5 Health Benefits of Organically Grown Cinnamon

We’re constantly being reminded just how important it is to watch our diets and to ensure we’re consuming plenty of fresh, healthy, natural, and nutrient-rich ingredients; yet despite this, obesity levels are still through the roof, and according to the National Center for Health Statistics, life expectancy for Americans decreased in 2015 for the first time in more than two decades! When we commonly think of healthy foods and ingredients, we think of fresh fruits and vegetables, salads, oily fish, and natural, nutrient-rich fat sources such as coconut oil and grass-fed butter.

Yep… you read that correctly. Not on board with that statement? You should be. Check out this recent article, sourcing publications from the British Medical Journal.

Glad to finally have that off of our chest! Moving on…

While it is true that the aforementioned food stuffs are indeed healthy, there are many more common culinary ingredients out there that are equally healthy. Many of us aren’t even aware of just how healthy these ingredients might be. Cinnamon for example, is renowned for its numerous health properties, yet many people consider it nothing more than a spice ingredient used to flavor certain dishes. Once upon a time, Cinnamon was more valuable than gold, and although sadly that is not the case anymore, cinnamon is still a very popular ingredient, due largely to the fact that it provides so many different health benefits. What’s more, when combined with other ingredients such as a natural butter, you can create cinnamon butter which will provide a great deal more health benefits, so you may wish to consider looking into healthy sources for butters, without all of the added hormones, sooner rather than later!

Five health benefits of this delicious sweet spice include the following:

Regulates Blood Sugar Levels – One of the most exciting benefits associated with cinnamon, is the fact that studies have found that it can help to regulate blood sugar levels, making it a very healthy and beneficial ingredient for people suffering with diabetes, or with pre-diabetes and unstable blood sugar levels. In particular, cinnamon is very useful for diabetics, due to the fact that it can greatly reduce fasting blood glucose levels by as much as 30%, plus blood triglyceride levels can be reduced by around 23 – 30% as well, with total cholesterol levels being reduced by between 12 and 26 percent.

Can Treat Degenerative Health Issues – Another great health benefit of cinnamon, is the fact that it has been found to help treat neurological degenerative health issues such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Cinnamon contains natural compounds which improve motor neuron function, and strengthens neurons, especially in people already suffering with diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. This means that people affected by the diseases can use cinnamon to help manage their condition and prevent things from getting worse. What’s more, there is also evidence to suggest that cinnamon could help to prevent them from occurring altogether.

Reduces LDL (the bad one) Cholesterol – As mentioned, cinnamon has the ability to lower total cholesterol levels by as much as 26%, but what is especially noteworthy, is the fact that it can reduce LDL cholesterol levels. LDL cholesterol is the harmful cholesterol which is responsible for coating the arteries with fatty deposits and build-ups, which can eventually lead to hypertension, renal failure, cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke, and more besides. Studies have found that cinnamon helps to increase HDL cholesterol levels, which in turn brings down LDL cholesterol, as HDL is the healthy cholesterol which is responsible for lowering harmful cholesterol levels. What’s more, as the cinnamon reduces blood triglyceride levels, this too provides numerous benefits for people looking to bring down their cholesterol levels so that they can avoid cardiovascular disease, and other serious health conditions.

Anti-Inflammatory Properties – Cinnamon bark has been found to naturally possess anti-inflammatory properties, meaning that it can help to reduce inflammation within the human body. This means that cinnamon can help to treat headaches and migraines, it can reduce joint pain, plus it can help to treat and prevent internal health issues caused by internal inflammation, such as IBS, poor circulation, Arthritis, and more!

Anti-Microbial Benefits – Finally, the last health benefit associated with cinnamon that we’ll be looking at today, is one associated with its anti-microbial properties. Cinnamon has been proven to help the body to eradicate harmful bacteria that could cause a whole host of various health issues. Within the body, a natural antibiotic known as clindamycin is present, and cinnamon has been proven to help increase the amounts of this antibiotic, so obviously the more that is naturally present, the healthier the person is by default so they will be better equipped to be able to fight off infection.