Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a delicious spice. For thousands of years, cinnamon has been praised for its medicinal properties. Modern science has confirmed what people have known for centuries.

What is cinnamon anyway, and where does it come from?
Cinnamon is made from the inner bark of trees known as "Cinnamomum". You may wonder how this came about, and we have to go way back. There is evidence that cinnamon was already used as an ingredient in ancient Egypt. At that time cinnamon was still very valuable and rare, and it was considered a gift suitable for kings.

What is in cinnamon?
The recognisable smell and taste of cinnamon comes from its oily part, which is very high in the compound cinnamaldehyde. Scientists believe that this substance is responsible for the most powerful effects on health, and metabolism. Cinnamon is also full of antioxidants, such as polyphenols. It leaves several "superfoods" such as oregano and garlic, far behind. Cinnamon also has anti-inflammatory properties. For example, it helps fight infections, and repair tissue damage. This is how cinnamon, just as it did centuries ago,can help lower the risk of disease. It may also help improve some important risk factors for heart disease, including cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure.

Cinnamon has been shown to significantly increase sensitivity to the hormone insulin. This has advantages for the metabolism, and energy consumption. Cinnamon can relieve bloating, and make stools less odorous.

More health benefits:
We'll go on and on. Cinnamon can also help lower blood sugar levels, and has a powerful anti diabetic effect. There are also studies that claim that cinnamon has a positive effect

on, and leads to various improvements for, Alzheimer's disease and/or Parkinson's disease. Even in the prevention and treatment of cancer cinnamon extracts might have protective effects. It seems to be toxic to cancer cells according to differentreaction tube studies.

There are also studies that prove that cinnamon can help fight the HIV virus. In a laboratory study of HIV-infected cells, cinnamon was found to be the most effective treatment of all studied medicinal plants.

Cinnamon also helps fight bacterial and/or fungal infections such as Salmonella by inhibiting the growth of certain bacteria. Cinnamon also helps prevent tooth decay and reduces bad breath.