Health Benefits Of Cinnamon

The Health Benefits of Cinnamon have been well known for over 5000 years and were recognized by the Egyptians, Ancient Romans and Chinese, some of whom considered the spice more precious than gold. From it’s first mention in a Chinese botanical book from approx 2700 BC to the present time, cinnamon has been prized for it’s medicinal as well as culinary uses.

Cinnamon has anti-microbial and anti-clotting properties and recent studies show its health benefits to include controlling blood sugar, improving colon and heart health and boosting brain power. These benefits are attributed to 3 main essential oils found in this tasty bark - cinnamyl alcohol, cinnamyl acetate and cinnamaldehyde as well as other substances.

The cinnamaldehyde is responsible for cinnamon's benefits in preventing blood clotting and has been well researched. It helps to prevent platelets from clumping together by inhibiting the release of arachidonic acid. This also causes it to be a powerful anti-inflammatory.

Cinnamon has been shown to be an anti-microbial food. Cinnamon's properties have made it efficacious also as a food preservative. In fact, one study done by the International Journal of Food Microbiology showed that adding a couple of drops of cinnamon essential oil to some carrot broth (which was then refrigerated) inhibited the growth of Bacillus cereus for 60 days.

Most recently, one health benefit that has been researched is that of the role of cinnamon in improving the insulin response of those with type 2 diabetes. In animals, humans and test tubes, cinnamon has shown to be able to improve insulin activity and help with the absorption of glucose. Recent studies on animals show it can even help to prevent insulin resistance, even on rats who were given a high fructose diet.

Another interesting health benefit that you can get simply from smelling cinnamon is improved cognative function. One study showed that just by smelling cinnamon or chewing cinnamon flavored gum, participants showed improved attention, working memory, virtual recognition memory, and motor speed.

One of the other health benefits of cinnamon that you don’t hear too much about is that it has calcium and fiber which can help protect the colon as well as the heart. It is also a good source of manganese and iron. The calcium and fiber bind to bile salts and can remove them from the body - these salts can damage colon cells. Also, once this bile is removed, the body has to break down cholesterol to make new bile so this can help lower your cholesterol level too!

Next Page: Cooking with Cinnamon

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