Miracles of cinnamon and honey

Read this article not long ago on Facebook and I thought it would be good to share in my blog for the benefit of my blog readers/followers...

Scientists of today note honey as very effective medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without side effects which is definitely a plus.Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, when it is taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm even diabetic patients. It is found that a mix of cinnamon and honey cures most diseases.

Researched by Western scientists:

HEART DISEASES: Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, put it on toast instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol and could potentially save one from heart attack. Also, even if you have already had an attack studies show you could be kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of cinnamon honey strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as one ages the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and the veins.

ARTHRITIS: Arthritis patients can benefit by taking one cup of hot water with two tablespoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. When taken daily even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week (out of the 200 people so treated) practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain -- and within a month, most all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis now started walking without pain.

BLADDER INFECTIONS: Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder....who knew?

CHOLESTEROL: Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water given to a cholesterol patient was found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, when taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol-could be cured. According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

COLDS: Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and, clear the sinuses, and it's delicious too!

UPSET STOMACH: Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also is said to clear stomach ulcers from its root.

GAS: According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is revealed that when Honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

IMMUNE SYSTEM: Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacterial and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of Honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles (where DNA is contained) to fight bacterial and viral diseases.

INDIGESTION: Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food is eaten relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals

INFLUENZA: A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural 'Ingredient' which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

LONGEVITY: Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Use four teaspoons of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder, and three cups of boiling water to make a tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans increase and even a 100 year old will start performing the chores of a 20-year-old.

RASPY OR SORE THROAT: When throat has a tickle or is raspy, take one tablespoon of honey and sip until gone. Repeat every three hours until throat is without symptoms.

PIMPLES: Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it off the next morning with warm water. When done daily for two weeks, it removes all pimples from the root.

SKIN INFECTIONS: Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin Infections.

WEIGHT LOSS: Daily in the morning one half hour beforebreakfast and on an empty stomach, and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. When taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.

CANCER: Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder three times a day for one month.

FATIGUE: Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, even when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, when taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M., the vitality of the body increases within a week.

BAD BREATH: People of South America, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water first thing in the morning so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.

HEARING LOSS: Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restores hearing.

Elbow injury

I thought to myself when I woke up last Monday morning..."Hmm, my right elbow feels weird. The pointed end of my elbow bone feels slightly sore and tender. This is not something that I've previously experienced before. This is definitely not a muscle pull or tendon injury. Did I fall down or knock something? What did I do over the weekend to sustain this injury?"

I didn't have an answer. I was dumbfounded to say the least.

I tried doing some push-ups and the pain was more noticeable. As a matter of fact, all movements that involved the extension of my right triceps would cause pain. However, there was no pain whatsoever when I executed pulling movements.

"Could I have busted my right triceps? If so, how? I didn't workout hard the week leading to this injury."

I'd previously visited Oriental Tit Tar for my shoulder injury and naturally that was the first place I wanted to visit to get my right elbow examined.

At Oriental Tit Tar, I explained my predicament to the sifu. We tried to speculate the cause of my injury but couldn't come to a consensus. He pushed, pressed and rubbed my elbow including my triceps and concluded that I've injured the veins in my elbow. Apparently these veins wrap around the elbow bone.

I found it hard to believe but accepted it anyway. I was glad it wasn't a bone injury. If it was, it would mean a long recovery period. The sifu assured me it was a minor injury and I would fully recover within a few weeks' time.

Property of Mr Flabby Less

My wrapped elbow

I've since gotten my right elbow wrapped 3 times at Oriental Tit Tar (Mon-Wed-Fri). My elbow feels much better now and there's only minor pain if I press my right elbow against something (anything, even my soft pillow or bed when I get out of bed). I've not gone to the gym for the past week and plan to take a break for the next few weeks to ensure full recovery. I hate sustaining any form of injury as that would mean timeout from the gym but I guess a break from the usual gym routine will do me good. Besides, this would mean more time for "bicep curls" at the bar! :-P

Vertical hanging- a must before your workout

What's vertical hanging? Basically vertical hanging is an act that enables gravity to help indirectly pull your arms and subtly stretch the ligaments in your shoulder. Vertical hanging doesn't only make your shoulders feel better (loose!) but also get primes your shoulders for your workout.

In order to perform vertical hanging, you simply lift your arms straight overhead and grab onto the handles of the pull up bar and then just let yourself hang for awhile. Perform this a few times and your shoulders will immediately loosen resulting in improved flexibility.

So remember, the next time you hit the gym, please incorporate vertical hanging as a warm-up activity.

5 worst exercises for your shoulders and how to fix them

Since injuring my left shoulder some time back, I've been very careful whenever I lift weights. Although I've some what recovered, my shoulder doesn't feel the same again :-(

I stumbled upon this link and I think it's good to share with everyone. It explains the 5 worst exercises for your shoulders and how to fix them.

While working out is fun and it feeds your ego, you should be careful not to injure yourself. Proper form is important to maximise muscle growth potential and to avoid unwanted injury.

Do check out the link below...

5 worst exercises for your shoulders and how to fix them

Recovery is a slow process

What's the status of my shoulder injury since sustaining it about a month ago?

I think the condition of my left shoulder has improved significantly. No more acute pain and I can move my left arm freely. It was so bad when I first sustained the injury that I couldn't even sleep well as the pain (when I unknowingly roll over to my left side) would wake me up! OUCH!

Also, I think the tit tar therapy sessions at Oriental Tit Tar and supplements are doing me good! I'm so pleased and excited that I'm on the right track to recovery!

Having said that, full recovery takes time and is a slow process. I need to be patient and not rush right back into weight training as I might risk injuring my left shoulder again.

I'm incorporating very light (puny!) weight training for my left shoulder in my effort to strengthen it. The movements are basic front/lateral raises and forward/backward circular arm movements. I'm using super light dumbbells (2kg) for this at the gym. If I feel like doing this at home or in the office, I would use a book or a bottle filled with water/sand.

I know they say "patience is a virtue" but unfortunately I'm a "kan cheong" vain pot who is eager to get back to training with weights. Life can be such a beeatch, don't you think?

Oriental Tit Tar

I've been going for tit tar treatments (Chinese physiotherapy) at Oriental Tit Tar in Sea Park to treat my busted left shoulder. They specialise in "treating bone, joint and muscle pain."

To check out their website, please click Oriental Tit Tar.

These guys are pretty good as they know their stuff. My brother sees them whenever he injures himself. I too have brought Sonny there once to treat his foot about 1-2 months ago. Sonny hurt the vein in his foot due to his non-stop jumping (sometimes from the sofa to the floor!) and his condition improved after 6-8 hours of seeing the tit tar sifu and his foot being wrapped with herbs.

Why see a tit tar and not a conventional orthopaedic? Well, to simply put, I have more faith and am more comfortable seeing the former :-) I'm 50:50 when it comes to Western treatments...

I went for 4 tit tar sessions all in all, once every alternate day (Thu-Sat-Mon-Wed). Each session would involve massage, rubbing, pressing and scrapping of my shoulder area. It would then end with the sifu wrapping herbs on my shoulder. It's to be left there overnight and removed in the morning. It smells like any typical tit tar oil and not too overwhelming.

Each session set me back between RM80-100. So the total was close to RM400. Ouch! The pain in my wallet was nearly as bad as the pain in my left shoulder!

According to the sifu, I've injured my shoulder ligament. No surprises here. I blogged about it in my earlier post...Shoulder Injury even before I started seeing them for tit tar treatments.

"Unlike bones, veins and ligaments are difficult to heal. Healing process is also subjective. If it was a bone injury, all you need to do is to adjust it back into the socket/slot and you'll be on your way to recovery. You'll need to rest for a few weeks. No weights during this period. Cardio is alright."

I thought to myself, "Crap! Just my luck! There goes my come back..."

I was also given some black tablets (Chinese herbs) to aid recovery. The instruction says to take 3 tablets twice a day after meal. A packet was good for about 3 days. They gave me a packet each on Thu (Day 1 of treatment) and Mon (Day 3 of  treatment).

"These tablets will help strengthen your veins. You'll also need to watch your diet. You can't have cold drinks and any food/drinks with cold properties. Whisky and beer are out of the question."

I protested, "No alcohol? But that's elixir of life wor! No alcohol means no life!"


Property of Mr Flabby Less
List of food and drinks to avoid. How boring! Thank god durian didn't make it to the list! :-P

Well, I guess if it's important for me to abstain from alcohol for my own good and aid recovery, I should just comply.

But what about my favourite? "Err...durian can eat ah?"

"Yes, no problem. Durian has heaty/warm properties and not cold so that's fine."

WOOHOO! I did have durian after each tit tar session :-) No excuse right since it's just a stone's throw away from SS2's durian strip? :-P

I'm still not doing weight training and my workout is limited to cardio. Depending on my form for the day, I spend about 45-60 mins on a cardio machine. Sometimes I even do some burpees but my shoulder feels tender after that so I'm cutting back on that too.

I'm no longer young so I guess recovery time is a tad longer. I plan to consume some supplements to aid recovery. Do check out my post on Supplements For Shoulder Injury.

Rest days

It's advisable to have at least a day of rest between each weight training session.

Once you've adequately worn out your muscles during a weight training session, the tissues need time to rebuild/repair in order to thicken. It typically takes between 48-72 hours for that to happen.

Rest is also important so that you are able to maintain proper form at the next weight training session.

No point pushing hard and keeping the body at constant stress when lifting form is sacrificed. Remember, you are a body-builder, not a weight-lifter!

However, if you feel you want to maximise your time at the gym and workout everyday, you may want to consider slotting in cardio training on non-weight training days.

Example:-

Monday- Day 1 Weight Training
Tuesday- Treadmill
Wednesday- Day 2 Weight Training
Thursday- Stepper/Bicycle
Friday- Day 3 Weight Training
Saturday- Swim
Sunday- Rest

The above is strictly for "normal" people who are into training for fitness purpose.

Professional body builders train up 3 times a day, 5 days a week. Now, that's a different matter all together...