Cinnamon-Honey Cold Cure

A few months ago, my mom told me (or tagged me in something she posted on Facebook, which, let's face it, is pretty much the same thing anymore) about using a cinnamon and honey mixture to help cure a cold.  I then saw it about a bazillion times on Pinterest.  So when I felt a scratchy throat coming on, I thought, Let's try it.  It can't hurt.

Why might it work?  Honey has antioxidant and anti-bacterial properties that neutralize harmful agents in the body.  Cinnamon has anti-fungal properties and can inhibit the growth of bacteria.  So it makes sense that these two mixed together could help knock out a cold.  (Side note: I've also used honey mixed with nutmeg as a facial mask to knock out acne - it reduces swelling and redness like you would not believe and troublesome, painful zits are knocked out within 24 hours.  No lie.)

Here's what you do: mix a teaspoon of honey (most sources recommend local honey, but I just used regular store-bought honey) with a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.  That's it.  Take one teaspoon 3 times per day for at least 3 days.  The first day, I mixed up a quadruple batch so I'd have enough for one day, plus a little extra.  I've seen other people who mix up a cup or so at a time and then have it on hand for whenever a cold arises.  Mix it up in whatever size batch you want, just make sure to keep your quantities of cinnamon and honey in proper ratios.

I dutifully took my teaspoon of cinnamon honey 3 times a day.  What I noticed right away is that it's a great throat soother - the honey is smooth and coats really well, and the cinnamon provides a little heat.  So I actually took a few extra doses throughout the day to help soothe my scratchy throat.

Important question: What does it taste like?  It's not bad at all.  Kind of like cinnamon sugar on steroids because there's a bit more cinnamon than you'd normally consume in cinnamon sugar.  Much better tasting than NyQuil, that's for sure.

Results: I'm impressed.  On the first day of my cold (when I started the treatment), I noticed that I would feel a bit better soon after taking the cinnamon honey.  On the second day of my cold, I didn't necessarily feel better, but I could tell that my cold was going to be a minor one and I appreciated the throat-soothing properties of the cinnamon honey.  I'm on day 3 of my cold right now.  I feel like this could be the last day of my cold.  The sore throat is a lot better and the drippy nose is almost done dripping.  Heck, I'm even planning on going running tonight.  I can't complain about a 3 day cold, nor can I complain about an all natural treatment that gets me back to normal faster.