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Cinnamon comes from the bark of a small Southeast Asian evergreen tree (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and is available as an oil, extract, dried powder or sticks. It's closely related to cassia (C. cassia) and contains many of the same components, but the bark and oils from C. zeyleanicum are thought to have a better flavor.
Cinnamon was used in ancient Egypt for it’s medicinal properties, flavoring, and as an embalming agent. In traditional Chinese herbal medicine cinnamon is one of the oldest remedies, prescribed for everything from diarrhea and chills to influenza and parasitic worms, and is mentioned in one of the earliest books on Chinese botanical medicine.
The infamous Roman emperor Nero burned a year's supply of cinnamon on his wife's funeral pyre.
Cinnamon became one of the most poplar spices during the Middle Ages, and due to its great demand it became one of the first commodities traded regularly between Europe and the Near East.
Today cassia is mainly produced in China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, while cinnamon is produced in Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar, Brazil, and the Caribbean.
Health Benefits of Cinnamon
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Diabetes and Cholesterol
Researchers in Pakistan performed a 40-day study involving 60 people with type 2 diabetes. The participants were given cinnamon at a dose of 1, 3 or 6 g daily. The results indicated that use of cinnamon improved blood sugar levels by 18-29%, total cholesterol by 12-26%, LDL (bad) cholesterol by 7-27% and triglycerides by 23-30%. These results suggest that the inclusion of cinnamon in the diet of people with type 2 diabetes will reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Another study at the Nutrition Physiology and Human Nutrition Unit in Germany suggests that cinnamon extract seems to have a moderate effect in reducing fasting plasma glucose concentrations in diabetic patients with poor glycemic control.
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Antioxidants
Studies have proved cinnamon to have powerful antioxidant properties, antioxidants found in cinnamon include epicatechin, camphene, eugenol, phenol, salicylic acid and tannins.
A study of the antioxidant properties of spices determined that adding flavoring substances such as cinnamon in the preparation of tea resulted in enhancing total antioxidant activities of teas.
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Candida
Preliminary results from studies suggest that cinnamon oil and cinnamon extract have anti fungal, anti bacterial and anti parasitic properties.
In a study involving five patients with HIV infection and oral candidiasis who received a commercially available cinnamon preparation for one week, three of the five patients had improvement of their oral candidiasis.
Cinnamon bark oil has been found to be effective against fungi causing respiratory tract disease such as infection from spores of black mold (stachybotrys) in damp houses. Cinnamic aldehyde has been identified as the active fungi toxic constituent of cinnamon bark oil.
Another study of the antimicrobial activities of cinnamon oil suggests that the broad-spectrum antibiotic activities of the C. cassia oil are due to cinnamaldehyde.
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Nutrient Values of Cinnamon per 100mg
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Energy Value
1035kj
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Sugars
2.17g
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Dietary Fiber
53.1g
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Sodium
10mg
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Zinc
1.83mg
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Potassium
431mg
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Magnesium
60mg
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Copper
0.339mg
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Calcium
1002mg
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Vitamin C
3.8mg
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Vitamin E
2.32mg
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Vit. B3 (Niacin)
1.332mg
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Vitamin B6
0.158mg
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Vit. B1 (Thiamin)
0.022mg
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Vit. B2 (Riboflavin)
0.041mg
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There is some evidence that high doses of cinnamon oil might depress the central nervous system.
Pregnant women should avoid taking cinnamon oil or high doses of the bark. References:
The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno.
Benders' Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology.
USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.
PubMed. PMID: 8834832
PubMed. PMID: 8874667
PubMed. PMID: 18183488
PubMed. PMID: 16253769
PubMed. PMID: 14633804
PubMed. PMID: 16634838
PubMed. PMID: 17924872
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