Since ancient times, cinnamon has been one of the world’s favorite spices. The sweet aroma of cinnamon is an unmistakable fragrant scent that fills the air in bakeries and coffee shops. Oh, the smell of a cinnamon roll or cinnamon bread baking in a hot oven! Yummmmmmmmm!
Cinnamon is actually the bark from the tender shoots on the laurel tree, a tropical evergreen tree. The bark is stripped and dried, giving it the curled up look that we know as cinnamon sticks. During the fast-approaching holiday season, cinnamon sticks are used for decorations around the house and to provide the house with a pleasant seasonal scent. Cinnamon is also ground into a fine powder and used in the kitchen for baking or cooking.
Cinnamon has an interesting history. It has been recognized for both its taste and medicinal uses by the Egyptians, ancient Romans, Chinese, modern Europeans and others who consider the spice more precious than gold. Cinnamon was first mentioned in a Chinese botanical book written around 2700 BC. The Egyptians drank it and used it in the embalming process, while the Romans burned it during funerals. Others used it as a preservative to delay the growth of bacteria in meat and to mask odors. More recently, cinnamon has been studied for its health benefits.
The health benefits of cinnamon that were discovered over 5,000 years ago continue to be studied today. Some recent studies show that these health benefits include improving the insulin response of people with Type 2 diabetes, controlling blood sugar, reducing the risk of blood clots, boosting brain power as well as improving colon and heart health. One study showed that chewing cinnamon gum or smelling cinnamon improves attention span, memory and motor speed.
Cinnamon is also said to help relieve congestion, digestive upset, stiff joints and muscles. Since cinnamon has an anti-inflammatory process, some believe that it may help reduce arthritis pain.
Here is a surprising fact: Did you know that cinnamon is a source of calcium, manganese, iron and fiber? This makes cinnamon very beneficial to our colon health, because the calcium and fiber in cinnamon bind to the bile salts that often damage the colon cells. It will be interesting to see if there will be any future research studies on whether cinnamon can actually help reduce cholesterol, because once the bile is removed, the body has to break down cholesterol to make more bile. I think that I’ll be stopping by the store tonight to buy some cinnamon gum and candy.
I love cinnamon and use it daily in my oatmeal and in my cappuccino. The recommendations that I have call for adding 1 teaspoon of cinnamon per day to your diet to potentially gain the health benefits that cinnamon is thought to have. Cinnamon tea anyone?
