Cinnamon and Honey: The Dynamic Duo You Need More Of

It is widely known that the key to a health-promoting diet is a variety of whole, nutritious foods.
However, there are certain foods – and certain food combinations – that can greatly boost your wellness quotient if you incorporate them into a healthy lifestyle.
One of the most potent superfood duos out there is cinnamon and honey.
Individually, both cinnamon and honey boast amazing health benefits.
Together, they are a veritable powerhouse.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is an ancient spice, and was used culinarily and medicinally in both ancient Egypt and China. This spice comes from the inner bark of the cinnamon tree, which rolls into a “cinnamon stick” shape when it is dried. These sticks are either used whole, or ground into powdered form.
There are over 100 varieties of cinnamon, although what we commonly consume in the West is cassia cinnamon, which hails from China. Ceylon cinnamon is known as “true cinnamon,” and has a subtler flavor, but it is difficult to find in this part of the world.
This sweet, aromatic spice is rich in minerals, including calcium and manganese. It also contains a number of essential oils with active components, including cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl alcohol and cinnamyl acetate.
These volatile compounds, as well as other antioxidants found in cinnamon bark, have potent anti-inflammatory properties and help to combat disease-promoting free radicals.
Thanks to its essential oil content, cinnamon possesses antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. A 2013 study published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology found that when cinnamon was added to carrot broth, it effectively controlled the spread of Bacillus cereus, a foodborne bacteria, for sixty days.
The cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon has been found to improve circulation and prevent the unwanted clumping of blood platelets. Because of this, it may aid in the prevention of heart attack and stroke.
Cinnamon is linked to helping to lower blood sugar, as it can slow the emptying rate of the stomach after ingesting food. This improves insulin sensitivity, and can therefore be of great use to individuals suffering from diabetes, as well as those diagnosed with pre-diabetes.
The anti-inflammatory properties of cinnamon make it a key food in relieving multiple types of pain, including joint pain, headaches and menstrual cramping. Furthermore, cinnamon has been linked to boosting cognitive function – just a whiff of its aroma may help to improve focus and memory.

Honey

Honey, like cinnamon, is also an ancient food celebrated for thousands of years for both its amazing taste and potent medicinal properties. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, refers to it as “liquid gold” in his writings.
However, not all honey is created equal.
Processed, refined honey is a far cry from natural, raw honey. Many honeys that have undergone heavy processing no longer contain pollen, which is an important part of real honey’s health benefits. Also, some honey products that hail from India and other parts of Asia have been found to contain contaminants, and even antibiotics and metals.
While a certified organic honey is likely a safe bet, your absolute best source for honey is a local, raw variety.

Raw honey

The importance of finding a raw honey from a local source rests in its ability to help desensitize your body to allergens commonly found in the area where you live. When bees produce honey, they deposit a small amount of pollen into it. Eating a spoon or two of local, raw honey can help build up your immunity to environmental allergens in your hometown.
Raw honey can also be extremely beneficial during a cold or cough. Adding a teaspoon of honey to your tea is not just an old wives tale: it has been scientifically studied to work. A 2007 study performed at the University of Pennsylvania gave either raw honey or Dextromethorphan (DM), a cough suppressant medication, to children between the ages of 2 and 17 who were suffering from upper respiratory infections.
Upon analyzing the results, the study authors wrote: "In a comparison of honey, DM, and no treatment, parents rated honey most favorably for symptomatic relief of their child’s nocturnal cough and sleep difficulty due to upper respiratory tract infection. Honey may be a preferable treatment for the cough and sleep difficulty associated with childhood upper respiratory tract infection."
Raw honey has antibacterial, antifungal and antiseptic properties, and can be applied topically to both disinfect and help heal numerous wounds and skin conditions, including minor burns, eczema and dermatitis. When it is ingested, these properties can help to support your immune system in dealing with pathogens that may make you sick if left unchecked.
One particularly potent type of honey is manuka honey. This honey, which hails from the flower nectar of the manuka tree, native to Australia and New Zealand, has been found to have up to 200 times the antibacterial potency of any other honey. Manuka honey can also help to support healthy gut bacteria, which along with improving digestion may provide a significant boost to your immune system.
Note: Honey should not be given to children under 12 months of age.

When their powers combine…

In both Ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, the combination of cinnamon and honey has been long celebrated. The following are just a few benefits of blending these two superfoods:

• Boosting the immune system to help prevent seasonal illnesses and other infections
• Speeding recovery from colds and other seasonal ailments
• Clearing sinus congestion
• Soothing indigestion and other digestive disturbances
• Aiding in recovery from bladder infections
• Supporting healthy weight loss when combined with a healthy diet and exercise
• Aiding in the prevention of heart disease and other chronic ailments
• Potentially increasing longevity

Both cinnamon and honey taste delicious, and the healing powers of these ancient superfoods are vast.
The truth is, we've barely scratched the surface when it comes to the many benefits of honey.
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How do you know if you're getting scammed by supplement companies?

Problems you need to know about fat-burner pills, muscle-building supplements, antioxidant pills, acai, vitamins, protein bars, and more...

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist

Did you ever wonder if those vitamins or supplements that you buy actually contain in the bottle what they say is in the bottle? You should! Because here's a shocker...
They don't have to put what they claim in the bottle! There's no regulations on supplements to assure integrity or quality.
I'm sure you've noticed from many of my writings that in general, I tend to be anti-supplements. The supplement industry is loaded with fraudulent claims, bogus products that sometimes aren't even what they claim to be, and lots of ineffective products (even when they ARE what they claim to be).  The biggest problems in the supplement industry are with overhyped "fat-burner" pills, and with muscle-building supplements that have vastly inflated claims (and prices).
Despite these problems, I've always contended that there are a handful of useful products out there, and certainly some honest companies mixed in with the abundant scam artists. One company I've found that is actually honest and sells only research-proven products is http://natuaral.getprograde.com/
This company has been in the making for about 3 years now, and was built by a group of fitness professionals whose main goal was to try to fight against the problems in the supplement industry and offer an honest solution without the hype and without the loads of products that have no research behind them and don't work.
If you choose the right products from a reputable company, there are certainly a few winners out there that can help you acheive a higher level of health and faster results with fat loss, muscle building, energy levels, etc.
Let me show you below some of the typical problems with supplements, and how to avoid them and choose the right products that will actually get you results.
Problem #1 with supplements:
Ever since the passing of the 1994 Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act (DSHEA) in the US, supplements have been excluded from federal regulation. One of the negative aspects of this is that certain unscrupulous companies could now pretty much get away with putting anything they wanted in the bottle because it did not have to undergo quality control testing to make it to market. Their label didn't even have to match what was in the bottle, since nobody is policing them.
The only way to catch these companies was for independent testing firms to run tests on their own dime to find out which companies are honest and which are fraudulent.
The founders of http://Natural.getprograde.com/ solved this problem by requiring that all of their products go through High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) testing to guarantee what they say is in the bottle is TRULY in the bottle, and delivers the desired results.
Their manufacturing plant is also a GMP certified manufacturer - "A" rated facility to assure quality.
Problem #2 with supplements:
One of the other major problems I've had with the supplement industry are falsely hyped up claims about "miraculous" results with their products giving you the false hope that your body will turn into a fitness model's within a couple weeks of using their "miracle pill".
Well, we all know by now that most of these products do very little, if anything to actually create results in the body. Even if some of them have minor positive effects, it does not address the underlying cause of the problem in the first place, and results will never last in the long run without lifestyle changes to both your exercise and nutrition habits as a whole.
In response to this, the founders of http://losebellyfat.getprograde.com/ made sure there was absolutely no hype or ridiculous claims... only a very limited line of the most effective research-backed products without any BS or confusing "stacks".
Problem #3 with supplements:
Most people overlook this problem when buying vitamins and supplements. The fact is that your body does not properly absorb nutrients from artificial vitamin sources as is common with many supplements and vitamins.
Once again, I asked the founders of http://losebellyfat.getprograde.com/ to respond to this. I was happy to find that their products are actually extracted from whole-food sources instead of artificial sources, meaning better absorption in your body.
They even purchased a 2500-acre farm in mineral rich soils in sunny Florida where all of their raw materials are grown. I must say...I'm impressed!
Problem #4 with supplements:
Another problem I have with typical supplements is this...
The normal scenario when someone buys supplements is that they may go to their local supplement/vitamin store and they are given advice by some high school kid making $7/hr who has no education whatsoever in nutrition.
Do you really want to put your health in the hands of some kid who is simply telling you that you need to get such and such supplement because he saw something about how great it was in a magazine advertisement?
Once again, the founders of http://natural.getprograde.com/ solved this problem by assuring that all of their products were designed by nutrition professionals in the industry -- dieticians and nutritionists who carefully analyzed which products actually are beneficial and which are a waste of time and money. They then narrowed their line of products down to only a handful of the most effective.
They also have dedided that their products will never be sold in stores because they don't want unqualified store clerks with no education in nutrition to recommend products for your health. That's why you can only obtain them from their website, so you know you're getting them from qualified professionals in the industry.
Problem #5 with supplements:
This problem is quite simply this... YOU DON'T NEED supplements for optimal health, IF you're eating right.
The fact is, you don't need supplements as long as you eat a well rounded diet full of unprocessed whole natural foods, lots of variety, high nutrient density... lots of fruits, veggies, whole unrefined grains, eggs, beans, nuts, seeds, organic meats, fish, etc, etc.
The problem is that most people don't have time (or think they don't have the time) or don't make enough of an effort to eat this type of optimal diet with proper balance and super-high nutrient density.
In this case, I concede that supplementation has many benefits for people who struggle to eat right all of time and may be missing many essential nutrients.
To solve this problem, the founders of http:/natural.getprograde.com/ have actually formulated their men's and women's formulas with extracts of natural whole foods instead of synthetic sources. They even use whole food extracts from cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, carrot, wheat grass, alfalfa, artichoke, chorella, kale, collard greens, papaya, grapefruit, tomato, omega-3's, and dozens more.
Here are my recommendations as a Nutrition Specialist myself... The only supplements I recommend are those that replicate the benefits of real food.
For this reason, be sure to check out their EFA Icon (essential fatty acid) which uses a unique Krill oil which has been measured as having 47 times more antioxidant value than standard fish oil. I've always been a big fan of fish oil, but when I found this krill oil, I had to make the switch based on the higher quality.
Also, I highly recommend the brand new Prograde Longevity Super-Antioxidant formula.
This is my favorite product, which contains a unique blend of 6 of the most powerful antioxidants available: 
1. coffee berry,
2. Acai berry,
3. wolf-berry,
4. pomegrante,
5. green tea,
6. Biovin grape (the same source of powerful antioxidants in red wine).
And lastly, my other recommendation is to try the Prograde Cravers, which are a delicious organic snack bar made with organic ingredients rich in antioxidants and nutrition. My favorite is the Peanut-Butter Chocolate!  Mmmm.

That's it for today. Til next Lean-Body Secrets Ezine... Stay lean and healthy,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com

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