Cinnamon and Your Health
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Health Benefits of Cinnamon
Cinnamon is useful during all seasons, but fall, the season we are enjoying as I type this, conjures up images of hot cocoa with a cinnamon stick, or a hot cup of tea with cinnamon. And who can forget cinnamon toast, something my grandmother and mother gave us as children...a little butter, a little sugar, and a little cinnamon sprinkled on the top. At that time, I thought of cinnamon as a seasoning, but studies show us that it is much more.
"We were looking at the effects of common foods on blood sugar; one was the American favorite, apple pie, which is usually spiced with cinnamon. We expected it to be bad. But it helped," he says. The active ingredient in cinnamon turned out
to be a water-soluble polyphenol compound called MHCP. In test tube
experiments, MHCP mimics insulin, activates its receptor, and works
synergistically with insulin in cells. To see if it would work in people, Alam Khan, who was a postdoctoral fellow in Anderson's lab, organized a study in Pakistan. Volunteers with Type 2 diabetes were given one, three or six grams of cinnamon powder a day, in capsules after meals. All responded within weeks, with
blood sugar levels that were on average 20 per cent lower than a
control group. Some even achieved normal blood sugar levels. Tellingly,
blood sugar started creeping up again after the diabetics stopped
taking cinnamon. In the volunteers, the Cinnamon also lowered
blood levels of fats and "bad" cholesterol, which are also partly
controlled by insulin. And in test tube experiments it neutralized free
radicals, damaging chemicals which are elevated in diabetics. Cinnamon's
essential oils also qualify it as an "anti-microbial" food, and
cinnamon has been studied for its ability to help stop the growth of
bacteria as well as fungi, including the commonly problematic yeast
Candida.
In addition to the active components in its
essential oils and its nutrient composition, cinnamon has also been
valued in energy-based medical systems, such as Traditional Chinese
Medicine, for its warming qualities. In these traditions, cinnamon has
been used to provide relief when faced with the onset of a cold or flu,
especially when mixed in a tea with some fresh ginger.
Note
Added 1/12/07 - Someone contacted me and reminded me that Cinnamon is
also know for it's ability to regulate menstrual flow in woman.
I also received a comment that excessive amounts of Cinnamon can be
toxic from someone, but no supporting evidence as to how much, if
anyone has such information, let me know. But taken in amounts
suggested, I would think all will be fine. Too much of anything
is generally not a good thing.
You
will find Ceylon Cinnamon used in many of your favorite Wholefood
Farmacy foods including Phi Plus, DetoxiPhi, Joule and
Cornaborealis. Thank you to the Wholefood Farmacy for this interesting article, a source of delicious organic snacks.
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