Cinnamon Benefits
When you think of the holiday season it’s hard not to imagine the aromatic scent of cinnamon. However, there’s more to this popular spice than its flavour and aroma. Derived from the dried inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree, cinnamon is a good source of manganese, fi bre and iron. It also appears to have many health benefits.
An active component in cinnamon’s essential oils called cinnamaldehyde gives cinnamon its apparent anti-clotting properties (it prevents blood platelets from clumping together). Cinnamon reportedly also has antimicrobial properties, stopping the growth of bacteria and yeast, including Candida albicans.
A dash of cinnamon may also help keep blood glucose levels in check. A 2007 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that adding cinnamon to rice pudding signifi cantly lessened the rise in blood sugar levels after eating. Further, a 2003 Diabetes Care study found that consuming as little as one gram of cinnamon per day was found to reduce blood sugar, triglycerides, LDL (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol among people with type 2 diabetes.
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