By Debbie Schlussel

Yet again, the “evil” Jews in the tiny State of Israel, surrounded by Muslim nations that hate them, have made a significant scientific discovery that may ward off a debilitating disease.  Israeli scientists have discovered that cinnamon extract inhibits Alzheimer’s disease and appears to ward off the flu, too.  As I write this I’m drinking a nice hot cup of Harney & Sons Fine Teas Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea a/k/a “Sunset Spice Tea”(very cinnamony and naturally very sweet with no sugar or sugar substitutes).  And I hope my love for this tea pays off.  Looks like it might. Even more cool is that the discovery was based on the chief scientist’s participation as a kid in the National Bible Contest and questions about the paste the Kohanim [the Jewish Priests] used on the altar for sacrifices. It’s a great story of how the Jewish Bible inspired an important medical discovery.  Yup, an atheist would never have made this discovery:

Israeli Scientist Michael Ovadia Finds Alheimer’s Inhibitor in Cinnamon Extract

A cinnamon extract inhibits the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD ), Tel Aviv University scientists have discovered.

The scientists, headed by Prof. Michael Ovadia of the zoology department in the life sciences faculty, have isolated a substance from the cinnamon plant, referred to as CEppt, which inhibited the disease in laboratory mice.

The study, published in the scientific periodical PLoS ONE in January, was conducted with several Tel Aviv University life sciences laboratories, including those headed by Prof. Ehud Gazit, the university’s deputy research and development president, Prof. Dan Segal and Dr. Dan Frenkel.

All “evil Jews,” so you Israel-boycottin’ Muslims, no cinnamon for you! And none for the PETA freaks, ‘cuz these results came from ANIMAL research, baby!

In the first stage, the scientists succeeded in showing with an electron microscope that the CEppt extract inhibits the creation of amyloid molecules. Extracting the substance involved creating powder from cinnamon sticks with a coffee grinder and isolating it in a solution in 4 degrees Celsius until use, the study says.

They then mixed the extract with the drinking water of mice and flies and examined the effect. The flies were raised with an Alzheimer’s stimulating gene and the mice were raised with five genetic mutations that cause an aggressive development of Alzheimer’s from the age of two months.

After four months the scientists found the disease’s development had slowed down and the animals’ longevity and activity resembled that of their healthy counterparts.

They also found the extract helped in breaking up already formed amyloid fibers. “This finding indicates the possibility that the substance may not only prevent AD, but can cure it, after Alzheimer-causing molecules have already been formed,” says Ovadia.

Ovadia was interested in cinnamon attributes already as a youth, when he took part in the National Bible Contest and was asked about the substances comprising the holy paste the priests used to spread on the altar before the sacrifices.

“I had a blackout, and remembered the materials, which include cinnamon, just as the gong went,” he says.

The substances, including also myrrh, cassia, fragrant cane and olive oil, appear in Exodus chapter 30, verses 23-25.

“The question bothered me for years. I decided to examine cinnamon’s attributes and have been doing so, until I made the current discovery,” he says.

However, if you’re rushing to use cinnamon, Ovadia warns of over consumption. In large doses the spice could harm liver functions, due to a component called cinnamaldehyde. The recommendation is not to exceed 10 grams of cinnamon a day, he says.

Tel Aviv University took out a patent on the extract and its attributes as a food supplement back in 2004.

“The discovery is extremely exciting because while there are companies developing synthetic AD inhibiting substances, the extract is not a drug with side effects but a safe, natural substance that human beings have been consuming for generations,” says Ovadia.

So far the scientists have failed to isolate from the extract a single molecule with the healing properties. “When we tried to take apart the cinnamon substances and isolate them the healing properties were lost, as is the case with numerous natural substances,” he says.

The team intends to experiment with the extract on different animals in the future, in view of the difficulty of experimenting on people, due to Alzheimer’s slow progression.

Meanwhile Ovadia is already applying the findings to himself and has been drinking tea with the cinnamon extract on a daily basis. “My students also drink tea with cinnamon daily. It not only prevents Alzheimer’s but other viral diseases, like the flu,” he says.

By the way, Dr. Ovadia is an expert in uses for snake venom, and that’s what he focused most of his career and research on, until this new discovery. 

More:

For most of his professional life, Tel Aviv University professor Michael Ovadia focused on snakes and the medicinal properties of their venom. But seven years ago, after meditating on a biblical passage, Ovadia’s career focus began to take a twist… a cinnamon twist to be exact.

Today the spiritual scientist from TAU’s Department of Zoology is commercializing a unique cinnamon extract that is touted to quell viral infections from HIV to the Avian flu.

A research and license deal on his patent-pending cinnamon extract was signed last week between TAU’s technology transfer company Ramot and Frutarom, a multinational nutraceutical company based in Israel. Frutarom is expected to use the extract in a whole host of applications from disinfecting the air as a spray against Avian flu in airports; to a daily supplement that protects people against the common flu.

Those researching in the field of natural medicine know that snake venom, especially the notorious poisonous kind, has unique anti-viral and analgesic properties that can help fight human illness and disease. For the past 40 years, Ovadia had been working with natural antidotes and found that certain kinds of venom can deactivate Parainfluenza (Sendai) virus – a virus similar to the human flu.

Work was going well. Papers were published, patents had been developed, and his reputation in the field was established. But Ovadia was still waiting for the breakthrough that every scientist dreams about.

That breakthrough would come to him one morning in the synagogue while listening to a reading from the Old Testament.

“There is a passage that explains how the High Priests – the Kohens – would prepare a holy oil used on their bodies before they made a ritual animal sacrifice,” recalls Ovadia. “I had a hunch that this oil, which was prepared with cinnamon and other spices, played a role in preventing the spread of infectious agents to people.”

Taking his hunch to the laboratory bench, Ovadia’s initial experiments proved to be true – his savory cinnamon extract was able to quickly and effectively immunize chicken embryos from the Newcastle disease virus – one which costs the poultry industry in the US millions of dollars a year.

Further studies on Avian Flu H9, Sendai virus, the HIV virus, and Herpes Simplex 1 also achieved positive results. Not only was the extract able to neutralize the viruses, it also showed for selected viruses that it has the potential to immunize against them as well.

Now before people start dropping cinnamon sticks in their hot chocolate and sprinkling it all over their lattes – take note that the cinnamon extract developed by Ovadia has special properties that won’t be found at coffee shops or in the kitchen cupboard. First of all, it comes from a special variety of cinnamon; coumarin and cinnamon aldehyde, which are by-products of cinnamon ‘juice’. These are actually damaging to the liver in high quantities, and must be removed.

“You cannot take high doses from the natural form of cinnamon. If you used it several times a day to protect you from the flu, it would be toxic.” . . .

“What we know is that this technology is capable of neutralizing viruses very fast and that it is applicable to various applications,” said Dr. Nissim Chen, the business development manager of Ramot who managed the commercialization process which ending up with the licensing to Frutarom. “For example, it can be used in air conditioning systems in hospitals and prevent infections spreading from one person to the other in closed spaces.” . . .

Besides the human application, Ovadia sees that cinnamon fills an important niche in the agriculture industry where chicks need to be immunized by hand against the deadly Newcastle disease virus. . . .

The new cinnamon product will be launched in about a year. Hopefully just before flu season.

Alzheimer’s, the flu, hospitals, AND chickens. Sounds like a wonder drug. I LOVE THIS STORY. Remember, my fave cinnamon tea is Harney & Sons Sunset Spice. It has several different kinds of cinnamon in it. Not sure if it can at all replicate any of the same stuff as Dr. Ovadia’s cinnamon extract. But until that comes on the market, I’m drinking the tea.