Cinnamon: Fresh Look at an Old Spice
Cinnamon is believed to be a powerful antiseptic with the ability to kill many types of disease-causing bacteria. It is thought to help suppress urinary tract infections and destroy fungi responsible for yeast infections. It contains the anaesthetic oil eugenol, which is often used to treat cuts and bruises.
According to the PDR (Physicians’ Desk Reference) for Herbal Medicines, cinnamon is an antibacterial and an insecticide. (Its use during pregnancy should be limited because it is known to stimulate the uterus.) Studies are now confirming cinnamon’s antibacterial properties. In a study, researchers at Kansas State University studied apple juice that was inoculated with millions of E. coli bacteria. (This strain can make people very ill; it has been traced to fresh, unpasteurized apple juice.) The researchers added roughly one teaspoon of cinnamon to two quarts of bacteria-laced juice.
The researchers were surprised to find that the bacterial levels were reduced by 99.5% after three days of letting the juice sit at room temperature.
In Ayurvedic medicine (a form of healing that originated in India), cinnamon has been used for generations to treat both diarrhea and nausea. It is usually advisable to administer the cinnamon orally, placed in vegetable capsules. You can purchase pareve empty vegetable capsules at your local pharmacy or health food store and fill them with the cinnamon you have in your pantry. The dosage is usually 1-10 capsules per day. For children who cannot swallow capsules, you can add fresh cinnamon to drinks and foods, as much as necessary or as often as your child will allow.
Nutrition for Pesach
Rachel Zochovizky, head of Nutritional Services at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, offers eight tips to make Passover easier on your digestion and on your scale:
1. Take it easy on the matzoh. Half a machine matzoh is equivalent in calories to one slice of bread. One handmade matzoh equals three slices of bread.
2. Be aware of other bread exchanges. One medium matzoh ball equals one slice of bread; so do two tablespoons of matzoh meal.
3. Wetting the matzoh before eating is much easier on the digestive/gastric systems. (This is not an option for those who do not eat gebrukts.)
4. Diabetics and some dieters may consider using dry wine for the Seder. The sweeter and heavier the wine, the more calories it has.
5. Passover cakes and cookies usually contain significant quantities of fat and sugar.
6. Small meals are better for Seder days. This helps balance the daily calorie intake.
7. Use healthier ingredients in your recipes. Some Passover recipes call for lots of eggs. In many instances, the white can be used instead of the yolk.
8. Remember basic nutrition. Eat two or three fruit portions each day. Take walks and increase physical activity. Drink at least ten to twelve cups of liquid every day, preferably unsweetened. Water is always the best choice.
Children’s Health
Q.Can introducing cow’s milk at an early age contribute to juvenile onset diabetes?
A.Studies are now making this association, according to a report in Science News, Vol. 155. “By monitoring babies in diabetes-prone families,” Finnish researchers have found that “infants getting formula that includes cow’s milk are more likely later to develop the immune reactions associated with juvenile onset, or Type I, diabetes than are babies getting a substitute. The researchers tracked, until age eight months, 173 newborns in Finland who had a close relative with Type 1 diabetes. To augment their mother’s milk, half of these babies received milk-based formula and the rest got a formula in which the cow’s milk proteins had been broken into fragments called peptides. Babies’ immune systems largely ignore cow’s milk proteins that have been chopped up. However, contact with one intact protein in cow’s milk, bovine insulin, may set off a destructive process . . . the immune system would attack pancreas isiet cells that make human insulin, which resembles bovine insulin, and would produce antibodies.” At two years of age, ten out of eighty-nine children getting cow’s milk formula had formed antibodies associated with Type I diabetes.
One researcher notes that in Puerto Rico, “Fewer than five percent of mothers breastfeed their children. Instead, nearly all use formula made from cow’s milk. Meanwhile, Type I diabetes incidence in Puerto Rico is roughly ten times the rate seen in Cuba, where breastfeeding is nearly universal.”
It appears that early introduction of cow’s milk is not the best choice for many babies; sticking to mother’s milk may be the safest way to go.
Unscrambling the Egg Size Question
Q.How do I know which size egg to use in a recipe that calls for eggs? Should I use medium, large, or extra-large eggs?
A.When a recipe calls for eggs, you can assume that the author had large eggs in mind. (Note: A “large” egg is actually a medium egg; it is third among the five egg sizes.) If a larger size is required, it should be specified.
Book Review
The Lifetime Family Legal Guide By Steven M. Sack
The Lifetime Family Legal Guide, written by Attorney Steven Mitchell Sack, is a wonderful reference work. The book discusses accidents, appraisals, attorney fees, malpractice suits, contracts, wills, and many other topics that the average family confronts from time to time.
Mr. Sack says that he wrote the book “to help save people money and aggravation.” He teaches how to detect problems before they occur; if litigation becomes necessary, The Lifetime Family Legal Guide guides you toward the best options.
The book is designed for fast and easy use. It comes with 130 sample letters, legal forms, contracts, wills, and examples of letters of complaint, and also includes an accompanying computer disk (PC-compatible).The Lifetime Family Legal Guide is published by Prentice Hall Press, and can be ordered directly from the publisher, found at your local library, or purchased at your neighborhood bookstore.