Why Cinnamon is a skier’s best friend
We all know the cold is the arch enemy of the winter snow skier. Snow storms, ice and strong winds will sap the energy of the best skier, denying him or her the pleasure of that downhill rush completed with one-part talent, luck and determination.
Of course, most people are well prepared, in peak physical shape, have great food, have layered thermal clothing, high quality boots, helmets and kick ass gloves to ward of the cold in the pursuit of that downhill thrill. But what if you can add another tool to your arsenal of keep warm tools? Think Cinnamon especially Ceylon Cinnamon.
HEATY FOODS VS COOLING FOODS
Cinnamon is well known to keep the body warm. According to Chinese culture there are hot food and cold foods. Meaning there are certain foods that keeps you warm while other foods cool the body.
Chiles, black peppercorns, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, cloves, coriander and cumin seeds are considered the warm spices. Other foods like cucumber, grapefruit, bok-choy, celery, yoghurt cool your body. Chinese culture believes in the concept of Yin and Yang. Meaning if you eat beef, a heaty food, you must balance it with a cool food.
That is fine during the summer weather. But in winter you have to pack in the heat. One way to do is making the right choice of foods. In summer if you eat too much heaty foods the body will vent out the excess heat through pimples, cracked heels, canker sores and even a thick sticky, thick eye mucus that comes your of eyes. Don’t believe us? Try eating lobster for 5 days straight and it will happen. Of course, most people don’t take it to that extremes. I did once in Montreal Canada during lobster season and the fifth day I could not even open eyes. The eyes started oozing a thick, really gooey yellow substance and that hardened while asleep. When you woke up it was hard to open your eye lids. A bit frightening. But in winter because it is so cold, this will rarely happen. The trick is know which heaty foods to eat and when.
So how could you use Cinnamon to increase body heat? It could as simple as having a cup of Cinnamon tea. We are not talking about those cinnamon flavored teas. Those teas don’t have the real benefits of Cinnamon as they all usually use laboratory created natural flavors. Yes, even natural flavors are not really natural. They are allowed to be called natural flavors despite being created in the lab because they are single flavors and not mixed with other flavors. A strange quirk of regulations in the USA.
What you need is Cinnamon, preferably Ceylon Cinnamon. You see the ordinary Cassia type Cinnamon you get in the supermarket has high levels of coumarin that can damage your liver if taken on a daily basis. Ceylon Cinnamon also called real Cinnamon is actually the authentic real Cinnamon. But it’s not widely available because of limited supply. It’s expensive to harvest and only grows properly in Sri Lanka where 95% of the World’s supply comes from. Even then only the South West coast of the Island is suitable for its cultivation. You can learn about the types of Cinnamon here.
HOW COULD YOU USE CINNAMON TO KEEP WARM
Cook with Cinnamon powder - Make a beef stew with teaspoon of Cinnamon powder. It adds a beautiful deep flavor to beef stew. Here is a recipe. Marinate your chicken thighs with a bit of Ceylon Cinnamon powder before stir frying. It helps brown the chicken and adds a nice flavor with no hint of cinnamon because Ceylon Cinnamon is mild but creates multi layered flavors when mixed with other ingredients. You have got to try this Cinnamon ginger beef stir fry. If you are cooking a heaty lamb or goat, cinnamon powder helps get rid of that gamey taste. Use it in a red lentil soups with tomatoes,. It gives a lovey savory taste. Above all adding a touch of Ceylon Cinnamon creates that warmth.
Bake with Cinnamon powder – Add a pinch of Cinnamon to your muffins, cakes and other baked food. It adds a wonderful aroma, warming the body and creating a cozy feeling within you. Maybe some Cinnamon French toast is more your style. Check out this recipe.
Make a cup of Cinnamon tea. There are two ways to do this. Boil some Ceylon Cinnamon sticks and make into a caffeine free tea as shown here. But if that is too difficult try this Ceylon Cinnamon black tea infused with real premium quality Ceylon Cinnamon Bark Oil. This takes a premium quality Ceylon black tea World famous as the finest black tea and adds a few drops Ceylon Cinnamon. Bark Oil. The resulting tea is superlative with a depth of flavor unlike any other. And it keeps you warm for hours, tastes amazing and surprisingly your stomach will feel really good. as it gets rids of any bloating and heals digestive issues. For those who don’t like caffeine try this Ceylon Cinnamon ginger tea. A herbal tea made with dried Ginger, Ginger Oil and Cinnamon Oil. Ginger too heats the body and keeps you warm for hours. Yes you can add sugar because the powerful blood sugar lowering ability oF both ginger and Ceylon cinnamon will cancel out the sugar effect. The best part is this combination puts you into a deep sleep, relieving the pains in your body from a hard day of skiing on the slopes. Try it. You will not be disappointed. And you will wake up in the morning refreshed and relaxed.
Try the Ceylon Cinnamon Bark Oil – There are two ways use this. The first is to use a few drops in an aroma diffuser. Did you know that the scent of Cinnamon is a well known mood enhancer? It make people happier and gets rid of the winter blues. That’s why sometimes they pump the scent of cinnamon into retail stores. To make people happy and subtly induce them to buy more stuff.
But another little known trick of Cinnamon Oil is to dilute it in water or a carrier oil like baby oil and apply to hands and feet. Cinnamon Oil is hot and spicy. You have to dilute Ceylon Cinnamon Bark Oil to 1%. That means mixing 12 drops cinnamon oil in 2oz of water or baby oil. At 100% it will burn your skin. But when diluted it is fine for feet and hands although some people especially those very pale skin may feel an irritation on the skin. Think of it like tiger balm. All you need is a tiny bit. A little goes a long way. The oil sticks to your skin, keeping the skin surface warm for hours. If you dilute it with water in a spray mister bottle you can also spray the inside of your ski boots to disinfect and get rid bad odors. Obviously if you dilute it in baby oil it is not so easy to spray inside the boots. Let it dry naturally overnight if you spray the boots. All you need is a thin layer of spray. Not too much. After all you don’t want soggy boots right? It is one of the most powerful anti-bacterial and anti fungal known to man and keeps those nasty odors from your boots. If you have smelled heavily used ski boots you will know what we mean. A word of warning. Cinnamon oil can be a skin irritant so don’t apply it to other parts of the skin. Only on the soles of the feet and hands. Diluted to 1% with water or carrier oil it will keep those hands and feet nicely warm with an exotic mesmerizing aroma. The dilution chart is listed here.
A SKIERS GUIDE TO THE RIGHT FOOD
Food is a critical part of the great winter skiing experience. You need energy for skiing. Lots and lots of energy. New skiers make the mistake of not being prepared when it comes to food, often treating it as an after thought. That chocolate bar will give you an initial rush of energy, but then your insulin kicks in and gives you a downer. If you are diabetic this could get even worse. So a little bit of food preparation will give you a great experience.
Hydration First
Water is a food too. During cold weather our thirst receptors do not work as well. Many skier suffer a depletion of electrolytes such sodium, calcium, potassium, chloride, phosphate, and magnesium. This electrolyte balance can be affected by water. While it is true your water requirements are less it is no less important. If a skier becomes dehydrated, their body cannot maintain core temperatures. But plain water is not the perfect solution. What you need is a liquid with plenty of electrolytes, especially sodium. If you not inclined to take a sports drink, then a natural solution will work just as well. Orange juice with a dash of salt and honey can work just as well.
But who wants to drink a cold drink in winter right? Consider a Ginger tea with some honey or some Cinnamon tea with honey and lime. Always with a pinch of salt. Drinks which have carbohydrates and electrolytes are the best choice because both prevent a reduction in plasma osmolality (Seifert et. al., 1998). Even better a hot chocolate with a dash of Cinnamon. Of course it goes without saying alcohol and skiing is a very bad idea. Alcohol leads to dehydration. So that heavy drinking session after a hard day of skiing will wipe you out for the next day. Another great way to get plenty of electrolytes is to eat plenty of vegetables. Many people forget the vegetables and load up on carbs alone. Eat plenty of vegetables on skiing trips. They have valuable minerals and vitamins you need for skiing.
Carbohydrates
What you need to foods that gives you lots of long term slow release energy. Carbs are great for this while high fat food not so much, as it take time to digest and release energy with fats. Plenty of carbs and lean proteins -- but you also need to take into account cold weather in establishing the correct intake of electrolytes.
Reduce or avoid the fats
A 2012 study published in the "Asian Journal of Sports Medicine," discovered that both male and female athletes consumed too much fat and too few carbs. In addition, many Greek skiers were deficient in certain essential vitamins and minerals. While carbs are not a good idea for general health because of the potential to create weight gain and cause diseases such as diabetes, carbs are must the skier. Don’t feel guilty. You will burn it fast.
Proteins
Lean proteins such as chicken or lean cuts of beef is best. Goat and lamb like Cinnamon increases body heat. The Chinese believe certain foods increases body heat. These things like goat, lamb lobster, ginger and cinnamon. Other foods like cucumber, yoghurt, white fish reduce body heat. So heaty foods are best for winter sports as it keeps your blood circulating. Chicken is good, but Turkey is even better as it creates more body heat than chicken. Pork especially high fat cuts like pork belly or fatty bacon, may not be ideal. Maybe a nice steak and eggs breakfast with baked beans, a generous helping of vegetables and toast is the better choice.
Fruits and Vegetables
Meats actually provide more vitamins and minerals and nutrients than vegetables and fruit except Vitamin C. The highest amount of Vitamin C comes from vegetables like Bell pepper which has 305% DV of Vitamin C compared to 88% for orange juice. But why we need fruits and vegetables is for the fiber. According to this Harvard article “Fiber helps regulate the body’s use of sugars, helping to keep hunger and blood sugar in check “. There are two types of fiber, insoluble fiber which provides bulk to the stool to help it pass it through the digestive tract and soluble fiber which helps lower and LDL cholesterol and blood sugar.
Skiers need good levels of calcium as their bones are working much harder than ordinary folks. If you are allergic to dairy and sardines (some of the best sources of calcium) and then get plenty of leafy green vegetables like collard greens, 1 cup which of which provides 21% of your calcium needs.
However, you also need Vitamin D, Magnesium or Vitamin K to get the calcium into our bones. The best source for calcium from vegetables are Collard greens 11%, Turnip Greens 11% although Sardines provide 29% DV. The best source of magnesium are Spinach 21%, Squash 131%, Lima beans 18%, Mackerel 23% .
Strangely Vitamin K is more prevalent in vegetables with Kale – 681% DV, Mustard greens 494% Swiss Chard 692%, Collard Greens 339% Spinach 402% Broccoli 118% Brussels Sprouts 117% while meats have less with Beef Liver at 60% DV and Chicken at 43% DV per serving.
So, is there a vitamin and mineral that you can absolutely get only from vegetables especially for skiers? Yes, and that is Vitamin C. A nutrient your body needs to form blood vessels, cartilage, muscle and collagen in bone is vital to your body's healing process especially important to skiers. Yellow Bell pepper 305% DV, Broccoli 99% DV, Brussels sprouts 107%, Cauliflower 61% DV, Cabbage 63%, Guava 254% DV Kiwi fruit 103% DV Orange 59% DV.
Sugar or not
Should you be taking sugar directly in this age of diabetes? Many skiers do consume high sugar food. It’s a quick source of energy. It’s not a big issue especially since you tend to burn it off fast while skiing. The problem with sugar is you get addicted. It’ still a dirty source of energy. After you stop skiing and go home you tend to eat more sugar because it is addicting. You don’t burn it off like when you were skiing. But adding a 1-3 drops Ceylon Cinnamon Bark Oil to your highly sugared hot cocoa, tea or coffee will reduce the blood sugar. It makes the effects of sugar almost neutral depending on how many heaps of sugar you added to your coffee of tea.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it. You can add a touch of Ceylon Cinnamon to your ski regiment in many different ways. The Ceylon Cinnamon powder can be used to make great recipes and improve food palatability. The cinnamon teas are especially good to keep body heat within yourself. And the Ceylon Cinnamon Bark Oil can add that much needed warmth on your extremities and keep your blood circulating for optimum performance. But remember to eat right too. Heaty food combined with a good dose of Vitamin C and calcium is a must.
Sponsored Post by Cinnamon Vogue Inc
