The Cinnamon Remedy: An Ancient Spice Rediscovered

The Cinnamon Remedy:

Many health-conscious consumers are finding that cinnamon as a dietary supplement can be an easy way to lower blood sugar levels, control high blood pressure and lower cholesterol, among other benefits.

Cinnamon is a bark and plant extract that has been used for centuries in Asia as a treatment for dozens of ailments. Recent scientific studies on the food supplement are showing how the chemical compounds within cinnamon work to assist the human body.

Who takes it and what are the benefits?

Diabetics take cinnamon to help stabilize glucose levels in their blood. Many non-diabetics even take it to control yeast infections and to lower their cholesterol, though not all the expected benefits have been substantiated by scientific studies. Regardless, millions of people now take cinnamon as part of a balanced diet for a wealth of reasons.

In addition, here are several other ways that cinnamon aids the human body:

• It helps destroy maleficent bacteria in the blood and reduces most types of inflammation.
• It works as an anti-oxidant, much in the same way that vitamins A, C and E do.
• Cinnamon can lower the average person’s LDL (bad) cholesterol.
• Women with polycystic ovarian disease use cinnamon to help restore their proper blood sugar levels.
• Just a teaspoon of cinnamon delivers a significant amount of manganese, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron and fiber to the body.
• It lowers blood pressure.
• Cinnamon has been shown to help digestion and regulate the appetite.
• Side effects and allergic reactions are extremely rare, especially for those who use cinnamon as a regular supplement in recommended doses.

Just the right amount

What are the best dose levels to take? If you want to get the optimum benefit from cinnamon, don’t overdo it. Even though there is no official “recommended daily allowance” for cinnamon, as there is for many supplements, people who use it regularly take between 2 and 4 grams per day. That’s anywhere from a half to a full tablespoon. Many of the scientific studies done on cinnamon use dosage levels of between 1 and 6 grams as a general dosage range.

How much is too much?

Any amount  above 6 grams per day, or one-and-a-half teaspoons, could cause some unpleasant side effects, like irritation of the skin around the mouth, redness of the lips and tongue, and of course allergic reactions. If you are one of those rare people who are allergic to cinnamon, it’s best not to take any at all.

Most medical professionals advise that anyone with liver disease or women who are pregnant or are breastfeeding should avoid cinnamon as a supplement. Plus, if you are already taking medications for blood sugar maintenance, then you should not take cinnamon.

An ancient solution for modern maladies 

A ground extract of an evergreen tree bark that grows primarily in the deep forests of Asia, cinnamon has been gaining in popularity as a food supplement for the past two decades in the Western hemisphere.  Now, millions of consumers who want to get their cholesterol down, control blood pressure, destroy bacteria or just have better digestion are turning to this ancient solution to treat the ailments of a modern, pressurized world.