Impact

SWEET NEWS: CINNAMON SAVES LIVES!

by Idit Narkis Katz. “Cinnamon Rolls.”

The sweet joy of cinnamon buns and cinnamon sugar showered donuts maybe sweeter than we thought. This aromatic edible tree bark is saving lives now.

Recent studies have shown that cinnamon can help to prevent cancer, diabetes, dementia, and a whole host of other serious diseases.

While cinnamon has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat respiratory and digestive problems for centuries, today, scientists are finding that cinnamon appears to work as an anti-inflammatory or antioxidant, protecting the body on a cellular level. In some cases, it did better than resveratrol in anti-cancer and anti-aging studies.

Studies are showing that cinnamon helps with insulin sensitivity and glucose transport while decreasing inflammation.

Amy Stockert, who studies cinnamon at Raabe College of Pharmacy at Ohio Northern University co-authored a study of with type 2 diabetes that showed the cassia species of cinnamon was more effective than diet alone in lowering blood glucose levels, comparable to oral diabetes medications.

Another study of people with type 2 diabetes found that small doses of cinnamon reduced blood sugar levels and improved LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol.

Cinnamon is also being studied for its impact on the formation of the plaques that form in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health is investigating cinnamon's impact on multiple sclerosis.

Cinnamon tree grove, with visible reddish bark.

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several evergreen tree species from the genus Cinnamomum. There are 2 main types: Ceylon, or C. verum, grown in Sri Lanka, and C. cassia, C. loureiroi and C. burmannii, grown in China and Indonesia. Each variety has been shown to have health benefits.

Cinnamon is a rich source of vitamin K, calcium and iron. It also supplies significant vitamin B6, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc to your body. It’s nutritive value is just the beginning.

The trunk of a cinnamon bark tree up close.

Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy and Cancer Center recently discovered that cinnamaldehyde, which gives cinnamon its unique smell and taste, can protect against colorectal cancer.

Beautiful cinnamon stick swirls.

After salt and pepper, cinnamon, taken from the bark of the cinnamon tree, is the 3rd most-consumed spice in the world.

Three different groupings of cinnamons sticks.

The study, led by Dr. Georg T Wondrak, PhD and Dr. Donna Zhang, entitled "Nrf2-Dependent Suppression of Azoxymethane/Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colon Carcinogenesis by the Cinnamon-Derived Dietary Factor Cinnamaldehyde," showed that the simple addition of cinnamaldehyde to mouse food, them protected from colorectal cancer.

Macro look at a beautiful cinnamon curl.

Further studies on whole cinnamon will determine whether it can have the same cancer-fighting effect as the pure isolated compound cinnamaldehyde.

Six cinnamon stick tied together with a fiber on a table with nutmeg and ground cinnamon in jars.

Previous studies, conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), looked effects of the cinnamon extract in halting the progression of leukemia and lymphoma cells in vitro (petri dish).

Delicious looking swirly cinnamon bun.

These studies found that the cinnamon extract effectively reduced the proliferation rate of the cancer cells over a 24-hour time span, which is the time necessary for one doubling of the cell population. And, the higher the dose of cinnamon extract, the greater the reduction in cell proliferation -- as much as 50% reduction.

Golden brown ground cinnamon.

So sprinkle some cinnamon in your hot chocolate and coffee. Indulge in a cinnamon bun. Check out this gorgeous Apple Cinnamon Bread recipe. Spice up your pie. Have a cinnamon cocktail. Adding sweet spice to your life might just help save your life. And that is the sweetest part of it all.

Cinnamon sticks on a platter highlight the beautiful swirls.

Read more about Beautiful Sweets in The Sweetest Escape: The Brando and Sweet Dreamy Visions: Isabelle Menin.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.

Cinnamon stick under a golden light.

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