Ceylon Cinnamon has been known for hundreds if not centuries. It was particularly prized for its health in the middle east. Ancient Egyptians used it as long ago as 2000 BCE and even the Bible makes mention of Cinnamon in proverb 7:17 when it says ” “I have sprinkled my bed With myrrh, aloes and cinnamon “. While its source was kept a mystery by the traders to their source, today it is well known that Cinnamon came from the tiny Island of Sri Lanka located at the tip of India. This is the true home of Cinnamon.
Cinnamon was a component of the Ketoret which is used when referring to the consecrated incense described in the Hebrew Bible and Talmud. It was offered on the specialized incense altar in the time when the Tabernacle was located in the First and Second Jerusalem Temples. The ketoret was an important component of the Temple service in Jerusalem. It was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for a god: a fine inscription records the gift of cinnamon and cassia to the temple of Apollo at Miletus. It is also alluded to by Herodotus and other classical writers.
It was too expensive to be commonly used on funeral pyres in Rome, but the emperor Nero is said to have burned a year’s worth of the city’s supply at the funeral for his wife Poppaea Sabina in AD 65. </ Before the foundation of Cairo, Alexandria was the Mediterranean shipping port of cinnamon. Europeans who knew the Latin writers who were quoting Herodotus knew that cinnamon came up the Red Sea to the trading ports of Egypt, but whether from Ethiopia or not was less than clear. When the Sieur de Joinville accompanied his king to Egypt on crusade in 1248, he reported what he had been told—and believed—that cinnamon was fished up in nets at the source of the Nile out at the edge of the world.
Through the Middle Ages, the source of cinnamon was a mystery to the Western world. Marco Polo avoided precision on this score. In Herodotus and other authors, Arabia was the source of cinnamon: giant Cinnamon birds collected the cinnamon sticks from an unknown land where the cinnamon trees grew and used them to construct their nests; the Arabs employed a trick to obtain the sticks. This story was current as late as 1310 in Byzantium, although in the first century, Pliny the Elder had written that the traders had made this up in order to charge more.
The first mention of the spice growing in Sri Lanka was in Zakariya al-Qazwini’s Athar al-bilad wa-akhbar al-‘ibad (“Monument of Places and History of God’s Bondsmen”) in about 1270.This was followed shortly thereafter by John of Montecorvino, in a letter of about 1292. Indonesian rafts transported cinnamon (known in Indonesia as kayu manis- literally “sweet wood”) on a “cinnamon route” directly from the Moluccas to East Africa, where local traders then carried it north to the Roman market. Arab traders brought the spice via overland trade routes to Alexandria in Egypt, where it was bought by Venetian traders from Italy who held a monopoly on the spice trade in Europe. The disruption of this trade by the rise of other Mediterranean powers, such as the Mamluk Sultans and the Ottoman Empire, was one of many factors that led Europeans to search more widely for other routes to Asia.
Cinnamon is a powerful spice that has been used medicinally around the world for thousands of years. It is still used daily in many cultures because of its widespread health benefits, not to mention its distinctly sweet, warming taste and ease of use in recipes. Find Out the Top Benefits of Cinnamon HERE. According to researchers, out of twenty-six of the most popular herbs and medicinal spices in the world, cinnamon actually ranks #1 in terms of its protective antioxidant levels! The unique smell, color and flavor of cinnamon is due to the oily part of the tree that it grows from. The health benefits of cinnamon come from the bark of the Cinnamomum verum (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) tree. The Cinnamomum verum tree can also be synonymously referred to as a Cinnamomum zeylanicum. These scientific terms simply refer to a true cinnamon tree. This bark contains several special compounds which are responsible for its many health-promoting properties, including cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid and cinnamate. Researchers have concluded that cinnamon health benefits can be obtained in the form of its pure bark, essential oils, in ground spice form (which is bark powder) or in extract form when its special phenolic compounds, flavonoids and antioxidants are isolated. These compounds make cinnamon one of the most beneficial spices on earth, giving it antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, immunity-boosting and potential cancer and heart disease-protecting abilities.
Since ancient times, incense has been utilized all over the world for therapeutic purposes. Due to its numerous health advantages, distinctively sweet, warming taste, and simplicity of usage in dishes, it is still consumed on a daily basis in many cultures. Discover The Top Cinnamon Benefits Here. Cinnamon really ranks first in terms of its beneficial antioxidant levels among the twenty-six most popular herbs and medicinal spices in the world, according to experts! The oily portion of the tree that cinnamon develops from is what gives it its distinct scent, color, and flavor. The bark of the Cinnamomum verum (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) tree contains the medicinal properties of cinnamon. The terms “Cinnamomum zeylanicum” and “Cinnamomum verum” are interchangeable when referring to the same tree. These technical phrases only describe a real cinnamon tree.
This bark includes a number of unique chemicals, including cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid, and cinnamate, which are responsible for its numerous health-promoting effects. According to research, cinnamon’s pure bark, essential oils, powdered spice form (which is bark powder), or extract form when its unique phenolic components, flavonoids, and antioxidants are extracted can all provide health advantages. These ingredients provide cinnamon its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, immunity-boosting, and potential cancer and heart disease prevention properties, making it one of the healthiest spices on the planet.
1.Cinnamon may help treat Type 2 diabetes.
Perhaps the most promising research pointing to the health benefits of cinnamon is linked to type 2 diabetes. While there is certainly no cure for this metabolic disease, cinnamon can be an important tool in managing its symptoms.
According to Lori Kenyon Farley, a Certified Nutrition Consultant specializing in wellness, fitness and anti-aging and one of the experts behind Project Juice, cinnamon can help manage this disease in two different ways. “It can reduce blood pressure and have a positive effect on blood markers for those with Type 2 diabetes,” she explains. Cinnamon can also reduce insulin resistance, which, Farley explains, “has been shown to lower fasting blood sugar levels by up to 29%, which can reduce the instance of Type 2 diabetes.”
Shane Ellison, MS, a medicinal chemist and founder of the Sugar Detox, explains how exactly this works. “(Cinnamon) works directly on the muscle cells to force them to remove sugar from the bloodstream, where it is converted to energy,” he says. “It’s even shown to work better than most prescription meds.”
The key is in increasing insulin sensitivity in the body, a sensitivity that, while present at birth for those without type 1 diabetes, slowly decreases as we age and consume more sugar. As a result, sugar floats around in the blood, causing diabetes and other health problems. “Cinnamon, which is completely non-toxic, repairs the receptors so they are once again responsive to insulin,” Ellison explains. “In time, sugar levels normalize due to an increase in insulin sensitivity.”
Several studies have highlighted these possible benefits, including one 2016 research review that found that cinnamon supplements, in conjunction with standard hypoglycemic medications, had “modest effects” on Fasting Plasma Glucose and HbA1c, though the authors noted that “larger and more rigorous” studies were necessary.
2.Cinnamon may help manage metabolic disease.
It’s perhaps no surprise that if cinnamon has possible beneficial effects on type 2 diabetes, it would also be helpful in the management of metabolic disease. One 2016 literature review found that cinnamon could be effective in reducing complications, morbidity, and mortality in metabolic syndrome, including reducing blood pressure, plasma glucose, obesity, and dyslipidemia. But while these possible results of consuming cinnamon are certainly promising, more well-designed subject trials are necessary before true conclusions can be drawn.
Cinnamon can also be used as an appetite suppressant to those with a sugar addiction, thanks to its naturally sweet taste.
3.Cinnamon could lower your bad cholesterol (or LDL).
Even if you do not suffer from diabetes or metabolic syndrome, you may want to include cinnamon in your diet for many of the same reasons as those who do.
As Parikh explains, the positive impact on Type 2 diabetes symptoms is due to a number of factors, notably “improving serum glucose, lowering fasting blood glucose, and reducing triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol.” These are all benefits that can help even those not suffering from diabetes, including those with hereditary cholesterol worries or problems.
“(Cinnamon) also raises HDL (the “good”) cholesterol,” she explains. HDL cholesterol helps remove LDL cholesterol from the body.
And that’s not all. “Regular intake of cinnamon may also help to mitigate the effects of high-fat meals by slowing the increase in blood sugar post-meal,” says Parikh. This means that when cinnamon is added to your diet, the effects of occasional high-fat choices may not be quite as detrimental to your health as they would otherwise be.
But while one 2013 research review found a promising link between cinnamon and lowered cholesterol, studies thus far have been small and show conflicting results. More research is necessary to prove these benefits conclusively.
4.Cinnamon has antimicrobial properties.
Cinnamon has been proven to fight fungal, bacterial, and viral elements in foods: It’s no surprise that in the Middle Ages, when food spoilage was far more frequent due to lack of refrigeration, many recipes, both sweet and savory, were flavored with the spice.
But these properties of cinnamon do not extend merely to the foods cinnamon seasons. Consumers of cinnamon can benefit from these properties as well, according to our experts, who say cinnamon can be used as part of a treatment for anything from lung problems to the common cold.
Denise Baron, a wellness educator and director of Ayurveda for Modern Living explains that cinnamon can help with all sorts of lung congestion issues. “It helps clear up mucus and encourages circulation,” she explains, thus lending its powers to everything from a simple seasonal cough to bronchitis, when used in tandem with other remedies.
These benefits were highlighted in a research review, which pointed to evidence that cinnamon can inhibit bacteria by damaging cell membranes and altering their lipid profile, among other means. But while preliminary results are promising, more well-designed trials are necessary before conclusive benefits can be proven.
5.Cinnamon could help manage HIV.
Cinnamon’s antimicrobial properties extend to viruses, thus indicating that it may help fight or manage HIV.
“Research shows that cinnamon extract may help fight the HIV virus by preventing the virus from entering cells,” says Parikh. “Therefore, cinnamon extract could potentially contribute to the management of HIV.”
A 2016 study in peer-reviewed PLoS One found that a cinnamon-derived substance could block viral entry, which the study notes is one of the most promising approaches to preventing HIV’s development into AIDS. More human trials are necessary to prove this benefit conclusively.
6.Cinnamon could treat candidiasis.
Similarly, cinnamon’s anti-microbial properties extend to fungi, thus rendering it a promising treatment for candidiasis. According to a 2011 research review, while cinnamon was shown to have activity against Candida in in-vitro studies, human trials, including a pilot study in five HIV-positive patients with oral candidiasis, showed mixed results. Further clinical trials are necessary to prove these benefits conclusively.
7.Cinnamon can help treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases are two neurological conditions that, for the moment, are incurable. An enormous part of treating these diseases is therefore in symptom management, and this can be boosted with the addition of cinnamon to a regular regime.