Cinnamon Health Benefits & Home Remedies

Brief history

Cinnamon belongs to the Lauraceae family. There are approximately 250 species of cinnamon identified today in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, like Asia, South and Central America and Australia⁴⁹. Some of the most known ones are Cinnamomum verum, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinnamomum cassia, Cinnamomum aromaticum, Cinnamomum burmannii, and Cinnamomum loureiroi. However, the four major commercial types of cinnamon are the C. zeylanicum (also known as True cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon or Mexican cinnamon), the C. burmannii (also known as Indonesian or Java cinnamon), the C. loureiroi (also known as Vietnamese or Saigon cinnamon) and the C. aromaticum  (also known as Cassia or Chinese cinnamon). As many other plants, depending on where they grow they contain different concentrations of the important compounds that play a role in our diet and are also used for medicinal purposes.  The genus name Cinnamomum derives from the Greek word “kinamomon”, which means spice¹ and sweet wood².

Health benefits

Anti-oxidant

Cinnamon is full of polyphenols. Due to the pro-cyanidines^{19, 32, 33, 34, 36, 41, 44} and many other compounds like cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, and linalool that cinnamon contains, it has great antioxidant activity. However, different cinnamon species contain different amount of antioxidant compounds and there is still need for further research on that so as the consumers know which species of cinnamon to use in order to benefit from certain compounds.

Natural diabetes treatment and prevention

In several animal and human studies compounds of cinnamon have been shown to contribute to the control of diabetes^{18, 28, 41}. More specifically, Linalool, a well-known compound of cinnamon induces the secretion of insulin. Naphthalenemethyl ester, another compound that cinnamon contains, has also been shown to reduce the glucose blood levels²⁰. Polyphenol type-A polymers from cinnamon act as insulin-like molecules¹. It is interesting that adults who took 500mg of aqueous cinnamon extract per day had lower blood sugar levels and could prevent the development of type 2 diabetes¹. Many scientific studies, have also proved that cinnamon can reduce the blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Finally, cinnamon can improve the function of pancreas, the organ that is responsible for the regulation of the sugar in the blood²⁹. Thus, introducing cinnamon in your daily diet could help you control your blood sugar levels. 

Anti-inflammatory

According to various animal studies cinnamon has great anti-inflammatory activity mostly due to the polyphenols, the flavonoids and the cinnamaldehyde that it contains^{6, 10, 31, 45, 46}.

Consequently, cinnamon could be effectively used against several inflammatory diseases such as degenerative neuroinflammatory diseases³, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), viral or microbial infections which also cause inflammation in the body as well as possibly against allergies. In a recent human study⁴³, cinnamon (2g/d) was given together with antirheumatic drugs for 8 weeks to 18 women with rheumatoid arthritis. These women had less severe symptoms and reduced blood markers of inflammation comparing to the controls. Introducing cinnamon in your daily diet could also help you reduce inflammation and boost your immune system.

Antimicrobial

Cinnamon and its oils have been studied a lot for their antimicrobial activity^{2, 38, 41}. Several studies have shown that it can be effective against gram positive and gram negative bacteria (Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella anatum), fungi (Candida albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Trichophyton rubrum, T. mentagrophytes, T. tonsurans, Microsporum gypseum, M. audouini and M. canis) as well as pathogenic yeast species. Cinamaldehyde which is also responsible for the sweet taste of cinnamon, is the compound with the strongest antimicrobial effect^{17, 42}.

Neurological disease prevention

Diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are widespread between people above 65 years old nowadays. Cinnamon has shown to be promising for the prevention of these diseases, as its consumption could help to avoid or delay their progression^{3, 13, 16, 35, 41}.  According to various animal and insect studies, cinnamon compounds are very efficient against neurodegenerative disorders. They can protect from oxidative stress^{39, 40} increase the production of some types of neurotrophic factors, molecules that support the growth, the survival and the differentiation of mature neurons¹⁶, as well as reduce the production of several toxic molecules produced during Alzeihmer’s disease^{8, 37}.

Cancer treatment and prevention

Cinnamon has been shown to play a role in the inhibition of several types of cancer (cervical, leukemia and skin cancer), by inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells. Due to its antimicrobial activity, it can also improve the health of the colon and thus reduce the risk of colon cancer⁴⁸. Several compounds of cinnamon have also been tested for their potential to inhibit the creation of new veins around cancer cells (angiogenesis), which promote their growth and metastasis and have been shown to be very effective for cancer prevention^{21, 22, 25, 30}.

Reduces menstrual pain and other related symptoms

According to the latest scientific studies^{4, 5, 11, 14, 15, 23}, women with primary dysmenorrhea or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), who consumed cinnamon for 2-6 months (1200-1500mg per day), had significant reduction of the menstrual bleeding, as well as less severe and frequent vomiting, nausea and pain. In the same studies, it was also shown that cinnamon improves the insulin blood levels and the profile of some other molecules, like the low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and the total cholesterol which also contribute to the PCOS.

Take home message

Apart from all the above, cinnamon has been proved an effective natural way to reduce menstrual bleeding, vomiting and other related symptoms

Attention: How much cinnamon should you consume?

Cinnamon is commonly used as a spice and flavoring agent and is recognized as safe by the US Food and Drug Administration (21CFR182.10, 21CFR182.20). However, consumption of large amounts of cinnamon (>3g/d) and especially for long time periods may result to some serious side effects. Coumarin, one of the main compounds of cinnamon can create liver damage, as well as increase the risk for cancer. Several people have also presented allergic symptoms, due to cinnamaldehyde, another compound of cinnamon. As cinnamon can also affect the absorption and pharmacokinetics of several drugs^{9, 12, 26, 47}, as well as induce water retention⁷ if taken in large doses for a long time, you should always contact your doctor prior to taking cinnamon supplements.

Natural Home Remedies

1. Add 1tsp. of cinnamon in your oatmeal every morning in order to reduce your cholesterol and control your blood sugar
2. You can also prepare a tea of cinnamon and rosmarin to reduce your blood sugar. Simply boil 1 cinnamon stick with 1-2 tsp. of rosmarin and drink it every morning. You can keep and reuse the same preparation up to 3 days.  

Tips and tricks

• Store your cinnamon in a well closed container for stronger aroma and flavor.
• Add cinnamon to your oatmeal, or your coffee to add a sweet taste and strengthen your immune system.
• Adding too much cinnamon to your food not only can be bad for your health, but it can also make it taste bitter.

Recipes

1. 1. Authentic Indian Chai
   2. Pumpkin curry
   3. Simple (Gobi) Cauliflower Curry
   4. Vegetable stew

Related Articles

The plant list for Covid

References