Cinnamon is one of the oldest medicinal spice
Cinnamon is one of the oldest spice found on earth that is derived from the bark of Cinnamomum trees. It has been used since thousands of years as miraculous medicine. It has amazing healing properties. Cinnamon is obtained by removing the inner bark of Cinnamomum tree and then it is mostly used as powder form. Because of its medicinal properties it is considered as a super food. It is used as an aromatic spice in foods and also used as a sweetener in tea or coffee. Dalchini is the popular native name of cinnamon in hindi.
Dalchini
or cinnamon is rich in anti-oxidants that can prevent many diseases and in some
cases it can reverse some of the lifestyle diseases like type 2 diabetes. Ground cinnamon is used as a diatery
supplement to fight diabetes. Cinnamon sticks and ground cinnamon both are available
in the market and you can pick any one of these. Several different varieties of
cinnamon are available in the market and two of the most popular variants are
- Ceylon: Also called “true cinnamon,” it’s the most expensive one available in the market.
- Cassia: It is less expensive in terms of cost.
Antioxidants present in cinnamon have magical properties
It contains some powerful antioxidants that helps fight many diseases. Though it is not a superfood that has huge amount of vitamins or minerals but it certainly has great amount of antioxidants, which makes it a superfood. In fact, it has been studied that cinnamon or dalchini has second highest amount of anti-oxidants after cloves. Antioxidants do wonders in our bosy as they can eliminate the free radicals from our cell and reduce oxidative stress, a type of damage to cells, which is caused by free radicals. It has been observed that if you intake 500 mg of cinnamon extract daily for 12 weeks then you can experience a decrease of oxidative stress by 14%. Let us see how the powerful compound present in round cinnamon helps prevent and reverse diabetes.
1. Cinnamon can help increase insulin sensitivity
Diabetes patients either cannot able to produce enough insulin in their pancreas or their cells do not respond to insulin and thus the sugar level increases in their blood. Cinnamon helps lower blood sugar and reverses diabetes by imitating the characteristics of insulin and help transporting glucose to the cells. Dalchini also increase the insulin sensitivity and help decreasing blood sugar level.
2. Cinnamon also can lower fasting blood sugar
There are numerous studies have taken place where it has been observed that ground cinnamon has the capability to reduce fasting blood sugar.
Nutrition facts of ground cinnamon or dalchini powder
A single teaspoon of ground cinnamon contains:
- energy: 6.42 calories
- carbohydrates: 2.1 g
- calcium: 26.1 milligrams (mg)
- iron: 0.21 mg
- magnesium: 1.56 mg
- phosphorus: 1.66 mg
- potassium: 11.2 mg
- vitamin A: 0.39 micrograms
It also contains significant amount of vitamins B and K and the antioxidants known as choline, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin which can eliminate the free radicals and rejuvenate the cells.
Not only cinnamon helps in diabetes but it is used to treat many other health ailments which are discussed below:
Cinnamon is anti-Inflammatory in nature
Inflammation is actually a defence mechanism of our body to fight infection and tissue damage but it becomes a problem when it acts against our own tissues of our body. Cinnamon has some compound present in it which reduces the inflammation in the body and protects our tissues.
Cinnamon also helps prevent heart disease
Cinnamon can also prevent different types of heart disease which is one of the biggest causes of death. If we can consume half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon per day then it can do wonders to regulate blood markers and also protect the heart from coronary diseases. Also it can reduce bad cholesterol in our blood stream to prevent coronary heart diseases.
Cinnamon can prevent Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases are diseases that lead to the loss of structure or function of brain cells causing diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Two of the powerful compounds found in cinnamon can protect us from generating such diseases.
Cinnamon can treat bacterial and fungal infections
Cinnamaldehyde present in cinnamon help us to fight various kinds of infections such as bacterial and fungal infections. Cinnamon oil can also help us to treat respiratory tract infections caused by fungi.
How much cinnamon you can have in a day?
Cinnamon is quite effective for reversing blood sugars and it can also protect us from many life style diseases like blood pressure and heart problems. It can also prevent diseases like cancer to form in our body. Though it has many beneficial properties but you should not intake too much of cinnamon. The recommended dose of cinnamon is 1-6 grams per day and you sold not overdose it. You can either take it as a supplement or powder sprinkled over your cereals and porridge. You must also buy the best quality organic cinnamon powder to get the best possible results. We have done research based on purchase quantity, reviews and ratings and listed out the best cinnamon powder for you at a very affordable price.
USDA Certified Cinnamon Bark Powder |
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