Cinnamon is a powerful spice that has been medicinally used around the world for thousands of years. it is still used daily in many cultures because of its widespread health benefits. According to the researchers, out of 26 most popular herbs and medicinal spices in the world, cinnamon is actually rank no.1 in terms of its protective antioxidant level. The unique color smell and flavor of cinnamon is due to its oily part of the tree that it grows from. The health benefits of cinnamon comes from its bark of Cinnamomum tree. The dark contain several compounds which are responsible for its health promoting properties including cinnamaldehyde, cinnamate and cinnamic acid.
The researcher has found that the health benefits of cinnamon can be obtained in the form of its pure bark, in ground spice form and essential oil form, or in extract form when its special phenolic compounds, flavonoids and antioxidant are isolated. These compound make cinnamon of the most beneficial spices on the earth, giving it anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, immunity boosting, cancer and heart disease promoting abilities.
Benefits of Cinnamon:
1.) Medicinal Properties
Cinnamon is a spice that is made from the inner bark of trees called Cinnamomum. It is cheap and available in every supermarket and found in all sorts of foods and recipes.
- There are two main types of cinnamon
- Ceylon cinnamon- known as true cinnamon
- Cassia cinnamon- this is the more common variety tody which people generally refer to as cinnamon.
- Cinnamon is made by cutting the stems of the Cin amomum tree. The inner bark is extracted and the woody parts removed from it.
- When it dries, it forms the strips that curl into rolls which are called cinnamon sticks. The sticks can be ground to form the cinnamon powder.
- The distinct flavor and smell of cinnamon are due to its oily part, which is very high in a compound called cinnamaldehyde. It the compound which is responsible for most of its effect on health and metabolism.
2.) Antioxidant
One of the benefits of cinnamon is antioxidant in nature. Antioxidants protect the body from oxidative damage caused by free radicals. Cinnamon is full with a powerful antioxidant such as polyphenols.
- According to the study that compares the antioxidant activity of 26 spices, cinnamon was found as the clear winner, even outranking superfoods like oregano and garlic.
- It is so powerful that, it is used as a natural food preservative.
3.) Anti-inflammatory Property
Inflammation in the body is incredibly important as it helps the body to fight infections and repair tissue damage.
- But inflammation can become a problem when it si chronic and directed against the body’s own tissues.
- Some studies show that the antioxidant in it have potent anti-inflammatory activity.
4.) Reduce Risk of Heart Disease
Cinnamon is found to be helpful to reduce the risk of heart disease, which is the world’s most common causes of premature death. It is considered as one of the main benefits of cinnamon
- People with type 2 diabetes, 1 gm of cinnamon per day has beneficial effects on blood markers. It reduces the level of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, while HDL cholesterol remains stable.
- According to the study concluded that a dose of just about 120mg of cinnamon per day can have a these effects. In this study cinnamon also increased HDL cholesterol.
- In animal studies, cinnamon has been shown to reduce blood pressure.
- When it will combine, all these factors can drastically reduce the risk of heart disease.
5.) Improve Sensitivity to the Hormone Insulin
Insulin is one of the main hormones that regulate the metabolism and energy use.
- It is also essential fo the transport of blood sugar level from the metabolism and into the cells.
- But the problem is that many people are resistant to the effects of insulin. this condition is called insulin resistance, is a hallmark of serious conditions like type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
- The good news is that cinnamon can reduce insulin resistance, helping this incredibly important hormone to do its job. by helping insulin to do its job, cinnamon can help to lower the blood sugar levels.
6.) Lower Blood Sugar Level
One of the main benefits of cinnamon is it help to lower the blood sugar level
- Apart from its property to insulin resistance, cinnamon can lower blood sugar level by several another mechanism.
- It as been shown to decrease the amount of glucose that enters the bloodstream after a meal.
- Cinnamon does this by interfering with numerous digestive enzymes, which slows down the breakdown of carbohydrate in the digestive tract.
- A compound in a cinnamon act on cells by mimicking insulin.
- This helps to improve the glucose uptake by cells and acts much slower than insulin itself.
- Numerous human trials have confirmed that anti-diabetic effects on cinnamon, that it can lower the fasting blood sugar level by up to 10 to 29%.
- The effective dose is typically 1 to 6 grams of cinnamon per day.
7.) Neurodegenerative Disease
Neurodegenerative disease is characterized by progressive loss of the structure or function of brain cells.
- Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer disease are two of the most common type of disease.
- Two compounds found in cinnamon appear to inhibit the buildup of a protein called tau in the brain, it is one of the main symbols of Alzheimer disease.
- According to the study looking at the mice with Parkinson disease found that cinnamon helps to protect neurons, normalize the neurotransmitter level and improve the motor function. It is considered as one of the main benefits of cinnamon
8.) Cinnamon Treat Cancer
Cinnamon is widely used in cancer prevention and treatment. However, the evidence is limited to test tube experiments and animal studies, which suggest that cinnamon extracts can protect against cancer.
- It acts by reducing the growth of cancer cells and the formation of blood vessels in tumors, it appears to be toxic to cancer cells and cause cell death. It is considered as one of the main benefits of cinnamon.
- A study conducted in mice with colon cancer found that cinnamon to be a potent activator of detoxifying enzymes in the colon, protect against further cancer growth.
- Their finding were supported by the test tube experiment, which showed that cinnamon activates the protective antioxidant response in human colon cells.
- Cinnamon has any effect in living, breathing in humans need to be confirmed in control trails.
9.) Fight Bacterial and Fungal Infection
Cinnamaldehyde is the main active component present in cinnamon help to fight various kind of infection. Cinnamon oil has been shown to effectively treat respiratory and infections caused by fungi.
- It can also inhibit the growth of certain bacteria, including salmonella and listeria.
- The antimicrobial effects of cinnamon also help to prevent tooth decay and reduce bad breath.
- The antimicrobial effects of cinnamon may also help prevent tooth decay and reduce bad breath (
10.) Cinnamon help to Fight HIV Virus
HIV is a virus that slowly breaks down the immune system, which can lead to AIDS if untreated. Cinnamon which is extracted from Cassia varieties is thought to help to fight against HIV-1
- This is the most common strain of the HIV virus found in humans.
- A laboratory study happening at HIV infected cells found that cinnamon was the most effective treatment of all the 69 medical plants studied.
- Human trials are also needed to confirm these effects.
11.) Helps Fight Allergies
Studies have found that those with allergies can find relief due to the benefits of cinnamon compounds. Cinnamon has been shown to fight with the common allergy symptoms because it reduces the inflammation and fights histamines reactions in the body. For the same reason, it can also reduce the symptoms of asthma attacks. It also has immune boosting abilities which is beneficial for digestive health, which helps to cut down autoimmune reactions that can take place after consuming common allergens foods.
12.) Benefit Skin Health
Cinnamon has antimicrobial and antibiotic effects that can protect skin from irritation, allergic reactions, rashes, and infections. Applying cinnamon essential oil directly on the skin can help to reduce inflammation, pain, swelling and redness. Cinnamon and honey, another antimicrobial ingredient are frequently used together to boost skin health and beneficial rosacea, acne and sign of skin allergies.
