Warm, Cozy Cinnamon

November is here and so starts the season of friends, family, holiday parties and delicious food.  I decided to write about cinnamon this month because it flavors so many of the foods we crave during the holidays. It’s the center of the ever popular pumpkin spice. It’s in pumpkin pie, apple pie, cinnamon rolls, snicker doodles, cinnamon bread and more! Besides the fact it is part of these delectable sweets, cinnamon has healing powers that the Chinese have utilized for thousands of years.

Cinnamon’s flavor is considered acrid or pungent. This leads to it being classified as a warm or even hot spice. Cinnamon has a beneficial effect on the stomach, spleen, liver and kidneys.  It is also valuable in tonifying the Chinese elements of Earth (stomach and spleen) as well as Metal (lung and large intestine).

Cinnamon has several different effects on our system when we eat it. Don’t you just love a cup of hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick on a cold day? That’s because this spice has a warming effect on our center. It dissipates cold while moving our blood to further help warm our fingers and toes. Cinnamon can also promote the secretion of gastric juices and help alleviate that holiday bloat. There are many indications for the use of cinnamon in Chinese medicine. Some of the more common ailments include lack of appetite, common cold, flu, shivering from cold, impotence, lower back pain, knee pain, and abdominal pain that gets worse with cold.

I will end with a classic recipe used by the Chinese at the first onset of a cold. If caught early enough, this recipe will nip it in the bud. It is called Gui Zhi Tang (gwee zer tang). Make sure your symptoms match those listed below.

• Fever and chills unrelieved by sweating
• Headache
• Spontaneous perspiration
• Decreased body resistance
• Aversion to Wind
• No thirst
• Dry heaves
• Stiff neck

This formula may also be used for these conditions but please go to a licensed acupuncturist to determine if your symptoms and constitution warrant the use of this formula. Improper usage of herbs can worsen a condition.

Recipe for Gui Zhi Tang

Cinnamon 4 – 9 grams

White peony 4 – 9 grams

Ginger 3 – 9 grams

Dates 3 – 12 grams

Licorice 2 – 6 grams

Simply simmer in water for about 10 to 15 minutes and drink as a tea.