basil and cinnamon

[pboy]

ive pretty sure ray recommends against basil and cinnamon...but I don't recall actually reading why. I know they both have eugenol and in the case of cinnamon coumarin. They probably have antinutrients to some extent though they aren't as harsh as many other spices. Id use them as a tea to minimize the effect. They seem to have a really good mineral profile with a lot of b vitamins, particularly the calcium to phosphorus ratios are very high. cinnamon is a 7 to 1 and basil 10 to 2. Im not too fond of basil and cinnamon to be honest, I like the smell but not the taste too much, although I like holy basil tea for the mood effects but it can be a bit bitter. Anyone know particularly why Ray recommends against these?

 

[Mittir]

I do not remember him specifically talking about these two spices.
His general comment is that plant derived polyphenolic antioxidants
are almost always Estrogenic. He used the example of tannin being carcinogenic.
I think these are problematic when people starts using these in large amounts.
Most spices are usually used in very small amount.

 

[pboy]

i figured as much...most antioxidants and polyphenols it seems are detoxed by the liver and passed in the urine within a few hours, indicating their toxicity. It probably draws on some of the livers energy...lowering its efficiency of other processes (like detoxing estrogen). Im thinking the methylxanthines like caffeine might be beneficial because in their breakdown, they provide multiple methyl groups and a purine base...almost a sort of vitamin in a sense, or vitamin preserver would be more accurate. So I guess its a similar thing for most tannins and polyphenols in terms of their liver taxing effect, not to mention their potential effect on limiting absorption of nutrients. I used to use many types of herbs and spices when I was eating only vegan food, but as ive gotten healthier and feel stronger pretty much due to dairy, my desire for more medicinal or spice type substances has gone way down, to almost none. Xanthines though still seem highly beneficial and I still enjoy them

 

[haidut]

Cinnamon has a very strong blood sugar lowering effect. It is so strong that in several pharma companies are (mistakenly) working on derivative drugs for use in Type II diabetes. Something that lowers blood sugar so potently can easily and consistently trigger stress reaction. Also, all of the recent blood sugar lowering drugs have been recently linked to pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, etc. Not exactly pleasant stuff...
That being said, it is probably fine in small amounts as a flavor.
Basil is probably in the same boat. In small amounts it is probably OK. But, since the leaves are what is used, it is probably estrogenic. Interestingly enough, holly basil (and recently confirmed that regular basil as well) has an almost unreal testosterone boosting effect in rats ans rabbits. So, putting aside the few meatheads that will get very excited about basil, I would not overindulge in something that affects your hormones so much that your body stops producing its own testosterone.
http://www.ergo-log.com/holybasil.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3059441/

 

[haidut]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. In higher doses all members of the basil family have been used for centuries In Asia as a contraceptive - both male and female. So, take it easy on the basil