Question: Dr. Ettinger:
I have recently been informed about the benefits of honey and cinnamon, everything from curing/preventing acne, arthritis, arteriosclerosis, bad breath, bladder infections, cholesterol, cancer up to and including weight loss/gain. Do these claims have any merit to you? Can you confirm or deny? Do any of your products, such as Liquid Power, contain honey and cinnamon in quantities large enough to perfom any of the above? Since I learned about this, I have been adding them to my Kashi oatmeal in the a.m., to vanilla yogurt mid-day, and to coffee or tea in the evening. This has only been for two days, and so far I don’t feel or see a difference.
Back to my questions….Since I greatly respect your authority in the field of natural health foods, herbs, vitamins, etc., could you please give me your input on the benefits or non-benefits of honey and cinnamon? I am very interested and would like to know whether to stock up on these products!!
Thank you in advance for your help, and keep up the good work.
Joan Kozla
Answer: Joan,
☼ Manuka Honey from New Zealand is organic, raw, unpasteurized and possesses potent antibiotic properties. Any other claims made about honey and especially in regard to honey other than Manuka, are antidotal at best. The antibacterial effect of honey is the only attribute of any significance. This is the product I have used for about five years now
☺ Cinnamon is yummy on apple sauce, mixed in the contents of an apple pie, and I like it best on raisin toast with unsalted butter (true). I have also used it to help grow my hair back and shed inches while making my skin glow like a baby – Just kidding! I can’t be serious all the time.
Cinnamon, like many herbs, does possess medicinal properties. The issue is isolating and standardizing the active compounds and taking enough to create a beneficial effect on the body; to date this has not been done with cinnamon.
My personal opinion and recommendation is to never rely in a pill, natural or synthetic. Supplements are just that, supplements for what you may not be getting in your diet. Supplements are more preventative than treatment oriented and should only be used as a treatment under the supervision of a qualified alternative medicine practitioner. As far as honey and cinnamon go, just use them if you like them and only when it’s appropriate; no need to go buy pounds of the stuff.
There is no substitute for a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains; and weekly resistance exercising with cardio. The “magic bullet” that everyone keeps looking for, is really – diet and exercise.
Thank you for the questions and kind words.
Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.
Related Products:
