Cinnamon Treatment for Flu

[urbanforager]

Hello all!

I just finished working my way through The Green Witch Herbal: Restoring Nature's Magic in Home, Health, and Beauty Care, by Barbara Griggs. (Not to worry; the title is just poetic. There's nothing whatsoever about magick in the book -- just the power of the herbs themselves.)

The last chapter in the book is on First Aid, and that's where I found a really neat section on flu. The author is British, and she quotes a couple of British sources.

 

"In the early years of [the 20th] century the cinnamon cure was widely known to doctors as an effective way of nipping flu in the bud. The British Pharmaceutical Codex of 1911 lists cinnamon oil as possessing antiseptic qualtites...In his book Kitchen Physic, published in 1901, Dr. Fernie explains the cinnamon treatment for flu and quotes a Dr. Ross of Manchester: 'In those cases where the cinnamon treatment has been started within 4-5 hours of the onset of the attack, I have found patients usually able to resume their duties within 48 hours...in every case so treated within 24 hours of the onset, the patient has returned to his place in society not later than 5 days from the commencement of treatment, and in no case have I been embarrassed by complication of any kind.'

"The treatment consists of giving 1-2 tsp of a tincture in 2 Tbsp of water every half hour for 2 hours, then hourly until the temperature returns to normal. The tincture is made by adding 2 1/2 oz of bruised cinnamon bark to a bottle of brandy and leaving it to macerate for a week.

"Another version of the cinnamon treatment is suggested by Dr. Valnet. Add half a squeezed lemon, a tablespoonful of honey, and a large glass of hot water in which a small piece of cinnamon bark and a clove have been boiled for 2-3 minutes, to a dram of whisky. Leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Like Dr. Ross and the BPC, Valnet emphasizes that the treatment is effective against colds and flu as long as it is taken as soon as the first symptoms appear."

[Crazy4Canning]

Cinnamon is great for many things. You are right - Brandy and Spirits are used to preserve herbal properties where water was not used and glycerins were unavailable.

 

These older remedies make me laugh - one wonders how much healing was from the effects of the alcohol or the actual herb itself.

 

Thanks for sharing this old stuff. It always makes me smile and reminds me that older remedies are still viable.