Cinnamon: The Flu, Fungus & Bad Breath-Fighting Spice of Life
by Liza Bliss
You make think of sugar and spice and everything nice when the familiar name of “cinnamon” comes to mind, but this potent health hero has a great deal more to offer than tasty desserts! Here are just some of the benefits of using fresh cinnamon:
- Fresher breath and a healthier smile
- Cleaner air
- Mood enhancer
- Calmative for an upset stomach
- Cold and flu fighter
- Reduced yeast and fungal infections
- Help in preventing Cancer
- Remedy for physical pain and arthritis
Will the Real Cinnamon Please Come Forward?
The spice most of us love the aroma of and think of when recalling the memory of an apple pie baking in the over – that scent we are drawn to is the cinnamon.
Like all spices, it is important to buy only the freshest and the finest quality. You have to know and trust your provider. Needles to say, this is not going to be the grocery store. With irradiation on the rise and profit driven motives high, be on the lookout for cheaper varieties which are, well, cheaper priced.
Cassia, or Chinese cinnamon, comes from Burma, while the true cinnamon is a native of Ceylon. Cassia is more pungent, it nips the tongue and is more suited to curing or spiced meats etc. True cinnamon, Cinnamomum Zeylanicum, is more desirable in teas, sweet dishes and pastries.
Recipe for Cinnamon Mouthwash
Move over store bought flavored antiseptics. This one really does “kill germs on contact”!
Ingredients & Directions: 
- 11 Tablespoons of powdered cinnamon
- 1/4 cup of vodka
- water to double the amount
- Place ingredients in a glass bottle.
- Store for 2 weeks, shaking twice daily, once in the am and again in the evening.
- After two weeks, strain the mixture and store in suitable bottle.
- Only a half of a teaspoon of this tincture added to warm water makes an excellent mouthwash so this little bottle really lasts a long time.
Cold and Flu Fighter
Ingredients & Directions:
To make this effective French Folk remedy for colds and flu, combine 2 cups of water, a small stick of cinnamon and a few cloves together in a saucepan and bring just to 120 degrees, just before boil, let sit for a few minutes then add the juice of a half a lemon, 2 tablespoons of raw dark honey and 2 tablespoons of a good quality whiskey. Stir well cover and let steep for 20 min or so. Drink about a half a cup every 3 or 4 hours.
This is great in breaking up fever and congestion.
On a personal note: when I was 4 and a half years old I had whooping cough. I remember red medicine and pink medicine and daily trips to the family doctor. It was summer time and very hot. The ice cream truck came by daily and all I could get was a fruit bar (not such a bad thing after all). Sid, the Ice Cream Man, gave my folks his “Toddy recipe.” I swear it cured my whooping cough. It did not give me whiskey cravings. I think of whiskey as medicine and do not like the taste. I am not advocating giving alcohol to a young child, this was in 1948 and before the government’s warning labels, but I would give this to my offspring before I would take them to McDonald’s.
Rinse for Yeast and Fungal Infections
An incredible experiment was done in 1974 and published in the Journal of Food and Science on the power of cinnamon over most yeasts and fungi. My wording: They used breads without additives, mold inhibitors etc. (real breads) whole wheat, rye, white etc. also cinnamon bread. Molds and toxins grew wildly on all but the cinnamon bread. Could this tells us is that cinnamon is a super remedy for reducing the incidence of Candida and for clearing up foot fungal? Whip up this simple douche or foot soak and try it for yourself.
Ingredients & Directions:
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add about 10 broken up cinnamon sticks.
- Reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let steep covered for 45 min.
- Use while still lukewarm for either problem.
Warm Cinnamon Tea
Highly regarded as a tool to help relieve the suffering of pain and arthritis, a simple cinnamon tea is a remarkably nourishing drink to make in the evening before bed.
Simply add a sprinkling of cinnamon (i.e. Cinnamomum Zeylanicum) to hot water with a teaspoon of high quality, unpasteurized honey.
You will absolutely LOVE this nourishing, therapeutic beverage!
Other Potent Powers of Cinnamon
I onc
e studied with a wise woman from Tibet. She taught us many things, one of which I remember is that cinnamon is a yin spice or herb that is feminine in nature, and that the yang or masculine is sage. In many ceremonies from ancient to modern times, a practice of smudging, cleansing or purifying is done using burning sage. The smoke is circulated with a feather over the space or individual and said to purify in the process.
Cinnamon can be used by putting the powdered spice in a cast iron skillet and heating to just before smoking as it will broadcast throughout the air and space by waving the little skillet. This is how I use my cinnamon that is ready to be replaced with the freshest possible.
The air is freshened everywhere, and it smells amazing! Now, I’ll let you test this one out by yourself, but this same guru even claims that waving roasting cinnamon under the hood of her car gets her better gas mileage! I have never tested this but I do know that the inside of my car smells very good when I smudge it with cinnamon and since I travel with my dog, I know it certainly makes a good doggy odor eater.
Cancer specialists with the British Columbia Cancer Research center in Vancouver have reported that the cinnamic acid in cinnamon helps to prevent cancer induced chemicals in many of the foods we eat. They suggest we use cinnamon more often in food preparation and as a preventative measure.
So whatdya think of THAT? What uses do you have for cinnamon that we could benefit by?