Spices as Medicine

I've always loved cinnamon and ginger.  When fall comes, I traditionally bake my grandmother's favorite molasses cookie recipe that's filled with cinnamon and ginger.  I usually add about twice as much of the spices as the recipe actually calls for.  They're so yummy and so very warming.  The perfect remedy for colder weather.  But there are a lot of other ways that I use cinnamon and ginger.

I use the essential oil of cinnamon in my foot salves.  It's anti-fungal properties helps to keep my feet free of fungus and really helps to soothe and heal any cracks that I may have.  It's considered a "hot" oil, so using directly on your skin, without a carrier oil, could really irritate your skin.

I also use cinnamon when I'm feeling a cold come on.  I take a generous teaspoon of cinnamon and add it to some plain yogurt and eat it.  Cinnamon is anti-bacterial and anti-viral, so it makes great medicine to ward off colds and flu.  I also use a generous amount of it in warm milk before I go to bed at night.  It helps with digestion after a heavy meal and its warming quality helps me to fall asleep at night.  It also is a great agent for regulating blood sugar.  So if you have problems with fluctuating blood sugar, taking a teaspoon of cinnamon every day can really help.

Ginger is my other favorite.  Ginger candies got me through my early months of my pregnancies.  It was the only thing that would help me through morning sickness.  Just sucking on a small piece of crystallized ginger whenever I would feel nauseous was a life saver.  Those days are long past, and now I use ginger primarily because of it's such a great digestive aid.  It has a real warming quality to it and can kick start a lousy appetite, help relieve a bloated stomach, and help improve absorption of vital nutrients.  Used as a tea with a bit of lemon is great for sore throats and helping to clear your sinuses.  I added powdered ginger to my warm milk at night along with cinnamon and it really helps to improve my digestion so I'm not going to bed still trying to digest my dinner.

Ginger is also great for the kidneys.  This time of year, it's so important to give your kidneys what they need.  And that is warmth, darkness and pressure.  Winter is the time to slow down, stay warm and nourish your kidneys so they are well prepared for the burst of spring energy.  Kidney wraps are very common in many cultures.  Using an old scarf that you can wrap around your waist provides the subtle pressure that kidneys like.  Infusing fresh ginger and adding ginger essential oil to your favorite massage oil makes a great, warming oil to rub on your lower back where your kidneys are.

Anthroposophical doctors say that when children get ear infections that it's their kidneys that need tending to.  They recommend making ginger packs by grading up fresh ginger, placing it on the kidney area, applying a heating pad or hot water bottle and wrapping the area with a scarf or anything to hold it into place.  I've never tried this since my kids were never prone to ear infections, but I've heard it works really well.

Have a healthy winter!