What Are the Health Benefits of Cinnamon?

Anti-Clotting

One of the most important health benefits of cinnamon is its anti-clotting ability. This comes from cinnamaldehyde, and knowledge of this has been meticulously scientifically researched. In a nutshell, cinnamaldehyde stops unwanted clumping of blood platelets.

Blood platelets can clump together beneficially when circumstances warrant it – like when you accidentally cut your skin open, blood platelets clump together to stop the bleeding and create a scab. But day-to-day clumping is bad news, as clumping can lead to blood clots, which can be potentially fatal. The good news? Cinnamaldehyde helps to prevent excessive clumping of platelets by stopping the release of arachidonic acid, which is an inflammatory fatty acid.

Since cinnamon also performs cellular level activity, it is also classified as an anti-inflammatory food, since it stops the release of some inflammatory fatty acids, like arachidonic acid. 

Blood Sugar Control

One of the biggest benefits of consuming cinnamon is its ability to help regulate blood sugar. Interestingly, if you season a higher carbohydrate food with cinnamon, it can help ease the effect of the food on your blood sugar. 

I typically recommend clients use cinnamon to help with blood sugar issues, since diabetes may have a better insulin response when consuming cinnamon. Interestingly, studies have shown that compounds in cinnamon cause a response in insulin receptors and also stop an enzyme that blocks them, effectively making the body’s cells better able to use the sugar taken in via the food. 

Even in those who take in a lot of sugar (what we would refer to as a “high-fructose diet”), cinnamon still makes a difference. One scientific study showed that when given cinnamon, high sugar diets became almost comparable to normal diets. Scientists conducting the study noted changes in mRNA coding, specifically for proteins related to memory, insulin sensitivity, and Alzheimer’s. This doesn’t mean to load up on the sugar, however! It just means that cinnamon could be used to help make a healthy diet even healthier.

Packed with Antioxidants and Helps Fight Fungal Infections

Cinnamon is also a very strong antioxidant. In fact, in some studies, cinnamon beats out chemical antioxidants and most other natural spices. Cinnamon also helps stop the growth of bacteria as well as fungus. Depending on your level of expertise around fungus, you may already know cinnamon is potent, since it is very effective against the common candida yeast. 

May Improve Memory

As if the benefits of cinnamon weren’t already overwhelming, one scientific study found that cinnamon seemed to enhance cognitive processing! 

This amazing research found that multiple parts of the brain were enhanced, resulting in an overall better memory. However promising this research though, we must remember that this was only one small study. The benefits of cinnamon may be even greater – we simply do not have all the answers yet.