More than just an aromatic and flavorful spice, cinnamon is also an effective health treatment. A staple part of the diet that dates back to 2000 BC, cinnamon has been used historically to treat such conditions as coughing, arthritis and sore throats. Today, its health applications and uses seem limited only by the individual’s imagination and ability to tolerate the spice.
What is Cinnamon?
A spice obtained from the bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum, cinnamon is an aromatic spice used in cooking and baking savory and sweet foods. The spice is harvested by growing a tree for two years and then cutting it to ground level. The bark is then scraped off and beaten into long rolls. While still wet, the bark is processed rendering the characteristic spice.
Health Benefits of Cinnamon
While the spice is best known as a flavorful ingredient, its efficacy extends far beyond the kitchen. Cinnamon plays an important role in traditional medicine and possesses a variety of healthful effects.
With its natural composition, cinnamon is considered a medicinal substance in a variety of ways. The compound can be used effectively as an anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antibacterial agent. It also functions to stimulate brain and nerve function as well as to cleanse and detox the body.
As such, cinnamon has been identified as an effective treatment option for a variety of conditions. Research suggests that cinnamon is effective for treating HIV, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. It can also be used to regulate diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure. As it is an antifungal agent, cinnamon can also alleviate fungal infections such as candida. The substance is even able to regulate metabolism and aid in weight loss.
More than just a good cooking spice, cinnamon is also a great health remedy. The spice can be used to treat a wide range of conditions including diabetes and high cholesterol.
I have been eating 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of saigon Cinnamon a day for over 8 weeks. I do not have to take prilosec for acid reflux or heartburn anymore. Even when I feel the symptom a quick does of Cinnamon takes it away almost instantly.
Please let me know how I should have cinnamon powder and when for acidity.
I bet if you took it daily it would be of great benefit. Right now I’m in the hospital for gut sepsis,and fistula. I had a lung clot as a complication, of course I didn’t want to take rat poison so they put me on xeralto, which I’m not crazy about either. Besides making my wound bleed, it also jacks my blood sugar to the hundreds, which us not typical at all. I’m still under their control in the hospital but they are allowing me to take my supplements. Cinnamon ( 2 grams 3 times a day with meals). My blood sugar hasn’t quite gone to below 100 but it has satisfied my nurses at less than 150.
Another very important strategy for the gut is multiple species of probiotics. I am using Swanson’s 25 species. There are finally many brands put now that are getting on board and coming up with good probiotics. Just avoid refrigerated ones. Those are Luce and I discovered the delivery truck to my health food store would gave unstable temperatures and freeze the bacteria to death. So paying overpriced prices for dead product. Look for spore form, don’t need refrigeration.
I have long suspected that cinnamon stops heartburn dead in its tracks. I took Tagamet and Zantac for years, until they stopped working. Then Prilosec hit the market; took that for 10 years until it stopped working. Then on to Nexium……then it stopped working. Ditto for Axcid, Aciphex, Protonix, etc. One night, I was SO MISERABLE with my symptoms, I Tried everything, including drinking an entire bottle of Gaviscon, to no avail. As I sat on the sofa, I spotted a dish of cinnamon disks in a candy dish and, against my better judgment, I grabbed two and popped them into my mouth, and then waited for the fire in my esophagus to REALLY come roaring back even worse than ever, and…..NOTHING! It had completely STOPPED the raging burn in its tracks. I will be researching this much further.
Cinnamon has helped the arthritis in my ankles/feet ever so much!!! WOW. I take 1t of cinnamon mixed with 1 t of organic honey before my coffee in the morning. I feel 80% better. I love cinnamon anyway so it is great that this is helpful. Thank you once again Earthclinic peeps!!!
Hello, I am new to this site; am really enjoying and learning alot! I have a question for anyone that takes cinnamon supplements. Are there any recommendations of which brand? I know it helps reduce inflammation and would like to take it daily.
Hello Rocky. I currently take cinnamon myself & have been quite a while now. You should look preferably for an organic cinnamon product. There are many to choose from but make sure you do get organic. Google cinnamon research & its many health benefits.
I have also gotten my mother on it for her diabetes which this substance is known for helping treat. I take 1/2 tsp twice daily with a little water or olive oil. You can take it with or without food but I take it right after meals. Good luck & God Bless!
Try cinnamon on your next burn. I keep it in my car, back/sports pack, work & kitchen. Any burn; iron, gas/electric/wood stove, insect or jellyfish sting, motorcycle muffler or abrasion can be remedied using this native healing product. Our family has been using for generations for it’s anispetic/healing capability. May be applied as often as needed. Doesn’t stain clothing or furniture. Promotes healing via it’s phytochemical compounds to reduce pain, counteract bacteria and disinfect wounds without blistering and little to no scarring. I’ve had 3rd degree burns from a clothes iron (inner arm) and from motorcycle pipes (leg calf) and have no scarring. Use it on my grandkids at the beach when they encounter jelly fish. Simply shake on, the pain is immediately gone. If pain returns (as with 2nd & 3rd degree burns) simply shake on more. Blistering will be minimal & will not run (aka ‘leak’). Scabbing will look slightly darker than normal, but will come off without leaving any disfigurment to the skin surface. On major injuries, I use until fully scabbed. (And it smells good too! )
Hi Guys, I have had this disease from few years now & never bothered till the bumps & lumps got bigger & spreading with marks on my skin…. I got this disease all around my pubic hair….
I have found a remedy after trying nearly everything I read abt this diesease….
Try this and in a months time not only will you get rid of the marks & scars…. But it is the best remedy for this diesease….
No surgery needed…..
All you need is honey & cinnamon powder….
Yes thats it….
One tablespoon of honey & one half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder…. Mix them & make a paste…… Apply this all over your infected area & cover it with tissue…. Or any cloth leave it for three to four hours…. Do this preferably before you go to sleep…..
The best bit is it smells good & is good for ur skin as well…..
In one months time….. You are free from this chronic disease….
Good luck & be well…
Mark
To either Lisa from Oakland or Bill from San Fernando, Ted recommends 2 drops of cinnamon oil in cup of water for antibacteria purpose, can I use the essential cinnamon oil ? What kind of cinnamon oil is Ted talking about?
My husband began taking 1 tablespoon of Really Raw Honey and 1 teaspoon of ceylon (sweet) cinnamon about 5-6 weeks ago for his arthritis in his knees. He takes this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and does not eat for at least an hour afterward. He could see a definite improvement after the first week and every week since. He now has no pain in his knees at all, unless he stands up too long at one time. Before, his knees were always in pain.
If you are going to use Cinnamon, make sure it is pure Ceylon Cinnamon, and not Cassia which contains 5 % Coumarin, a toxin that is very harmful to the liver and kidneys. Ceylon Cinnamon only has .05% Coumarin. The Cinnamon you purchase in the stores or Supermarkets has little or no curative properties… I had to send away to Sri Lanka to get the TRUE CINNAMON Good Health…
Ehmmm, Coumarin can be neutralized with vitamin K.”
01/07/2012: Arher from Bangkok, Thailand replies: “The better way to avoid Coumarin is select only cinnamon from Ceylon. As I know the ‘Coumarin’ in cinnamon only from Cinnamomum cassia Presl Spicy =Lauraceae(Cortex Cinnamomi) Cassia Bark (The State Pharmacopoeia Commission of P. R. China. Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China. Vol. I. English Edition. Beijing: People’s Medical Publishing House, 2005.)