(NaturalNews) Hopeful newcomers to holistic health marvel at reports about honey and cinnamon as a miracle cure-all. On the other hand, alternative health skeptics scoff at the notion of cinnamon and honey as medicine, pointing out that the plethora of articles about the curative benefits of this food duo originated with a 1995 article in the tabloid newspaper Weekly World News. The truth is that cinnamon and honey have been used to promote health for centuries, but their efficacy depends largely on a lifestyle of energetic activity and whole foods.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), cinnamon is viewed as possessing heat or yang, and is thus used to cure ills stemming from excess yin or coldness. Honey, in this system, is viewed as a neutral substance, balanced between yin and yang. Ancient practitioners of India’s healing tradition, Ayurveda (from the Sanskrit Ayur meaning life and Veda meaning knowledge), classified 8 different varieties of honey each with its own healing properties. Ayurvedic healers use cinnamon to help heal gum disease, erectile dysfunction, and many other conditions.
Honey and Cinnamon Benefits
Folk wisdom still retains knowledge of the healing properties of both honey and cinnamon. Honey and cinnamon are still used as medicine in many situations, especially among people who, because of distance or income, have reduced access to mainstream health care.
Honey possesses natural anti-bacterial properties. Honey poured on wounds or burns prevents infection and promotes healing. Regular consumption of honey and cinnamon together, when combined with an overall healthy diet and moderate activity level, can prevent heart disease by clearing clogged arteries.
Drinking honey and cinnamon in lukewarm water results in them moving through the bladder and cleansing it, as well as clearing infections there. Drinking this beverage on a regular basis can also relieve, and in some cases entirely cure, arthritis pain.
This drink also strengthens the immune system, helping ward off colds as well as some viruses. Applying a paste of honey and cinnamon to infected gums can ease pain and bleeding as well as slow the progression of the infection.
When consumed together, honey and cinnamon can ease digestion, helping to prevent gas. Honey and cinnamon also provide energy, making people more mentally alert and ready for physical activity.
The two biggest claims for honey and cinnamon are that they enhance the ability to lose weight, and they are effective against some forms of cancer.
How to Gain Maximum Benefits
Cinnamon and honey can boost your health, both separately and in combination. However, our modern dependence on the pharmaceutical industry has fooled us into believing that medicines should be able to provide a cure regardless of lifestyle. If you follow health news, it becomes obvious that the pharmaceutical industry’s “magic bullet” drugs make one set of symptoms disappear, only to create a new set of symptoms.
Disease results from imbalance, so finding health and balance again requires a recalibration of choices about how we live. A couch potato who follows up a dinner of fried chicken and potato chips with a dessert of cinnamon and honey will receive few health benefits. You are more likely to reap the full healing power when you include honey and cinnamon as part of your healthy lifestyle.