Holiday healing

There's nothing better than putting aside a Sunday afternoon for holiday baking. Every family has their traditional favorite, whether it's gingerbread men, pumpkin pie or poppyseed cookies. But did you know that some of the same spices used in holiday cooking also have medicinal properties? Granted, it usually takes a lot more than a half teaspoon of the spice to have any effect, and eating cookies isn't the way to treat what's ailing you, but here's a look at what some of these favorite holiday flavors have to offer.

Cinnamon: (Cinnamomum verum) The spice used for culinary purposes is from the dried bark of the laurel tree. The medicinal parts, however, are the oils, extracted …