Are there any known health benefits to eating cinnamon?

Question

I have a coworker that adds cinnamon to tea, oatmeal, you name it. We were wondering if there were any known & documented health benefits to eating cinnamon.

Answer 1

Cinnamon is excellent or those with Type 2 diabetes, supports digestive tract and with hypoglycemia, for it balances your blood sugar.
Cinnamon is also known for relieving congestion, menstrual discomfort, and is an anti-clotting and anti-macrobial agent. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Cinnamon as a cooking spice is widely used in Mexican, Indian and other world cuisines; it is used for both sweet and savory dishes. Health wise cinnamon is a warming herb that aids digestion, aids circulation, is high in anti-oxidants and has anti-fungal properties. It has a reputation of helping a person get over colds but I believe that like ginger it is the improved circulation/sweating effect that causes this. You can eat cinnamon daily as many people do; you can also use it in teas and infusions like chai. If you are looking for a good anti-viral from the local supermarket fresh garlic might be a better choice; one clove a day will do for a start. Cinnamon tastes better to most but you can be the judge of the effects of both. By the way make sure that the stuff you are talking about is cinnamon. There are two spices called cinnamon- 'true' cinnamon and 'cassia' cinnamon which are unfortunately interchangeable in most stores. 'True' cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) has negligible amounts of coumarin (a toxic chemical); cassia cinnamon (Cinnamomum aromaticum) has a much higher level of coumarin and European health agencies have recently warned against consuming large amounts of this spice.

Answer 3

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Cinnamon Helps Type 2 Diabetes
The search for a natural way to keep blood sugar levels normal began more than a decade ago when ARS chemist Richard A. Anderson and co-workers at the Beltsville (Maryland) Human Nutrition Research Center assayed plants and spices used in folk medicine. They found that a few spices—especially cinnamon—made fat cells much more responsive to insulin, the hormone that regulates sugar metabolism and thus controls the level of glucose in the blood

Anderson and colleagues found that its most active compound—methylhydroxy chalcone polymer (MHCP)—increased glucose metabolism roughly 20-fold in a test tube assay of fat cells.

This research is part of Human Nutrition, an ARS National Program (#107) described on the World Wide Web at http://www.nps.ars.usda.gov/programs/appvs.htm.

Richard A. Anderson is at the USDA-ARS Bldg. 307, Room 224, 10300 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705-2350; phone [phone], fax [phone].
USDA study

found that the beneficial effects of

Cinnamon lasted for at least 20 days after people stopped taking it



Cinnamon joins battle against cholesterol
Alam Khan, PhD, with the NWFP Agricultural University in Peshawar, Pakistan.
The 60 men and women in Khan's study had a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes for an average of 6 1-2 years but were not yet taking insulin. The participants in his study had been on antidiabetic drugs that cause an increase in the release of insulin. Each took either wheat-flour placebo capsules or 500 milligram cinnamon capsules.

Group 1 took 1 gram (two capsules equaling about one-quarter of a teaspoon) for 20 days.
Group 2 took 3 grams (six capsules, equaling a little less than one teaspoon) for 20 days.
Group 3 took 6 grams (12 capsules, equaling about one and three-quarters teaspoons) for 20 days.
Blood samples were taken at each level of the study.

Cinnamon made a difference! Twenty days after the cinnamon was stopped, there were significant reductions in blood glucose levels in all three groups that took cinnamon, ranging from 18 to 29%. But these was one peculiar finding that researchers don't understand at this point. Only the group that consumed the lowest level of cinnamon continued with significantly improved glucose levels -- group 1. The placebo groups didn't get any significant differences.

Taking more cinnamon seems to improve the blood levels of fats called triglycerides. All the patients had better triglyceride levels in their 40-day tests -- between 23% to 30% reductions. Those taking the most cinnamon had the best levels.

In groups taking cinnamon pills, blood cholesterol levels also went down, ranging from 13% to 26%; LDL cholesterol also known as "bad" cholesterol went down by 10% to 24% in only the 3- and 6-gram groups after 40 days. Effects on HDL ("good cholesterol") were minor.

Cinnamon should be part of our daily diet -- whether we have type 2 diabetes or not, writes Kahn. However, for the best effects, just a sprinkle isn't enough.


Cinnamon Sticks 1 lb

US$ 14






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Answer 4

YES! It can aid in lowering cholesterol, with diabetes, and is an exellent antioxidant agent. Plus the flavor is good. The pure, unrefined stick brings natural benefits.
Eating cinnamon in excess is not so good either, but a good balanced diet with the right spices, voila!! can make you feel great!

Answer 5

eating a gram of cinnamon daily can supposedly help with good cholesterol levels and also lower blood sugar levels

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14633804

Answer 6

Yes, at some amount is supposed to increase metabolism and regulate the release of glucose or insulin into the body.

Answer 7

It can help to regulate blood sugar so it is helpful for diabetics. Too much can be toxic though.

Answer 8

it is supposed to help control blood sugar.

Answer 9

This question has been well-answered:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=Ali343sKpY74ZvJm3q7gg_kjzKIX?qid=1006051710592