11/04/08 Natural Disease Fighters

Little did you know that in eating that cinnamon roll the other day you were actually fighting harmful bacteria that might be present such as the E coli bug? Okay, so the beneficial part was in the cinnamon spice part of the roll; you'll have to come up with your own justification for the remaining ingredients! Researchers have now discovered that cinnamon and several other natural spices including oregano and lemongrass fight off harmful bacteria which might be present in foods. Just one teaspoon of cinnamon has been known to kill 99.5 percent of the E coli bacteria in just three days. Using herbs and spices to fight off and treat disease is nothing new though; they're power for healing has been used for thousands of years. Only modern society has become dependant on antibiotics, resulting in a constant quest for ever stronger drugs to fight infection. As antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria continue to increase natural spices may very well be our saving grace. And to think, we've actually had the power to combat illness and disease all along.