What you should know about cinnamon and how it can help you

What you should know about cinnamon and how it can help you

(NaturalNews) Cinnamon, which is generally an appreciated spice for its
good taste when added to certain foods, definitely seems to have much
more going in its favor than simply pleasing your taste buds. It's a
potent anti-bacterial and anti-fungal medicinal herb offering many
advantages to the human body.

Cinnamon is from the lauracae family and its popular name is laurus cinnamomum.
We utilize the bark that grows in the evergreen trees which reach 20 to
30 feet on average and are located in remote areas such as Malabar,
Cochin-China, Sumatra and the Eastern Islands, amongst other places.
Cinnamon has been cultivated for a very long time and its therapeutic
aid was no secret to many ancient civilizations, going far back in time.

The
bark's essential oils mainly have three active components which trigger
specific healing abilities. These active components are called
cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl acetate and cinnamyl alcohol. These particular
components directly account for cinnamon's various health benefits, but
more specifically, its anti-clotting actions in the blood, its
anti-microbial activity in the body and also its stabilizing effect on
blood sugar levels.

Cinnamon's assistance to certain health conditions

We
know that the clumping of blood platelets is a normal process in order
to prevent continuous bleeding, but problems may arise if these
platelets excessively clump together. The cinnamaldehyde found in
cinnamon prevents the disproportionate clotting in the blood
by restricting the delivery of an inflammatory fatty acid from platelet
membranes, named arachidonic acid. Besides the anti-clotting action,
the result of this chemical process shows that cinnamon has the ability to reduce inflammation therefore it can also be seen as an anti-inflammatory herb.

Cinnamon
has shown to be a very potent anti-microbial spice. It has the capacity
to inhibit the formation and proliferation of bacteria, yeast, fungi
matter and mainly what is called candida albicans. Some tests
have revealed that in many cases, cinnamon was more efficient at halting
the spread of yeast, than the commonly used medical agent called
fluconazole. Based on a study which was published in the August 2003
paper of the International Journal of Food Microbiology, there are valid reasons to believe that cinnamon may also be used as a legitimate alternative to food
preservatives. The study showed that only a few drops of cinnamon's
essential oils, added to around 3 ounces of carrot broth, prevented the
development of a pathogen called bacillus cereus for a period of
at least 60 days. In comparison, when the broth was left in a cold
environment but without adding cinnamon oils to it, the pathogens
started expanding.

Cinnamon's normalizing effect on blood sugar levels can help people with type 2 diabetes, as it enhances a positive response to insulin. A report presented by the US Agricultural Research Service,
showed that with as little as half a teaspoon of cinnamon each day,
participants in the study were able to show an average reduction of 20%
in their blood sugar levels. The moment cinnamon doses stopped being
administered on a daily basis, the sugar levels in their blood raised
immediately.

Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/040052_cinnamon_type_2_diabetes_healing_herbs.html