Cinnamon's Health Benefits

Cinnamon, renowned for its captivating scent and unique taste, has been cherished not just for its culinary allure but also for its potential health-enhancing properties. Research indicates that adding as little as half a teaspoon of cinnamon to daily meals can lead to significant improvements in various health indicators, especially among those with type 2 diabetes.

Since ancient times, cinnamon has been revered as one of the oldest spices known to humanity. Its illustrious history spans diverse cultures, with mentions found in ancient Chinese botanical texts dating back to 2800 BC, as well as in Egyptian scrolls and even sacred scriptures like the Bible. This enduring legacy highlights the deep cultural and medicinal significance attributed to cinnamon across civilizations.

Recent scientific investigations, exemplified by studies conducted at the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Maryland, have shed light on cinnamon's therapeutic potential. These studies demonstrate cinnamon's ability to regulate blood sugar and cholesterol levels, particularly in individuals grappling with type 2 diabetes, by enhancing cellular responsiveness to insulin. Over a 40-day study period, participants incorporating cinnamon into their diets experienced noteworthy reductions in blood sugar and triglyceride levels by an average of 25 percent, alongside a remarkable 20 percent improvement in LDL (bad) cholesterol.

The active compound underpinning cinnamon's therapeutic effects is a water-soluble polyphenol known as MHCP. This compound acts akin to insulin, facilitating glucose absorption and metabolism within cells. Notably, MHCP operates synergistically with insulin, augmenting its effects and contributing to better glycemic control and lipid profiles.

Crucially, MHCP is predominantly present in powdered forms of cinnamon, rather than in its oils. Therefore, integrating just half a teaspoon or less of cinnamon powder into daily dietary routines can yield substantial health benefits. Whether sprinkled on toast, cereal, or added to warm beverages like coffee and tea, cinnamon offers a simple yet delightful approach to bolstering overall health.

In summation, cinnamon epitomizes the enduring fusion of culinary delight and medicinal efficacy. Its storied past and scientifically supported health advantages underscore its position as a revered spice with profound implications for human well-being. By embracing cinnamon as a regular dietary addition, individuals can harness its therapeutic potential to pave the path towards improved health outcomes.
Cinnamon's Health Benefits

Cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon

Cinnamon bark is one of the most important and widely used species worldwide in cooking as well as for traditional medicinal purposes. Cinnamon is often used as an antidote for diarrhea and stomach upset as well as a metabolism booster.

Cinnamaldehyde is the main compound of the volatile oils which contribute to the aromatic smell of cinnamon.

The molecular formula of Cinnamaldehyde is C9H8O and it has a molecular weight of 132.16 g/mol. It is an oily fluid of yellow color and can result in skin irritation when exposed at high concentration.

Cinnamaldehydes are organic aromatic compounds containing a cinnamlaldehyde moiety, consisting of a benzene and an aldehyde group to form 3-phenylprop-2-enal. Cinnamaldehyde is practically insoluble (in water) and an extremely weak basic (essentially neutral) compound.

Besides its antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumor bioactivity, cinnamaldehyde was reported to aid as neuroprotection due to its potential in inhibiting tau protein aggregation, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Cinnamaldehyde is a sweet, candy, and cinnamon tasting compound.

The percentage of cinnamaldehyde in essential oil from steam distillation was about 90% and 62-73% from Soxhlet extraction.
Cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon

Cinnamon for weight loss

The effect of cinnamon on weight-loss can be termed as one of the most noteworthy benefits of the spice for people who are struggling with their body weight.

Its effect on sugar makes it helpful in losing weight because it lowers the percentage of bad cholesterol leaving the good ones the same.

It has been demonstrated that cinnamon can not only burn the excess fats accumulated in the body, but it can also prevent further weight gain.

Studies show that as little as one and a half teaspoons a day can make a marked improvement in increase metabolism and overall weight loss. And the results appear to be identical whether the cinnamon is baked, soaked or steeped or sprinkle fresh over the favorite food.

Cooking and baking apparently does not reduce the effectives of cinnamon’s weight loss abilities.
Cinnamon for weight loss

Cinnamon used as a preservative

Spices such as cinnamon have been used traditionally to preserve food products. The considerable antimicrobial, fungicidal and antioxidant properties of cinnamon provide a theoretical basis for its use.

Reports on the early use of spices or herbs as antimicrobial preservatives can be traced to 1550 BC, when ancient Egyptians used cinnamon and other spices both for food preservation and mummification.

Chamberlain (1887) first reported the antimicrobial activity of cinnamon oil against spores of anthrax bacilli. Chamberlain, M. (1887). Les essences au point de vue de leurs proprietes antiseptiques. Ann. Inst. Pasteur 1, 153-164.

Hoffman and Evans in 1911 were among the earliest to describe the preservative action of cinnamon, cloves, mustard, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, black pepper and cayenne pepper. (Hoffman, C and Evans, A.C (1911). The use of spices as preservatives. J. Indian Eng. Chem., 3, 835-838)

They found that cinnamon, cloves and mustard were most effective and ginger, black peer and cayenne pepper were least effective.

Bullerman (1964) reported that cinnamon in concentrations as low as 0.02% inhibited mold growth and aflatoxin production in culture media and cinnamon bread. (L. B Bullerman. Journal of Food Science Volume 39, Issue 6, pages 1163–1165, November 1974).
Cinnamon used as a preservative

Cinnamon health benefits

Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of two evergreen varieties: one native to Sri Lanka and southern India and another that grows in southeastern Asia.

Recent studies demonstrated that compounds found in cinnamon improves the function of insulin, function as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents and may be neuroprotective.

Cinnamon is showing promise as a way to prevent and counteract the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, having a beneficial effect on glucose levels and insulin sensitivity.

Cinnamon also lowers LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. It was said that cinnamon increased bilary secretion of cholesterol and phospholipids without affecting the bile content.

Cinnamon can be used to spice up hot beverages like tea or apple cider or sprinkle it on top of sugar-free cocoa.

Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacterial and viral attacks. Honey take with cinnamon powder can cures stomachache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.

Cinnamon fights cancer. Cinnamon may actually prevent the spread and growth of cancer cells. Cancer cells abnormally take up glucose, ignoring regular metabolic signals.

Ground cinnamon is made from the bark of the cinnamon tree and to contains three types of essential oils (cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl acetate and cinnamyl alcohol) that provide to with health-boosting properties, as well as a wide range of other active substances.

Cinnmaldehyde is the most prevalent compound in cinnamon with concentrations ranging from 6,000 to 30,000 ppm and has anesthetic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer and antiviral.
Cinnamon health benefits

The health benefits of cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice, derived from the bark of several trees belonging to the Cinnamomum genus that is well-known among kitchens and chefs around the world.

It is small evergreen tree 10-15 m tall with greenish flowers and has been known since antiquity.

Among the health benefits of cinnamon are:
*Cinnamon help blood sugar control. Cinnamon is showing promise as a way to prevent and counteract the symptoms of type 2 diabetes, having a beneficial effect on glucose levels and insulin sensitivity.

*Can have favorable effects on brain function and memory

*Cinnamon can prevent the spread and growth of cancer cells

*Soothes the stomach, and may help prevent ulcers

*Suppresses the bacteria that causes urinary tract infections and the fungus associated with yeast infections

*Reduces cholesterol levels – in particular, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides without affecting HDL cholesterol. These all reduce risk factors for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The studies show that as little as a quarter teaspoon per day can significantly lower the cholesterol.

*Cinnamon improves circulation, thins blood and aids in weight control

*It helps arthritis by improving blood circulation and has a warming effect that people with arthritis feel eases their symptoms. It was said that one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one table spoon of cinnamon powder, if taken regular even chronic arthritis can be cured.

More studies demonstrated that compounds found in cinnamon improve the function of insulin, functions as antioxidants, anti –inflammatory agents an may be neuroprotective.

Cinnamon’s unique health benefits come from three basic constituents in the essential oil in its bark. The main constituent of cinnamon bark is cinnamon oil, which contain mainly cinnamic acid, cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic alcohol.
The health benefits of cinnamon

The uses of cinnamon

Cinnamon is the dried inner bark of the cinnamon tree, and its value can scarcely be estimated. Cinnamon and cassia have been uses as spices and medicines since ancient times and have long been held in high esteem as aromatics as well as ingredients of oils and perfumes.

The bark has aromatic and sweet taste with a spicy fragrance, due to the presence of essential oil. From sprinkling in buttered toast to a cinnamon stick swirled in cider, the possibilities for using this spice are practically limitless.

The major use of cinnamon bark is for flavoring processed food, the aromatic ingredient of the bark improving the overall flavour of the food item. It is used equally in savory dishes and desserts. It is important for pickling and it is difficult to imagine rice pudding without it.

Cinnamon forms an ingredient of curry powder used in the preparation of meat, fish and vegetable dishes. Meat may be lightly sprinkled with cinnamon to bring out a new flavor, especially lamb chops.

Meat stews and boiled smoked shoulders are more than delicious when cinnamon is added while they are cooking.

One of the most delicious uses of cinnamon is in the flavoring ice-cream.

In medicine, it is frequently added to other substances; as to the bitter infusions, to improve their flavour and to purgatives, to check their griping qualities.
The uses of cinnamon

History of cinnamon

Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known. It was used in ancient Egypt not only as a beverage flavoring and medicinal herb but also as embalming agent.

Cinnamon has probably been known in the Mediterranean since the second millennium BC.

Herodotus describes is as being used in mummification and Ezekiel mentions it as one the commodities handled by the Tyrian trading network.

It was written that Nero, Emperor of Rome burned a years’ supply of cinnamon at a ceremony for the death of his wife.

In the early times, nomad tribes in Arabia were frequent traders in the markets along the Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf and on the coats of India. When they traded with merchants in India they were introduced to cinnamon.

The Indians have always used cinnamon lavishly, but the Greeks and Romans did not really introduce it into their cooking until the final period of the Roman Empire, around the third and fourth centuries.

During the late Middle Ages, cinnamon became one of the frost commodities traded regularly between Europe and the Near East.

The demand for cinnamon was enough to launch a number of explorers’ enterprises, especially exploration by the Dutch and Portuguese.  Cinnamon was one of the spices sought on European 15th and 16th century voyages.

During Dutch settlement in Ceylon, cinnamon made by them a lucrative article of trade and one which they strive by every means wholly to monopolize, this tree was not made by them an object of cultivation in Ceylon until 1766.

The Dutch controlled of cinnamon and their monopoly subsequently passed to Britain in 1796.

In 1771, the French introduce cinnamon to the Seychelles, and form 19th century cinnamon was more widely cultivated.   
History of cinnamon

The spice of cinnamon

The cinnamon spice is obtained by drying the central part of the bark and is marketed as quills or powder. The production of cinnamon is mostly limited to the wettest lowland areas of Southeast Asia.

It is widely used aromatic spice obtained from the dried inner bark of trees belonging to several species of Cinnamomum.

Cinnamon is classified in the botanical division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Magnoliates and family Lauraceae.

Cinnamon has sweet, woody fragrance in both ground and stick form. Cooks often used it to flavor baked goods and drinks, but cinnamon also works wonders in stews and sauces.

It is used in pulav, biryani, korma and most of the non-vegetarian dishes. Doughnuts may be passed though sugar and ground cinnamon and slices of apples for fritters may be sprinkled with cinnamon before frying. Cinnamon is used for making garam masala powder.

Cinnamon is also used in savory meat, chicken and lamb dishes. The sweet spicy flavor of cinnamon also enhances the taste of vegetables and fruits.

In western cooking, cinnamon was very popular used primarily to flavor desserts such as stewed fruits or spice cakes and rarely used in spicy dishes.

In Mexico, cinnamon is used to flavor coffee and it is a very important spice to that country.

In Greece, tomato based sauces are comprised of the spice cinnamon as one of the ingredient. The use of cinnamon gives the sauce a distinctively Greek flair.

Cinnamon bark is an agreeable astringent and cordial and as such is used with advantage in dysentery and looseness, proceeding from a weekend and languid state of the bowels, and in indigestion and chronic nervous debility.

In ancient times, because of its flavor and its scarcity, cinnamon was worth as much as fifteen times the value of silver.

The ancient Egyptians used it in embalming mixtures and in medieval Europe it was used in religious rites. Cinnamon was one of the first spices to be sought during the explorations of the ‘new world’ in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The spice of cinnamon

Ceylon and Cassia Cinnamon

Ceylon and Cassia Cinnamon
Ceylon cinnamon, the true cinnamon of commerce, is the dried inner bark of Cinnamomum zeylanicum, an evergreen tree belonging to the laurel family and native to Ceylon.

The spice is not imported in large amounts into United States but is in demand in other parts of the world.

The dried bark assume the form of a cylinder, which is cut into short lengths and marketed as Ceylon cinnamon sticks.

Ground cinnamon is used as a baking spice for cakes, breads, buns cookies and pies. Ceylon cinnamon has fragrant odor and a warm, sweet, aromatic taste.

Ground Ceylon cinnamon contains starch grains about the size of allspice. Bark fibers are more numerous than in cassia cinnamon but no cork is present. Stone cells are somewhat similar to those in allspice.

The bark of Ceylon cinnamon contains 0.5 – 1.0% of steam volatile essential oil. The principal flavor constituent is cinnamic aldehydes (55 – 75%) and small amount =s (4 – 8%) of eugenol.

Cassia cinnamon is prepared from dried bark of cinnamon cassia, an evergreen tree native to South Vietnam and the eastern Himalayas.

Cassia bark has more intense aroma, higher essential oil content, and is less delicately flavored than Ceylon cinnamon.

These two species are obtained from two different species of plants grown in different areas.

However their nomenclature has been used so interchangeably that they have come to mean the same product.

More cassia cinnamon than Ceylon cinnamon is used in the United Sates. The primary sources for cassia cinnamon are Saigon cassia, C. loureirii (nees); Korinji “thick quill,” C. burmannii (Blume); grown in Sumatra; Padang “thin quill”; and C. sintok (Blume), produced in Malaysia.

Cassia is used by bakers, confectioners, fruit canners and other food processor in the same manner as Ceylon cinnamon.

The volatile oil of cassia contains form 75 to 90% of cinnamic aldehydes together with smaller amounts of related aldehydes.

Adulterated reported in the ground spice include exhausted cassia, ground bark, cassia buds, nutshells and other cheaper material.
Ceylon and Cassia Cinnamon

Cinnamon

Spices and Herbs
Recent studies have determined that consuming as little as one-half a teaspoon of cinnamon daily may reduce blood sugar, cholesterol (LDL) and triglyceride levels by as much as 20% in type 2 diabetes who are not taking insulin.

The dried bark of the cinnamon tree is one of the world’s oldest known spices. It is mentioned in the earliest Chinese botanical dialogue, which dates back to about 2800 BC, as well as in Egyptian papyruses and the Bible.

According to a research study by Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Maryland, cinnamon helps control blood sugar and cholesterol in people with Type 2 diabetes increases cells’ sensitivity to insulin. After 40 days, subjects taking cinnamon reduced their blood sugar and triglycerides by an average of 25 percent, and they saw a nearly 20 percent improvement in LDL (bad) cholesterol.

The active ingredient in cinnamon turned out to be a water-soluble polyphenol compound called MHCP. MHCP mimics insulin, activates its receptors and works synergistically with insulin in cells.

This element can only be found in the powdered forms of cinnamon, but not in oils. One-half teaspoon or less does the trick, so sprinkle a little cinnamon on your toast, cereal, (hot or cold), coffee and tea.
Cinnamon