Cinnamon Can It Help You Lose Weight?

Are you a fan of cinnamon? This is a spice that tastes good, in addition to being good for us.

Cinnamon was among the earliest staples of the Near East and European trade routes. You may be surprised to hear that cinnamon is a small evergreen tree. The bark is processed and becomes ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks/quills we are accustomed to seeing. Derived from the bark's essential oils, cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl acetate and cinnamyl alcohol are the active and healthy elements.

While there are hundreds of varieties of cinnamon, two of the most popular are ceylon and cassia. Cassia costs less and is stronger; you'll find it more often in North America. You can get trace mineral manganese, fiber, iron and calcium from either of these cinnamons.

A Decrease in Insulin

Just by using 1/4 of a teaspoon daily, type 2 diabetes patients reduced their blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels. When they stopped consuming cinnamon, levels rose.

Cinnamon helps your blood sugar even out. This helps decrease sugar cravings. As a result, post-meal insulin spikes are avoided, thereby assisting in the control of blood glucose levels. It can lower your levels of serum glucose, LDL, total cholesterol and triglycerides.

Additional Healthy Benefits

Cinnamon contains anti-clotting properties; helps stop blood platelets from clotting, which puts cinnamon in the category of "anti-inflammatory" foods. These anti-inflammatory properties can assist in alleviating pain from arthritis and the pain and stiffness of muscles and joints.

In addition, cinnamon acts as an anti-microbial, arresting the growth of bacteria, fungi and the yeast Candida. Because it is so effective as an anti-microbial, it has been utilized to preserve foods.

In addition to its effect of blood sugar, its anti-clotting and anti-microbial properties, cinnamon provides a number of other benefits.

Following are a few of cinnamon's benefits:
* Decreases cravings
* Assists in digestion
* Alleviates congestion
* Constricts and tones tissues
* Increases brain function by improving cognitive function and memory
* Relieves menstrual discomfort
* Improves circulation by thinning blood
* Offers calcium and fiber to shield against heart disease
* Ameliorates colon health, by eliminating bile salts from the body
* Prevents urinary tract infections and irritable bowel syndrome
* Assists in dealing with tooth decay and gum disease.

Ways to Include Cinnamon in Your Diet

You can add cinnamon to your diet by simply making toast. Just put a little bit of honey and cinnamon on whole grain bread for a grown up version of cinnamon toast. Add cinnamon to your oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, soups and sauces.

Add cinnamon sticks to tea, coffee or soy milk for a soothing morning or evening drink.

For Mexican foods, sprinkle cinnamon liberally on beans or meat to add an ethnic taste. Or for a warm, spicy flavor, add it to curries and chilis. Cinnamon sticks can also be sauted with vegetables where they will provide a unique flavor as well as healthful benefits. (Take the cinnamon sticks out prior to serving.) Add some spice to your life with cinnamon.