Thursday, September 26, 2013

honey & cinnamon: the benefits

this is a direct copy and paste from a friend who reposted this on their facebook page. i bolded the sections i found particularly interesting.

It is found that a mix of honey and cinnamon cures most diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also note honey as very effective medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without side effects which is also a plus.Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, when it is taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm even diabetic patients. Researched by western scientists:

HEART DISEASES: Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, put it on toast instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol and could potentially save one from heart attack. Also, even if you have already had an attack studies show you could be kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of cinnamon honey strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as one ages the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and the veins.

ARTHRITIS: Arthritis patients can benefit by taking one cup of hot water with two tablespoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. When taken daily even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week (out of the 200 people so treated) practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain -- and within a month, most all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis now started walking without pain.

BLADDER INFECTIONS: Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder....who knew?

CHOLESTEROL: Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water given to a cholesterol patient was found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, when taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol-could be cured. According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

COLDS: Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and, clear the sinuses, and it's delicious too!

UPSET STOMACH: Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also is said to clear stomach ulcers from its root.

GAS: According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is revealed that when Honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

IMMUNE SYSTEM: Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacterial and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of Honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles (where DNA is contained) to fight bacterial and viral diseases.

INDIGESTION: Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food is eaten relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals

INFLUENZA: A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural 'Ingredient' which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

LONGEVITY: Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Use four teaspoons of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder, and three cups of boiling water to make a tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans increase and even a 100 year old will start performing the chores of a 20-year-old.

RASPY OR SORE THROAT: When throat has a tickle or is raspy, take one tablespoon of honey and sip until gone. Repeat every three hours until throat is without symptoms.

PIMPLES: Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it off the next morning with warm water. When done daily for two weeks, it removes all pimples from the root.

SKIN INFECTIONS:Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin Infections.

WEIGHT LOSS:Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast and on an empty stomach, and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. When taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.

CANCER: Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder three times a day for one month.

FATIGUE: Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, even when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, when taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M., the vitality of the body increases within a week.

BAD BREATH: People of South America, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water first thing in the morning so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.

HEARING LOSS: Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restores hearing. be sure to click SHARE so it will store on your personal page.

Friday, September 13, 2013

the savior generals: belisarius

flavius belisarius: the man who almost reunited the western and eastern roman empire; the man who saved byzantium time and time again and who allowed it to endure 900 years after he left the earth.

who knows what the world would be like had his emperor justinian allowed belisarius more room and resources in the mission to reunite the old empires.

in his second chapter in the savior generals, hanson delves into the life and battles of belisarius and how he saved his emperor time and time again.  these two men's destinies would forever be linked.

let me first quote a paragraph from toward the end of the chapter.  this paragraph summarized the three decade-long mission that justinian envisioned and how his best general - belisarius - almost single-handedly attained that mission.  "a thirty-year career (529-59) saw the last of the romans fighting to save the beleaguered eastern empire in mesopotamia against persians, only to return home to rescue his emperor justinian from the nika riots in the hippodrome.  then he left for north africa and in months destroyed the centurylong vandal empire whose ravages had so dominated the last thoughts of saint augustine.  after that he sailed for sicily, and for a time reclaimed the idea of a roman italy from the mediterranean to the po - only to go eastward again to meet the persians, and then back again to a collapsing italy, and then back to constantinople to internal exile, trials, and humiliation, only while in forced retirement to save the city from a raid of huns - and earn a final rebuke."

in each of the campaigns, belisarius was able to overcome hordes of forces with a very small force.  he was extremely smart and savvy in his approach in out-smarting the enemy.  much like i did with themistocles, let me list out the words that were repeatedly used to describe how belisarius accomplished his mission over and over and over again.

calm in battle, knew difference between tactics and strategy, skilled in counterinsurgency, winning the hearts and minds of local populations, restraint, tactics-morale-generalship, learned to carefully deploy his limited forces against numerically superior opponents, show both force and mercy to locals, did not rashly commit his outnumbered forces, methodic, moderation brings salvation, insurgency, audacious, hit enemy hard and quickly at opportune times, he is quoted as saying "not by the number of men, and not by the measure of one's body, but by the valor of the soul, war is decided", popular icon, mythic status, legendary character, personal habits, clemency, honesty, lenient, saintly conqueror, personally attended his wounded, replaced lost equipment of his soldiers at his own expense, treated personal property sacrosanctly, avoided alcohol-womanizing-bribery, resilient, dynamic, tactical brilliance, personal magnetism, faithful, planner, constantly sought to adopt, improvise, and invent to make up for what he lacked in manpower, usually lost small and won big, confident, not susceptible to panic, neither vain nor prone to softness.

what amazes me is his character.  after all the battles he fought for justinian, he never sought to overthrow him.  it appears there were always rumors that belisarius sought power and for that justinian would always undercut his best general, but belisarius never took advantage.  even when he was old and was recalled out of retirement to fight off the huns - if there were ever an opportune time to take command for himself, this would be it - but he did not.  he was always in the service of his country and emperor.

vdh and other historians wonder "what if" the plague that hit the empire at the worst time had indeed not hit them; and if justinian would have used belisarius to the fullest extent if somehow the old roman empire were reunited - what the world would look like today.  instead, the western empire fully crumbled and the eastern empire was able to survive another 900 years - long enough for the renaissance to begin.