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Health Effects of Cinnamon

True cinnamon comes from the cinnamon tree, but much of the spice sold as cinnamon today is actually cassia, a close relative. There is evidence that cinnamon bark was used in China both as a spice and a medicine as much as 4800 years ago and in ancient Egypt for embalming. Three chemicals in the bark of both the cinnamon and the cassia trees are credited with giving them their health benefits. They are cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl alcohol and cinnamyl acetate.

  1. Blood Sugar Control

    • Research by the U.S. Agricultural Research Service shows that type 2 diabetics who take less than a half-teaspoon of cinnamon a day will have lower blood sugar levels. Another study showed that cinnamon slows the rate at which our stomachs empty, which reduces the quick increase in blood sugar after eating. In addition, animal studies have shown that the compounds in cinnamon increase the efficiency of the body's insulin use, making it more glucose tolerant. So far there is no direct evidence that cinnamon helps type 1 diabetes.

    Anti-Microbial

    • Cinnamon slows the growth of microbes and can be used as a food preservative, one that is often already present as a flavoring ingredient. Animal and test tube studies have shown it to be an effective treatment for fungal infections such as Candida albicans, the fungi responsible for vaginal yeast infections and thrush, a yeast infection of the mouth's mucous tissues. It has also been shown effective against a bacterium responsible for many stomach ulcers, Helicobacter pylori.

    Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Clotting

    • Cinnamon can help prevent blood clots.

      The cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon helps prevent blood clots by inhibiting the release of arachidonic acid, an inflammatory fatty acid in blood platelet membranes. This also makes cinnamon an anti-inflammatory food, helpful in reducing inflammation.

    Gastrointestinal Care

    • Cinnamon can be used to relieve or eliminate excessive intestinal gas, and it has traditionally been used by herbalists to treat diarrhea and the morning sickness accompanying pregnancy. It contains compounds called catechins that help relieve nausea, and animal and test tube studies confirm its effectiveness in breaking up intestinal gas.

    Other Benefits

    • Smelling cinammon has been shown to improve cognitive processing.

      A German study showed cinnamon to be effective against the bacteria that causes most urinary tract infections. A 2004 study showed that simply smelling cinnamon or chewing cinnamon gum improved memory and other cognitive processes. Cinnamon is an excellent source of manganese and a very good source of iron and dietary fiber.

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