Cinnamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of the Cinnamomum tree and dates back to the Egyptian times. Cinnamon was considered a gift to the kings and has been mentioned in the bible quite often as medicine. Cinnamon is actually in the same family as Bay leaves and Avocados.

There are two main types of cinnamon. Cassia is the most common type of cinnamon found today in supermarkets. However, true cinnamon is Ceylon cinnamon.

There are many active compounds in cinnamon. The amazing smell and powerful health benefits are derived from the oil called cinnamaldehyde which contains an anticlotting action.

Cinnamon can stop the growth of bacteria and therefore qualifies as an antimicrobial. Because of this cinnamon would be of great benefit for people ridding their body of candida and yeast overgrowth.

Cinnamon would be great for diabetics because it slows down how fast the stomach empties which reduces the rise of blood sugar right after a meal. In type 2 diabetes cinnamon has been shown to improve the body's response to insulin. These studies were done using less than a half of a teaspoon per day.

Cinnamon has been proven to be a better antioxidant than ginger, licorice, nutmeg and even the chemicals BHA and BHT which is commonly used in cereals.

Research has proven that just smelling cinnamon improves cognition. In my opinion we should use this as an essential oil in our public school system. Can you imagine the great benefits our children would have with this? And without feeding them chemicals and drugs!!

There are so many ways to include cinnamon in your daily regiment. Cinnamon essential oil can be put in a diffuser especially when your children are doing homework! Mash some bananas on a piece of toast then sprinkle with cinnamon-call it banana pizza. How about a little honey and cinnamon on the toast too? I love to saute bananas in coconut oil and sprinkle them with lots of cinnamon. Warm some almond milk up and put a cinnamon stick in it and a little honey if you like it sweeter. Cinnamon is great in raw cookies or even the cooked kind, applesauce, fruit sauce, pancakes, squash, pumpkin, oatmeal, chicken, pizza with pineapples, avocado pudding and i have even heard it be used on popcorn!