Health Benefits of Cinnamon

While you may think of it as just a tasty addition to French toast or rice puddin, there are many health benefits of cinnamon. There are many types of cinnamon, but the health studies conducted typically use Cassia, the type normally found in grocery stores.

Cinnamon is a natural blood thinner. See more in this slideshow!

In China, cinnamon has been used for hundreds of years. It is believed to improve vitality, boost energy, and increase circulation. It was often given to people who had cold feet. It is an important ingredient in chai, helping with the digestion of fruits and dairy products.

Other traditional uses for cinnamon are:

• Colds
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Flatulence
• Painful menstruation
• Diabetes
• Indigestion

It is a common ingredient in many cultures and health philosophies including ayurveda. Practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine often recommend it for the kapha type

More modern, scientific studies have also shown the health benefits of cinnamon. One of the first studies on humans observed sixty people with type 2 diabetes for forty days. Each of the participants in the study took one, three, or six grams of cinnamon per day. This was given to them in pill form, although it is equivalent to one quarter to one teaspoon of cinnamon. The results, published in Diabetes Care (a medical journal), demonstrate that all three amounts had a beneficial effect on the blood sugar as well as cholesterol levels of the patients.

• Total cholesterol was reduced by 12 to 26 percent
• LDL cholesterol was reduced by 7 to 27 percent
• Triglycerides were reduced by 23 to 30 percent
• Fasting blood glucose was reduced by 18 to 29 percent

These studies, and others done since suggest that cinnamon has a regulatory effect on blood sugar.

• In another study, done by the United States Department of Agriculture in Maryland, cinnamon reduced leukemia and lymphoma cells.
• At Copenhagen University, arthritis patients were given half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder mixed with a tablespoon of honey every morning. This was taken on an empty stomach. In one week patients reported significant pain relief and within a month were able to walk without pain.
• Kansas State University did research with cinnamon and found that it fights E. coli bacteria in unpasteurized juice.

These studies are not the only ones. Researchers are finding new benefits of cinnamon every day. For example, recently animal studies have shown cinnamon to be active against Candida albicans (a fungus that causes yeast infections) and Helicobacter pylori (the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers).

Cinnamon is also known for the following actions:

• Anti-clotting effect on the blood
• Natural food preservative
• Stops medication resistant yeast infections
• Smelling cinnamon boosts memory
• Protect the colon against cancer
• Anti-inflammatory
• Protects against coronary artery disease
• Effective against head lice
• Protects against stroke
• Source of:
  • Manganese
  • Iron
  • Calcium
  • Fiber

Sprinkling some cinnamon on your toast or eating a cinnamon roll is not going to affect the medication that you may be taking. However, if you decide to use therapeutic doses of cinnamon you should discuss your plans with your health care provider. This is especially true if you are taking any of the following medications or have the conditions listed:

• Diabetes medication
• Anti-clotting medications such as Coumadin
• Bleeding disorders
• During pregnancy

Cinnamon is also a beneficial essential oil. As such it is used for:

• Low blood pressure
• Stress
• Constipation
• Lice
• Rheumatism

It is important that cinnamon oils not be taken internally because ingestion of these concentrated oils can be fatal.

The health benefits of cinnamon are varied. Adding a sprinkle of cinnamon to your morning oatmeal, drinking a cup of chai, or stirring some into the cookies you are baking are all great ways to add this beneficial spice to your diet. Always consult your doctor or health care provider before using cinnamon in the therapeutic doses that the researchers used. Being healthy never tasted so sweet!.

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