Cinnamon: a mystic food

Cinnamon is one of the most delicious and healthiest spices on the planet comes from the branches of trees of the "Cinnamomum" family. It is native to the Caribbean, South America, and Southeast Asia.

Cinnamon is made by cutting the stems of the cinnamomum tree. The inner bark is then extracted and the woody parts removed from it. When it dries, it forms strips that curl into rolls, called cinnamon sticks. The sticks can be ground to form cinnamon powder. Cinnamon, due to its exotic flavour and aroma, is a key ingredient in the kitchen of every household.

There are mainly four types of cinnamon:

• True cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon or Mexican cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)

• Indonesian cinnamon (Cinnamomum burmanni)

• Vietnamese cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureiroi)

• Cassia cinnamon or Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamomum aromaticum).

It has been used as an ingredient throughout history, dating back as far as Ancient Egypt. It used to be rare and valuable, and was regarded as a gift fit for kings. But these days, cinnamon is cheap, available in every supermarket and found in all sorts of foods and recipes. In fact, it is so powerful that cinnamon can be used as a natural food preservative.

Cinnamon is mainly used in the aroma and essence industries due to its fragrance, which can be incorporated into different varieties of foodstuffs, perfumes, and medicinal products.

In addition to being used as a spice and flavouring agent, cinnamon is also added to flavour chewing gums due to its mouth refreshing effects and ability to remove bad breath. Cinnamon can also improve the health of the colon, thereby reducing the risk of colon cancer.

Medical physicians using cinnamon for medical purposes to treat a variety of disorders including arthritis, coughing, hoarseness, sore throats, etc. According to the recent studies, cinnamon may prevent or delay diabetes, colon cancer and bleeding time. Recent investigation in United States National Library of Medicine showed that cinnamon is effective in treatment of diarrhoea, emesis, muscle cramps, infections, moulds, flu and erectile dysfunction. Also cinnamon has been effective against multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer and human immune deficiency (HIV) infection.

Recommended dosage, according to the U.S. Department of Health for Ceylon cinnamon, is up to 6 grams daily for 6 weeks or fewer. A week rest after the 6 weeks would be suggested, before beginning again. Anyone starting a new supplement regimen to consult with a qualified practitioner first and to be very careful of over-consumption of cinnamon, no matter which variety you have. Over consumption of cinnamon or even a rapid increase of consumption of cinnamon can have some adverse effects.

Health benefit of Cinnamon:

• Cinnamon may help treat Type 2 diabetes.

• Cinnamon can lower your bad cholesterol (or LDL).

• Cinnamon has anti-fungal, antibacterial, and even antiviral properties.

• Cinnamon can help treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

• Cinnamon has anti-inflammatory properties.

• Cinnamon can help manage PCOS.