Cinnamon - Ingredient Spotlight
Scientific Name: Cinnamomum verum
Alternative Names: Ceylon cinnamon, Cinnamon bark
Cinnamon is the aromatic spice that always reminds me of Christmas!๐ Itโs an extremely flavourful ingredient with its sweet, yet spicy-hot fragrance.โฃ Cinnamon extracts from the bark have actually been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. It used to be rare and valuable, and even used as gifts for kings.
There are two types of Cinnamon: Ceylon cinnamon (aka 'true cinnamon'), and Cassia cinnamon, which is the cheaper alternative. Ceylon comes from Sri Lanka, while Cassia originates from from southern China.ย
โฃ
One of the most important active ingredients in cinnamon is ๐๐ข๐ง๐ง๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐ฒ๐๐ โ itโs this that is responsible for cinnamonโs health benefits.โฃ
โฃ
We use this ingredient in three of our products โ the ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข-๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข-๐๐ง๐ฑ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฒ, & ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ.โฃ
โฃ
There are many reasons for this:
โฃ
Firstly, cinnamon has ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ฑ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ. These have ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข-๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ effects which help lower your risk of disease.
Plus, cinnamon can help improve some key risk factors for heart disease including ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ, ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐โฃ ๐ก
Other Amazing Benefits of Cinnamon:
- It has a potent ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข-๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ญ and quickly reduces fasting blood sugar levels. It has been shown to decrease the amount of glucose that enters the bloodstream. For this you only need ๐ถ.๐ป-๐ธ ๐ต๐ด๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ!โฃ
- Some studies indicate that cinnamon may have ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ซโฃ
- Plus, it may help reduce infections and ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ก (due to its fungal and antibacterial properties)โฃ ๐ฆท
Vitamins & Minerals
Just one teaspoon (around 2 grams) of cinnamon contains:
- Calcium: 26.1 mg
- Iron: 0.21 mg
- Magnesium: 1.56 mg
- Phosphorus: 1.66 mg
- Potassium: 11.2 mg
- Vitaminย A: 0.39 mcg
Cinnamon Side Effects
Too much cinnamon can do more harm than good. This is because cinnamon contains 'coumarin', which plays a role in creating warfarin, the common blood-thinning drug. Consuming too much coumarin can lead to liver damage. If you have a liver condition, are diabetic, or take other drugs, speak to your doctor first to be safe.
