Honey and Cinnamon for a cold or flu: Does it work? (sinus, remedy)

[Midwest Maven]

I've had a cold for about 3 days now and someone told me that I should use a combination of honey and cinnamon in tea a few times a day to help with cold symptoms.

I was told to take 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon with 1 tablespoon of honey in hot water or hot tea at least 3 times a day. But this person said that store bought cinnamon is toxic, which confuses me. I thought all cinnamon is the same, no matter where its bought. I have store bought cinnamon powder that came with the spice rack I bought at Target, and the honey I bought is pure, organic honey.

Has anyone tried this as an alternative cold or flu remedy before and had any luck with it decreasing symptoms? I use a neti pot regularly and wash my hands regularly, but still caught a cold.

[nightlysparrow]

Toxic?? That's crazy. The chain of Cinnabon pastry shops would be bankrupt. People also take it to reduce blood sugar/diabetes.

Handwashing is great, but for future reference, neti pots can actually push up higher into the nasal cavity any virus that your nasal mucosa has trapped, so they are not a good idea if you think you've been exposed. Better to breathe steam from over a bowl.

[Sgoldie]

Honey can be used to combat outdoor allergies and cinnamon is good for your stomach.

I always found that when I would turn on the heat for the first time of the season it dried out my nasal passages and let cold germs take hold. My preferred way to treat is to curl up in bed and sweat it out staying extra warm so my body didn't have to use it's energy to work on that aspect.

[AnonChick]

Store-bought cinnamon is not toxic. It is also not *usually* true cinnamon. Often, it's cassia bark, which is similar to cinnamon but not the same thing. It comes from a variety of cinnamon, and is known as Chinese Cinnamon. True cinnamon is called Ceylon Cinnamon. The "scare" factor of cassia is that it has higher amounts of coumarin than Ceylon cinnamon. Coumarin, in high quantities, is toxic to the liver and kidneys.

Ingesting a single 1/4 teaspoon once a day, mixed with tea and honey, is not going to damage your liver or kidneys. However, if you are already suffering from damaged liver and kidneys, you might want to cut that dosage back to 1/8 teaspoon, a couple times a day, instead of ingesting it all at once. It'll also taste better, because a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon is VERY strong tasting. Put it this way: I use one teaspoon of cinnamon (cassia) in my apple crisp recipe. It serves 8 and it's been mixed with butter and brown sugar and cooked.

Cinnamon (cassia) is good for helping to promote blood circulation, so it'll probably be useful in tea if you have a cold. Just remember that with something like cinnamon (cassia), less is more, and more is too much. A pinch in your tea will be delicious and might even pop open your sinuses (from inhaling the steam in the tea, not from ingesting it)

And remember never to ingest or inhale the powder all by itself. THAT can be dangerous, because it can trigger an asthma attack.

[todd00]

I think honey and lemon tea is better, and its very soothing for a cough and raw throat. You can add a bit of garlic in it too, or take garlic capsules, as its very good for the immune system. I take garlic everyday.

[Lee W.]

I prefer Ceylon cinnamon, but it's VERY hard to find in stores. IMO, the best way to buy Ceylon is to order it. Cinnamon sold in stores rarely tell what kind of cinnamon it is and you can just about assume it's cassia.

[Yeshuareigns]

The ultimate cure for the flu whether Sars or recent norovirus is Sliver Sol aka (ASAP,Souverign,SilverBiotics,)

[jim9251]

I'm coming down with something now, just a bit of a sniffle and throat a bit sore. No fever or chills. I decided to try this honey cinnamon tea. It's a strange combination of things, but holy moly does this taste good. This might just be my new afternoon hot beverage for the rest of the winter (which here lasts to May).

[beachmel]

I always go for the honey and lemon combo. You might also want to give "lemon-ginger" tea a shot. Another one that we keep on hand is Echinacea Complete Care.

[jim9251]

I drank tea with honey and cinnamon in the afternoon and night for two days, my cold symptons are gone. I didn't take anything else. Now I don't know if this was the reason or whatever I had ran its course. This is now my new favorite winter evening beverage, VERY tasty.