
Honey is the only food on the planet that will not spoil or rot. It will do what some call turning to sugar. In reality honey is always honey. However, when left in a cool dark place for a long time it will do what I rather call "crystallizing". When this happens I loosen the lid, boil some water, and sit the honey container in the hot water, turn off the heat and let it liquefy. It is then as good as it ever was. Never boil honey or put it in a microwave. To do so will kill the enzymes in the honey.
Cinnamon and Honey
Bet the drug companies won't like this one getting around..
Facts on Honey and Cinnamon: It is found that a mixture of honey and Cinnamon cures most diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also accept honey as a 'Ram Ban' (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.
Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients. Weekly World News, a magazine in Canada, in its issue dated 17 January,1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western scientists:
HEART DISEASES:
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also, those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada , various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.
ARTHRITIS:
Arthritis patients may take daily, morning and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.
BLADDER INFECTIONS:
Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.
CHOLESTEROL:
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient, was found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.
COLDS:
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.
UPSET STOMACH:
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.
GAS:
According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is revealed that if Honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved 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 bacterial and viral diseases.
INDIGESTION:
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals..
INFLUENZA:
A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural ' Ingredient' which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.
LONGEVITY:
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder, and three cups of water and boil to make like tea.. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans also increase and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old.
PIMPLES:
Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.
SKIN INFECTIONS:
Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.
WEIGHT LOSS:
Daily in the morning, one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach, and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat 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 daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.
FATIGUE:
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.
BAD BREATH:
People of South America , first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.
HEARING LOSS:
Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restores hearing. Remember when we were kids? We had toast with real butter and cinnamon sprinkled on it!
Maybe I do not believe everything contained in the above email, but as it checked out with what my wife was saying, I thought it a better alternative to consuming a pile of drugs. My wife did warn me that she had read somewhere that there are a coupe of side effects of using natural cinnamon, which has some additional ingredient which is not all that beneficial.
So I will let you know the result of my trials in a few weeks.
Thank you Naval for this email, as it certainly came when I needed to take some positive action in my health life!
