There is absolutely nothing more pleasant than the smell or aroma of fresh cinnamon, whether it’s a candle, oil scent, or the real thing. Cinnamon is a spice that has been valued for many centuries. Cinnamon is not just something you use to spice up your food. The popular spice, once considered more precious than gold, has medical value that is making everyone take notice.Cinnamon can have favorable effects on brain function, memory, soothing the stomach, preventing ulcers, reducing bad cholesterol, suppressing the bacteria that causes urinary tract infections and the fungus associated with yeast infections, reducing blood sugar, increasing insulin levels, and weight loss. Most commonly, cinnamon is known for its ability to help with the war against obesity, insulin resistance, and prediabetes.

Cinnamon can be used in its original stick form or in a powder form. You may use it as a supplement or to add a little flavor to drinks and foods. It can be added to oatmeal, fruit salads, puddings, sweet desserts, yams, squashes, and my personal favorite apple pie.

Cinnamon has been given to mothers during childbirth to help as a sedative. As it turns out, cinnamon, has been used as many cures but few could have predicted its current high profile. Maryland USDA research center accidentally found the results cinnamon. Scientists were testing the effects of various foods on blood sugar (glucose) levels and of the foods being tested was apple pie seasoned with cinnamon. They expected the pie to have an adverse effect, but instead they found it actually helped to lower the blood glucose levels in the patients.

Weight loss and diabetes have always been tied together. The fat cells in your abdomen are particularly sensitive to high insulin levels, and are very effective at storing energy so much so that fat cells you’d find in other areas such as the lower body are less drastic. Abdominal fat cells are so close to the digestive organs; there is an extensive network of blood vessels circulating in the abdominal area that it’s even easier for fat cells to store excess glucose there resulting in obesity. So when you take care of the blood sugar problem you usually take care of the obesity problem as well.

Cinnamon can help millions of suffers with their type II diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes). This condition kills 100 million people around the world every year. Untreated diabetes can result in blindness, heart disease, blurred vision, tiredness, and even premature death.

It is recommended to us ½ to 2 teaspoons of cinnamon a day. You may steep your herbal tea with a cinnamon stick, add one-half teaspoon to your applesauce, sprinkle some on toast (as a child I loved cinnamon and sugar on my toast), sprinkle it in your coffee, cocoa, or cappuccino, and of course everyone’s favorite combine it will apple pie filling.

Sources:

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/cinnamons-secret-health-benefit
http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20080806/common-spices-may-help-diabetes

Written by Brooke Freeman for MicroNutra Health™

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 at 12:40 pm and is filed under Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, Weight Loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.