Cinnamon for Insulin Resistance and Weight Loss

[FUZO]

TweetCinnamon for Insulin Resistance and Weight Loss
Popular and Flavorful Spice is New Aid in the Battle Against Buddha Belly/Belly Fat


If you think cinnamon is simply something to sprinkle on your cookies or cappuccino, think again. The popular spice, once considered more precious than gold, has medicinal value that is making even pharmaceutical companies take notice.

Cinnamon, it turns out, has long been used to cure everything from athlete’s foot to indigestion. Early civilizations recognized its ability to stop bacterial growth. The Egyptians used it in embalming. During the Middle Ages, it was mixed with cloves and warm water, and placed in the sick rooms of victims of the Bubonic Plague.

Recent research indicates that cinnamon can have favorable effects on brain function. Participants in a study chewed cinnamon gum or smelled the sweet spice. Cognitive tests revealed that subjects who used cinnamon had better memory functions and could process information more quickly. Encouraged by these findings, scientists will now conduct studies to see if cinnamon will improve mental skills in the elderly and those prone to anxiety before testing.

That antiseptic power of the spice could also account for a couple of other medical applications for cinnamon. A Japanese study suggests it can not only soothe the stomach, it may even help prevent ulcers. German research claims cinnamon “suppresses completely” the bacteria that causes urinary tract infections and the fungus associated with yeast infections as well.

But few could have predicted its current high profile. Recent headlines about cinnamon are the result of an accidental finding in a Maryland USDA research center. Incredibly, the catalyst was as American as good old apple pie, flavored with -- what else -- cinnamon. Scientists were testing the effects of various foods on blood sugar (glucose) levels. They expected the classic pie to have an adverse effect, but instead they found it actually helped lower blood glucose levels.

The researchers then took their surprising discovery and tested it in a small 60 patient study conducted in Pakistan, reporting in the journal Diabetes Care. All the patients had been treated for type 2, adult onset diabetes for several years and were taking anti-diabetic drugs to increase their insulin output. But they were not yet taking insulin to help process their blood glucose. The subjects were given small doses of cinnamon ranging from as little as a quarter teaspoon to less than 2 teaspoons a day for 40 days.

The results: Not only did the cinnamon reduce their blood sugar levels and increase their natural production of insulin, it lowered their blood cholesterol as well. Even 20 days after the cinnamon treatment had ended, the patients continued to see beneficial effects.

This is good news for the more than 50 million Americans who suffer from diabetes and/or heart disease. All the patients in the study showed better glucose metabolism and natural insulin production when they took cinnamon capsules that delivered less than two teaspoons a day of the spice.

Specifically, their blood cholesterol levels were lowered in the range of 10 to 26 percent, affecting overall cholesterol levels and reducing the LDL (known as the “bad” cholesterol) but not reducing levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol.

This is also potentially good news for the many millions more of us who suffer from insulin resistance, sometimes known as “prediabetes,” or the “Metabolic Syndrome.” Lowering blood sugar levels, and improving cholesterol ratios can help reverse prediabetes and Metabolic Syndrome, and in fact may actually prevent the worsening of health to full diabetes.

In addition, addressing elevated blood sugar levels and helping to combat insulin resistance may be a successful factor in helping you lose weight. The fat cells in your abdomen are particularly sensitive to high insulin levels, and are very effective at storing energy – far more so that fat cells you’d find in other areas such as the lower body (i.e. hips, rear end, thighs). Because abdominal fat cells are so close to your digestive organs, and there is an extensive network of blood vessels circulating in the abdominal area, it’s even easier for fat cells to store excess glucose there. So tactics that help to reduce

If you suffer from elevated cholesterol or diabetes you will want to consult your physician before beginning to use cinnamon in large quantities. And if you are already taking a diabetes medication, you should talk to your physician before trying cinnamon for medicinal uses, because cinnamon may have an impact on your blood sugar.


Using Cinnamon
Some people prefer to use cinnamon as a supplement, and this is certainly a safe and effective way to incorporate cinnamon into your diet. Be sure you pick a quality supplement.

Others would rather get their ½ to 2 teaspoons of cinnamon a day using the spice in their foods. The cinnamon you can pick up off any grocery shelf comes from the bark of the evergreen cinnamon tree, and was probably grown in China. You’ll find it in stick or ground form at most markets and health food stores.

For patients who want to try cinnamon, there are many tasty and simple ways you can enjoy this aromatic spice.

* Steep your favorite herbal tea with a cinnamon stick (ghey!)
* Add one-half teaspoon of cinnamon to unsweetened applesauce
* Add cinnamon to your breakfast cereal or oatmeal
* Sprinkle on toast
* Adding cinnamon to butter or cream cheese
* Sprinkle cinnamon on your morning cup of coffee, cocoa or cappuccino

Cinnamon also combines very favorably with many baked fruits like peaches and apples as well as fruit juices and ciders.

To get the most out of the cinnamon you add to your recipes, make sure it is fresh. The best test is to open the jar in your kitchen and sniff. If the smell is strong and sweet your cinnamon is fresh. If the aroma is weak or non-existent, it’s time to throw it away and restock your spice rack. To keep cinnamon, seal the container tightly and store it away from the light.

[IronpumpedLady]

TweetI thought I'd add a bit here to what Fuzo posted. It is used as a weight loss supplement as well as other medical uses.


Cinnamon
Cinnamomum zeylanicum
Fam: Lauracae

Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree. There are many different species, between 50 and 250, depending on which botanist you choose to believe. The two main varieties are Cinnamomum cassia and Cinnamomum zeylanicum. The first, cassia, we will consider separately in its own section. C. zeylanicum is also known as Ceylon cinnamon (the source of the its Latin name, zeylanicum), or ‘true cinnamon’ which is a lighter colour and possessing a sweeter, more delicate flavour than cassia. A native of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) the best cinnamon grows along the coastal strip near Colombo.
In ancient Egypt cinnamon was used medicinally and as a flavouing for beverages, It was also used in embalming, where body cavities were filled with spiced preservatives. In the ancient world cinnamon was more precious than gold. This is not too surprising though, as in Egypt the abundance of gold made it a fairly common ornamental metal. Nero, emperor of Rome in the first century AD, burned a years supply of cinnamon on his wife’s funeral pyre — an extravagant gesture meant to signify the depth of his loss.
Cinnamon was known in medieval Europe, where it was a staple ingredient, along with ginger, in many recipes. Since most meals were prepared in a single cauldron, casseroles containing both meat and fruit were common and cinnamon helped bridge the flavours. When crusaders brought home sugar, it too was added to the pot. Mince pie is a typical combination of this period which still survives.
The demand for cinnamon was enough to launch a number of explorers’ enterprises. The Portuguese invaded Sri Lanka immediately after reaching India in 1536. The Sinhalese King paid the Portuguese tributes of 110,000 kilograms of cinnamon annually.
The Dutch captured Sri Lanka in 1636 and established a system of cultivation that exists to this day. In its wild state, trees grow high on stout trunks. Under cultivation, the shoots are continually cropped almost to ground level, resulting in a low bush, dense with thin leafy branches. From these, come the finest quills.

Spice Description
Cinnamon comes in ‘quills’, strips of bark rolled one in another. The pale brown to tan bar strips are generally thin, the spongy outer bark having been scraped off. The best varieties are pale and parchment-like in appearance. Cinnamon is very similar to cassia, and in North America little distinction is given, though cassia tends to dominate the market. Cinnamon is also available ground, and can be distinguished from cassia by its lighter colour and much finer powder.
Bouquet: sweet and fragrant
Flavour: warm and aromatic
Hotness Scale: 3

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Preparation and Storage
Whole quills will keep their flavour indefinitely. Unfortunately it is difficult to grind so for many recipes the powdered variety will be preferred. Like other powdered spices cinnamon loses flavour quickly, so should be purchased in small quantities and kept away from light in airtight containers.

Culinary Uses
Cassia and cinnamon have similar uses, but since it is more delicate, cinnamon is used more in dessert dishes. It is commonly used in cakes and other baked goods, milk and rice puddings, chocolate dishes and fruit desserts, particularly apples and pears. It is common in many Middle Eastern and North African dishes, in flavouring lamb tagines or stuffed aubergines. It is used in curries and pilaus and in garam masala. It may be used to spice mulled wines, creams and syrups. The largest importer of Sri Lankan cinnamon is Mexico, where it is drunk with coffee and chocolate and brewed as a tea.

Attributed Medicinal Properties
Recent studies have determined that consuming as little as one-half teaspoon of Cinnamon each day may reduce blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels by as much as 20% in Type II diabetes patients who are not taking insulin it is mildly carminative and used to treat nausea and flatulence. It is also used alone or in combination to treat diarrhea. Chinese herbalists tell of older people, in their 70s and 80s, developing a cough accompanied by frequent spitting of whitish phlegm. A helpful remedy, they suggest, is chewing and swallowing a very small pinch of powdered cinnamon. This remedy can also help people with cold feet and hands, especially at night. Germany's Commission E approves Cinnamon for appetite loss and indigestion. The primary chemical constituents of this herb include cinnamaldehyde, gum, tannin, mannitol, coumarins, and essential oils (aldehydes, eugenol, pinene). Cinnamon is predominantly used as a carminative addition to herbal prescriptions. It is used in flatulent dyspepsia, dyspepsia with nausea, intestinal colic and digestive atony associated with cold & debilitated conditions. It relieves nausea and vomiting, and, because of its mild astringency, it is particularly useful in infantile diarrhea. The cinnamaldehyde component is hypotensive and spasmolytic, and increases peripheral blood flow. The essential oil of this herb is a potent antibacterial, anti-fungal, and uterine stimulant. The various terpenoids found in the volatile oil are believed to account for Cinnamon’s medicinal effects. Test tube studies also show that Cinnamon can augment the action of insulin. However, use of Cinnamon to improve the action of insulin in people with diabetes has yet to be proven in clinical trials.

Plant Description and Cultivation
Cinnamon is from a tropical evergreen tree of the laurel family growing up to 7m (56 ft) in its wild state. It has deeply-veined ovate leaves that are dark green on top, lighter green underneath. The bark is smooth and yellowish. Both the bark and leaves are aromatic. It has small yellowish-white flowers with a disagreeable odour that bear dark purple berries. It prefers a hot, wet tropical climate at a low altitude. Cultivated plantations grow trees as small bushes, no taller than 3 m (10 ft), as the stems are continually cut back to produce new stems for bark. The outer bark, cork and the pithy inner lining are scraped off and the remaining bark is left to dry completely, when it curls and rolls into quills. Several are rolled together to produce a compact final product, which is then cut into uniform lengths and graded according to thickness, aroma and appearance.

Other Names
Ceylon Cinnamon, True Cinnamon
French: cannelle
German: Ceylonzimt, Kaneel
Italian: cannella
Spanish: canela
Chinese: yook gway
Indian: dal-chini, darchini, dhall cheene
Sinhalese: kurundu
Tamil: karuvappadai




Stay Strong~~!!!
IPL