Fight Arthritis With Cinnamon and Agave

Cinnamon and agave form a formidable team whose properties can help fight arthritis. This homemade remedy historically uses honey, but agave also works well. This blend has been used for years in natural medicine to treat assorted illnesses and disease, especially those that involve inflammation.

Cinnamon’s arthritis-fighting power

Amongst other things, cinnamon contains volatile oils such as cinnamaldehyde, melatonin, tannin and coumarin all of which have thermal effects on the body – and this is precisely why they are so effective in calming pain. Cinnamon is best applied topically to the affected area for arthritis.

Agave and arthritis

Get to know agave. A plant native to Mexico and South America, this spiky plant resembles aloe vera and has been used for centuries to treat constipation, gas and painful joints.

Its chemical composition is complex and its different parts have many uses. It provides a nectar that is suitable for diabetics due to its low glycaemic index and – on the other end of the spectrum – it’s used to make tequila. The agave plant’s fibres can be used to make rope. It was also a food source to the Navajo people. Science continues to discover its benefits to human health and it is quickly becoming a rival to honey. Do bear in mind that the juice of the agave plant is not generally considered suitable for topical application, but the nectar is perfectly safe to ingest and to apply directly to the skin.

How best to consume cinnamon and agave to treat arthritis

Natural and holistic medicines recommend consuming a combination of cinnamon and agave nectar both internally and externally to treat the pain and inflammation caused by arthritis.

To take it internally, prepare a cinnamon infusion by breaking cinnamon sticks into slivers and letting it steep. After a few minutes, add between one and two tablespoons of agave nectar to the tea. Again, this treatment should be perfectly safe for people with diabetes.

As for topical treatments, you can use warm cinnamon water with a little bit of agave nectar to create a compress that you can apply to the affected areas. This remedy is based on studies done at Copenhagen University in Denmark. In these studies, the effects of cinnamon and honey for the treatment of an array of diseases – arthritis, in particular – were clearly illustrated. However, the research was conducted in 1995, before agave was being used widely in Europe.

Image courtesy of ActitudFem