Spice for life – Health benefits of cinnamon

By: Yanjun

Cinnamon has so many uses. For most people, it’s a condiment for  milk or oatmeal or is used in potpourri. The best thing about cinnamon is that  it’s easily available everywhere. Do you know that cinnamon has numerous health  benefits? Do you know where it comes from? Considering their health benefits,  some might think it comes straight from heaven! Cinnamon is actually a bark of a  specific type of tree that belongs to one family of trees. So, there’s no such  thing as plain cinnamon, as there are so many types of cinnamon available on the  market!
The different types of cinnamon come from different parts of  Asia. About 90 percent of the world’s cinnamon comes from Southern India and Sri  Lanka, while other areas ranging from Madagascar toVietnam and China produce the  remaining 10 percent. Cassia is a highly popular form of cinnamon in the US. It  is also termed “Chinese cinnamon,” but “true cinnamon” comes only from Sri  Lanka. This cinnamon has a more “high end” and delicate taste than what we’ve  been using in the US.
Let’s have a close look at some of the health  benefits of cinnamon:

Anti-clotting
The presence of cinnamaldehyde an (essential/volatile) oil  in cinnamon helps it in reducing blood clots. According to WHfoods.com,  cinnamon accomplishes this by inhibiting the release of arachidonic acid from  various platelet membranes, which is an inflammatory fatty acid that reduces the  formation of the inflammatory messaging molecule known as thromboxane  A2.

Antimicrobial
The essential oils in cinnamon are antimicrobial and can  stop various types of bacterial and fungal growths. The antimicrobial properties  of cinnamon are very effective, so it can also be used as an alternative to  various food preservatives.

Boosts brain function
Smelling the cinnamon scent can also boost brain  activity. In research reported by WHfoods.com, cinnamon helped in  enhancing the cognitive process in…

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