By Margaret Wiltshire
Sugar and Spice, So Nice
S is for all things sweet and I ‘m having an alliteration day.
At least indulging in multiple s’s is simply shameful but not fattening.
The holidays are here. This is when the sweet tooth monster unfolds within us and begins to inflate like the biggest hot air balloon. That huge empty craving for more and more of the sweet stuff sugar plum dreams are made of. If Halloween candy didn’t get you, Thanksgiving pie will.
If the New Year reality doesn’t shock you to your senses, you may be the victim of the sweet tooth monster till the first hot days of spring and summer. Or you just may not recover. Eventfully you’ll find, as I have, that’s not air inside the sweet tooth balloon, that’s fat.
Experts tell us that it is the white food that really makes the sugar soar in our bodies. Things made with white flour and white sugar are the worst. Lard is white. White potatoes are not bad without the toppings that are. People watching their blood sugar levels will tell you that white bread and white rice make blood sugar levels soar.
Sugar and spice is supposed to be nice!! Well, at least two of them are. Honey and cinnamon and what a lovely pair they make.
Honey and cinnamon on oatmeal can start you off in a healthy way. One half teaspoon of cinnamon a day can help manage cholesterol just like oatmeal is known to do.
Cinnamon has been used as medicine in the far east for centuries and modern research worldwide supports its benefits in many areas.
First let me say it has an anti-clotting effect on blood. For some this may be good and for others not so good.
Herbs and spices are medicinal and your medical expert should be informed and consulted when you start taking larger then normal doses of any of them. Also watch for allergic reactions to any foods you eat.
I’m curious but in no way a medical professional or even a want-to-be. I’m for waving a magic wand. Pow! We are all well and happy. I just can’t get that to work for myself. I do suggest you take care of yourself. I do believe the foods and spices we use can help.
Cinnamon is amazing. We are lucky here in NM because we can get it rather inexpensively.
Besides lowering the “bad” cholesterol it has a regulatory effect on blood sugar levels for type two diabetes. It has detoxifying qualities. It’s reported that strong cinnamon tea may aid to stop medication resistant yeast infections. Cinnamon is known to help with bladder infections. The US Department of Agriculture said that cinnamon can reduce proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cells. Smelling cinnamon may boost cognitive function and memory.
Added to food, Cinnamon inhibits bacteria’s growth and food spoilage. It fights E. coli bacteria in unpasteurized juices. So put some in your smoothies.
A study at the University of Copenhagen offered some wonderful hope for those who suffer arthritis pain. Subjects were given ½ teaspoon of cinnamon mixed with a tablespoon of honey daily. After several weeks the majority experienced less pain and after a month some had no pain from arthritis at all.
In my readings I also found these recipes. One part honey, two parts comfortably warm water, one teaspoon honey mixed and rubbed on painful joints and muscles. Sounds gooey but might help. I have applied honey to hard to get out slivers and boils. That is gooey. The sliver and the boil do come to the surface. The honey relieves some pain too.
For hair loss, yes, hair loss, there’s this recipe. Massage scalp and hair with a paste of honey and warmed olive oil with dash of cinnamon. Leave on hair for 15 minutes, shampoo lightly, rinse out.
How about honey and cinnamon for indigestion and acid build up? Is there no end to the wonder of it all?
Google honey and cinnamon for the sugar and spice combo of your choice. All this and you don’t need a drug insurance card. Be careful though, my magic wand isn’t working.
A friend made this thoughtful suggestion. Eat local honey to build up allergy resistance to local plant pollens. Raw honey I think would be best. However, for some people this might be too much contact with the pollens. Good idea, explore carefully.
Reading is sugar and spice for the mind. Read to the young every day, or make sure that someone does. Engage the child in positive conversation about the story. Suggest drawings about the stories they love. Have them make and act out plays from their stories. We are never too young or too old for the treat of a story.
Write Margaret at Wshireoldadobe@yahoo.com
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