What does cinnamon do for the body. The benefits and harms of ground cinnamon, the variety of its applications

Oriental spices are not only aromatic additives to various dishes, buns, but also great benefit For human body. An unusual seasoning from the dried bark of a plant can significantly increase immunity. What are the health benefits of cinnamon? Find out how spice helps to lose weight, improve the condition of hair and skin, is a means of preventing colds and other diseases.

The composition and beneficial properties of cinnamon

The healing properties of cinnamon are due to its unique composition. Cinnamyl alcohol, aldehyde, cinnamyl acetate, essential oils, tannins, starch - the constituent particles of the spice. Substances have antiseptic action, counteract the formation of blood clots. Judging by the reviews, essential oil cinnamon helps a person recover from the flu, is used in cosmetology, just like ground cinnamon powder.

Medicinal use

If you use the spice with food, then the blood sugar level decreases, and the level of appetite decreases due to the smell itself. The feeling of hunger in a person subsides for a while, the metabolism increases and the person loses weight. What else is useful cinnamon? Spice neutralizes harmful effect intestinal toxins, toxins, lowers cholesterol, improves bowel and stomach function.

Cinnamon with honey is a very healthy and tasty addition to tea, but with sugar it loses its usefulness, gaining an increased calorie content. Such a spice for food reduces the appetite and weight of a person, makes age-related changes less harsh. Cinnamon tea can be drunk for people who suffer diabetes, pressure surges. Spezia is an active participant in the normalization of work hematopoietic system.

For flu and colds

If you use a small spoonful of honey with cinnamon every day, you can protect your body from colds, strengthen protective functions immune system. Blood cells in the blood appear more actively and the state of human health is strengthened. Composition helps with cough folk recipe:

1. 4 large spoons of honey with a teaspoon of cinnamon powder.
2. Take a teaspoon three times a day and there will be no cough after a couple of days.

For flu, you can use tea with a warming effect based on ground powder:

1. One stick of cinnamon is brewed with 4 cups of boiling water and infused for 20 minutes.
2. If you want, you can sweeten the tea with honey, add orange or lemon zest.
3. Honey is added to a warm, but not hot liquid.

With diabetes

Thanks to useful components, Ceylon spice has a beneficial effect on metabolic mechanisms, which is important for diabetes. With regular intake of cinnamon in a person with diabetes, the level of glucose decreases, the level good cholesterol and improved glucose and hemoglobin levels. bad cholesterol significantly reduced in the body, which prevents the action of toxic substances in the body. Blood vessels dilate, insulin is absorbed better, and the metabolic rate increases.

Before using cinnamon for medicinal purposes, consult an endocrinologist about individual tolerance so as not to harm the spice. If you want to use the spice as an additive to other products, then start with a gram to observe the reaction of the body, then increase the dose as needed up to 3 grams, but only after prior consultation with your doctor.

For weight loss

Weight loss with the help of spices is also feasible. Cinnamon for weight loss correct use, after a while gives good results for weight loss. What is useful natural cinnamon for the figure:

• lowering glucose;
• acceleration metabolic processes organism;
• maintaining a feeling of fullness for a longer period;
• enhanced effect of the spice on reducing the abdomen and waist.

You don't need to eat cinnamon pure form, but adding to yogurt, tea, porridge, jelly, cocoa, coffee, cottage cheese. Spice will bring benefits when sugar is not present in the dish. high efficiency has such a method of taking cinnamon for weight loss, such as preparing a special drink:

1. Dilute the cinnamon powder with boiling water, and after the liquid has cooled, add honey, the proportions of cinnamon and honey are 1: 2.
2. Divide a cup of such a drink into two portions: in the morning, drink half an hour before breakfast, and in the evening - before bedtime.

If you like to drink kefir, ryazhenka, milk, then you can add spice: 1 teaspoon per cup (200 ml) of liquid. Tasty and healthy for the figure will eat cinnamon with cottage cheese, it goes well with fermented milk products. To lower sugar levels, brew cinnamon with boiling water without honey, drink during the day in small portions, you can also after the main meals.

From pressure

For the most part, the oriental spice is useful for people with high blood pressure. With regular use of it in food, after a while, patients experience normalization of pressure. By adding a teaspoon of seasoning to food and drink, a person with high blood pressure will soon be able to reduce the rates. Can be consumed with honey, milk, tea or plain boiled water. Kefir with cinnamon is also considered a useful product for hypotensive patients.

With hypotension, people are allowed to use seasoning, but not in large quantities. Coffee lovers are allowed to add a pinch of cinnamon to the drink in the morning to improve well-being, because especially low blood pressure is observed in morning time. Thanks to this drink, increases emotional background, general condition organism. You can’t overdo it with spice: in large doses it can significantly reduce blood pressure.

In cosmetology

For cosmetic procedures powder seasoning and essential oil are used. What are the useful properties and contraindications of cinnamon in the cosmetology field:

1. Anti-inflammatory action.
2. Anti-cellulite effect when using wraps, body masks along with clay.
3. Fast exchange substances in the skin.
4. Deceleration of skin aging.
5. Strengthening hair, their improved growth, useful lightening paint. Cinnamon for hair is an alternative to dyeing, decoctions and masks are ways to lighten curls after a while.
6. For women, it is useful to use cinnamon as part of masks, facial scrubs. So the skin will become soft, tender and radiant, and wrinkles will be smoothed out.
7. For dark-haired hair, the use of the product is not suitable, otherwise it can provoke lightening.

To strengthen immunity

Frequent illness is a signal that immune defense the body is reduced. Cinnamon is useful assistant in the restoration of protective reactions. Ceylon and Chinese spices are especially effective in colds, because it contains many trace elements, vitamins, monosaccharides, disaccharides. What cinnamon helps with:

• frequent headaches;
• diseases gastrointestinal tract;
• the spread of bacteria, viruses in the body;
• pressure surges or hypertension;
• able to increase defensive reaction from negative environment;
• excellent prevention of viral diseases.

How to use

There are several ways to use cinnamon with the following ingredients:

1. With honey. Add a spoonful of ground spice to a liter jar of boiling water. Stir, when the mixture has cooled, add two tablespoons of honey and take in the morning, in the evening, 100 grams daily.
2. With kefir. For weight loss, such a drink is suitable: for 200 ml of kefir, add a small spoonful of cinnamon powder. If add hot peppers(pinch), then the metabolism improves, therefore, it is useful for those who are on a diet and want to look like a model in the photo.
3. With milk. For one glass warm milk add a third of a teaspoon of cinnamon, heat it up, it is not necessary to boil such a drink.
4. Coffee with cinnamon. Such a drink is prepared in a Turk, it is useful for people who suffer from poor health in the morning. You will need: finely ground coffee - 1.5 tsp, a cup of water, a piece of cinnamon stick (can be crushed). Place all dry ingredients in a Turk, fill with cold water. Put on fire to cook, and before boiling, remove. Pour the brewed drink into a cup. Optionally, cloves are added before brewing coffee.
5. Tea with ginger and cinnamon. Useful hot drink prepared like this: a teaspoon of ginger, half a teaspoon of cinnamon is poured into a cup hot water and infused for three hours. If the liquid is too spicy as a result, then add a slice of lemon or honey to taste.

Harm and contraindications

Not always cinnamon becomes useful medicine. There are a number of contraindications for which you can not eat the product:

• allergic reactions;
• uncertainty about the nature of the product. There is a fake from the Chinese tree "cassia", which causes headaches, liver disease;
• in large quantities - toxic substance For internal organs, especially the gastric mucosa;
• in case of bleeding;
• prohibited during pregnancy, nursing mothers. Medicine confirms that the spice leads to uterine contractions, even provokes a miscarriage;
• should not be used for gastritis, ulcers.

Video: the benefits and harms of cinnamon for the human body

Cinnamon belongs to the evergreen trees of the laurel family. The tree is grown in tropical regions. Before going on sale, the plant grows for two years, then the bark is cut off and dried. The inner thin layer of the bark is used as a spice. Cinnamon goes on sale in the form of twisted tubes and has a special, warm aroma.

Mistresses have long found the use of this spice in cooking, adding it to baking. In perfumery, the essential oil of the plant is used to compose perfume compositions of perfumes, soaps, gels and tonics. The properties of the plant have also been used in medicine. Mentions of it can be found in the tracts of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian doctrine of health, where unique medical qualities are attributed to it.

Composition of cinnamon

100 gr. cinnamon contains:

Cinnamon - 15 Health Benefits

1. The ability of cinnamon to lower blood sugar readings

   The chemical components of the composition of the plant are able to control blood glucose levels, which is an important factor for people with type 2 diabetes. The presence of flavonoids and polyphenols positive action with this disease. Cinnamon lowers triglyceride and cholesterol levels due to low lipoprotein density. Studies conducted in this area by American scientists have proven that the properties of the plant can be used in additional treatment regimens for patients with diabetes.

   The use of just half a teaspoon of the plant extract in the daily diet reduces glucose readings in patients with type 2 diabetes. You can add cinnamon to all kinds of dishes - cereals, tea, infusions.

2. Help plants with high cholesterol

   Confronted with the phrase bad cholesterol, it should be understood that these are formations of a protein-apoprotein compound and are referred to in medicine as an LDL complex. Cholesterol itself has an organic compound in the form of natural fatty alcohol. His settling on the walls blood vessels lead to the deposition of plaques that clog the lumen of the vessel and interfere with the free passage of blood.

   The ability of cinnamon to reduce the formation cholesterol plaques on the walls of blood vessels makes it indispensable for improving the functioning of the brain. Using the plant as an additive to culinary dishes, it is possible to reduce the percentage of LDL in the body and protect yourself from diseases such as stroke and myocardial infarction.

3. Use of cinnamon for weight loss

   Wrong image life, bad habits, the use of products with high content fats all this leads to an increase in body weight and unnecessary kilograms.

   Adding one tablespoon of the plant extract to the main dishes of the diet, as a dietary seasoning, will improve digestion and help manage excess weight.

4. Help cinnamon to improve circulation

   The use of the plant in food can improve blood circulation, which will favorably affect its oxygen saturation and activate the metabolic activity of cells.

5. Preventive properties of the plant in cancerous neoplasms

   The antioxidant properties of the plant make it possible to use the plant extract in the course of anti-cancer preventive measures, combining them with the right way life and physical activity, especially if there is a hereditary threat of the disease.

6. Antimicrobial and antifungal properties of the plant

   In pharmacology, the properties of the essential oil of a plant are considered one of the best, able to counteract the formation of viruses, bacteria and fungal infections. During the period of seasonal respiratory diseases, it is enough to carry out a wet cleaning of the house with the addition of a few drops of oil, and the disinfecting effect will be ensured.

   And tea with cinnamon normalizes the microflora oral cavity, and eliminates pathogenic yeast-like Candida fungi, which often occur against the background of a general decrease in immunity.

   People suffering from hyperhidrosis excessive sweating feet caused by the presence of fungal infections, the antifungal properties of the plant will help get rid of this problem. By adding 5-8 drops to the water for foot baths, you can not only prevent unpleasant odors, but also eliminate the appearance of fungus.

7. Properties of cinnamon aimed at improving digestion

   Nutritionists recommend the use of spices in the diet due to the presence in it of a large amount of micro and macro minerals magnesium, iron, calcium, which favorably affects the work digestive tract. It was found that the plant is able, by its qualities, to resist inflammation caused by coli and improve peristalsis of digestion. Cinnamon is also excellent source fiber. Its components calcium and manganese are aimed at improving digestion by binding salts of bile acids and removing them from the body.

8. Help with arthritis

   Observations of patients with arthrosis, in which therapy using the properties of cinnamon was used, showed the ability of the plant to reduce cytokines that inhibit the production of cartilage lubrication. Patients who took ground cinnamon powder for 10 days felt significant relief and gained the ability to move freely without feeling pain.

9. The use of cinnamon in dentistry

   Many hygiene products dentistry, include the essential oil of the plant in the composition of oral care products. And this is justified. The antibacterial properties of the plant not only eliminate bad smell oral cavity, but also improve the condition of the gums.

10. Properties of the plant to improve cognitive abilities

    It is the cognitive abilities of the psyche (memory, attention, sense of smell, etc.) that give us the opportunity to navigate in society. The processes of smell are physiologically closely related to the process of memory and memorization. Cinnamon is included in the list of essential oils that can have a stimulating effect on human cognitive abilities. If you say the word "cinnamon" out loud, everyone, without exception, will remember its pleasant aroma.

    Cinnamon not only activates processes brain activity but is also an excellent tonic. Research conducted in Florida by Dr. Zoladz found the ability of cinnamon extract to improve memory quality and visual motor skills.

11. Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease with Cinnamon

    One of the standout properties of cinnamon is its ability to prevent Alzheimer's disease. Scientific research in this area give positive results, based on the effect of a spicy plant, to have a positive effect on the human brain. Prevention of this disease is based on daily use in the diet of cinnamon extract.

12. Use of essential vapors of cinnamon to repel insects

    The sweet aroma of cinnamon is an environmentally friendly way to repel unwanted guests of our home - ants, mosquitoes, moths, flies and other insects. At home, you can independently prepare a spray for this purpose by diluting a few drops of oil in one liter of water and treating them with places where insects accumulate. Cinnamon sticks can be hung in doorways, thereby protecting yourself in summer period from flies.

13. Using cinnamon as a food concentrate

    Cinnamon not only repels insects, it is also an excellent preservative, often used in cooking. By putting a pinch of plant powder in the refrigerator, you can get rid of the unpleasant smell in it. The bread will stay fresh and will not show signs of mold if there is a cinnamon stick in the bread box.

14. The plant's ability to balance hormonal levels

    organic compound cinnamaldehyde can balance hormones female body during menopause and in the intervals between "critical" days, increasing female progesterone levels. Although the remedy has a natural vegetable origin However, you should consult your doctor before using it.

    Researchers at Columbia University have established the ability of the plant to control the female menstrual cycle in the manifestations of polycystic ovaries, which women so often experience.

15. Help with sore throats

    Possessing antibacterial properties, cinnamon can have an anti-inflammatory effect caused by sore throats. For this, procedures in the form of rinses are used. Cinnamon sticks infused for a day in one liter of water saturate the solution with useful substances and soothe a sore throat.

16. Cinnamon is a natural aphrodisiac

    Essential extracts plants, irritating our receptors, cry out, positive feedback to her scent, while awakening sex drive in men and the desire of women. Many personal contraceptive items smell like cinnamon.

17. The use of cinnamon in cosmetology

    cinnamon oil found wide application not only in medical but also in cosmetic purposes. Ensuring the transformation of the skin with its application.

    Mask with cinnamon and honey

    Pre-melted honey in the amount of two tablespoons, mixed in one teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Apply to face and keep for 20-30 minutes. This procedure has a rejuvenating effect.

    Mask with cinnamon, honey and nutmeg

    Melted honey 2 tablespoons, mixed with one teaspoon of cinnamon. Add 1 tablespoon of finely ground nutmeg to the resulting mass. The duration of the mask is 20 minutes. The mask is not only nutritious, but also acts as a belongings.

    Cinnamon hair mask

    Cinnamon essential oil, having a tonic effect, is used in components for the care of dry, thin hair. The basic component for such a procedure can be any oil to taste - olive, burdock. For 50 ml base oil add 6-7 drops of cinnamon ether, distributing massage movements tool along the entire length of the strands. The procedure time is one hour. It is recommended to repeat the manipulation at intervals of once every five days.

Cinnamon - contraindications

In moderate doses, cinnamon has a positive effect on various systems body, but there are a number of contraindications that should be considered when using spices. Cinnamon should not be consumed:

People with individual intolerance to the components of the plant;

Women who are breastfeeding. The spice retains its flavors in mother's milk and is not liked by newborns;

Cinnamon is also prohibited for manifestations of primary vascular hemostasis due to poor blood clotting;

Use with restrictions for manifestations of ulcers and increased indications of stomach acidity;

In large doses, cinnamon causes allergic reactions, accompanied by skin rashes and swelling.

In Egypt, the price of cinnamon was equal to the price of silver. Only for representatives of the nobility, it was added to pastries and wine.

Cinnamon oil is part of the warming healing ointments.

The plant is native to Sri Lanka. The cinnamon plant grown there occupies a leading position with its qualities. The second and third places are given to the plantations of Indonesia and Brazil.

Cinnamon turns anything culinary dish with a unique delicacy. Entering the store and smelling the smell of cinnamon, you just want to buy a bun flavored with it. Managers use this trick to get more sales.

What else is useful?

There were many rumors about an ancient spice called cinnamon. About this brown fragrant bark, similar to a cigar, they composed horror stories. For a long time it was impossible to find out the truth about cinnamon. What is it, where does it come from and how is it mined? These questions have long been a mystery to mere mortals. Cinnamon, the benefits and harms of which were not studied in the old days, was considered a valuable gift that was presented to royalty along with silver and gold.

Sweet smell of legend

In China 3,000 years ago lived Shen Nung Kwan, an emperor who adored cinnamon. This fragrant spice was also loved by Hatshepsut, the Egyptian queen, who sent whole ships after her. In Rome, cinnamon was used to flavor funeral pyres. Even Nero did not spare a year's supply of cinnamon to bury his wife, whom, according to rumors, he himself killed.

The news about how much cinnamon cost in ancient times, the benefits and harms of which were then little known, can now only cause surprise. And it cost "only" seven times cheaper than silver. To inflate prices for cinnamon, terrifying rumors were told about its production. That spice is mined in places teeming with poisonous reptiles; taken from the Arabians huge rats; stolen from strange birds.

These rumors have been around for a long time. Until, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, a ship from Ceylon arrived at the port of Spain. The ship brought 25 tons of cheap cinnamon. Since then, the market has been saturated and cinnamon has fallen in price.

Although this spice is forged today. Especially often cinnamon is replaced with cassia, the bark of a related tree. Cassia contains coumarin. This substance reduces blood clotting, which may not be beneficial for everyone.

They distinguish a fake at a price too low for real cinnamon, and the color of the sticks, which should be a delicate light brown or yellow color. You can also check with a drop of iodine. If iodine is dropped on real cinnamon powder, it should not change color. And if it's a fake, it will turn dark blue.

Varieties of cinnamon

Known today different types cinnamon from the bark of the cinnamon tree. The most popular and fragrant is cassia, Chinese cinnamon, its benefits and harms are fifty-fifty. The most expensive and useful is Ceylon (cinnamon), and the most bitter is Malabar. In the CIS, Chinese cinnamon is the most common, as it is the cheapest. But other types are also available.

Beneficial features

What is good about cinnamon? The benefits of this spice are always well known. Cinnamon is claimed to aid digestion, improve appetite, stimulate brain activity, and improve memory. According to unverified data, cinnamon-sprinkled buns can turn an ordinary student into a real honors student. And if you use cinnamon in diet food, as a seasoning for dishes, then the most tasteless vegetarian menu will seem like a delicacy.

All this gives us cinnamon. Its benefit is that a whole bouquet was found in it useful substances, vitamins (groups K, B, E, beta-carotene) flavonoids and dietary fiber. And many more trace elements: magnesium, copper, zinc, manganese, iron, calcium, etc.

Together, this provides the antioxidant effect of the spice and positive influence on the body, which heals, strengthens the immune system and by itself begins to fight the infection. Cinnamon is pushing the body to this, its beneficial properties and contraindications can be considered in different aspects, successfully applied in each case.

Cinnamon is also used to treat colds by adding to honey and ingesting it. And this spice is put in the composition of warming ointments, for external use. And it's all cinnamon. Its usefulness as a means of improving metabolism is undeniable. It supports diabetics in the fight against high glycemic index.

Taking just half a teaspoon of cinnamon in the morning can help maintain a stable glucose level throughout the day. Here's how cinnamon can help diabetics. Benefit and harm in it go side by side, as in every medicine, but the benefit still prevails.

Harm or benefit

Everything is poison and everything is medicine. Only the dosage makes the medicine a poison, and the poison a medicine.” So said great alchemist and physician Paracelsus.

Cinnamon has useful properties, and it also has contraindications. Cinnamon improves the peristaltic contractions of the gastrointestinal tract (which seems to be good), but because of this, gas production and diarrhea can increase. Cinnamon can also aggravate heartburn and provoke allergic rashes on the skin.

It is forbidden to take it for pregnant women (it reduces the uterus). Cinnamon can also harm the liver if consumed in high doses. In face masks, where one of the ingredients is cinnamon, you must strictly observe the time of application. If you get carried away and do not wash off the mask in time, allergic reactions and even skin burns can begin.

Honey and cinnamon

Since ancient times, mankind has been using honey against many diseases. And honey combined with cinnamon is very useful. Below are recipes from various ailments that cinnamon treats, the beneficial properties and contraindications of which must be taken into account in each specific case.

How to be treated

Twice a day for weight loss you need to take cinnamon and honey in a ratio of 1/2. For one part cinnamon - take two parts of honey. Place a tablespoon of the mixture in a glass of cold water. Drink in a cup.

In case of heart disease, it is necessary to eat a piece of bread every morning, smeared with a honey-cinnamon mixture. It lowers cholesterol, improves the condition of blood vessels, heals the heart and saves from a heart attack.

For arthritis per cup warm water lay down one spoonful of cinnamon powder and two spoonfuls of honey. Consume one cup of the mixture in the morning and one before bed. Regular use cures any arthritis.

For high cholesterol, put two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of cinnamon in two glasses of warm water. Use during the day for three doses.

To strengthen hairline: Heat three tablespoons of olive oil, add a teaspoon of cinnamon and a tablespoon of honey. Mix well and rub into hair for half an hour. Then wash your hair. Frequent use does stronger roots hair.

Treatment of wounds and infections: mix cinnamon and honey in equal proportions. Lubricate problem areas until the final cure.

Pimples: Mix a teaspoon of cinnamon and three tablespoons of honey. Apply to pimples before going to bed and wash off in the morning.

Gastrointestinal disorders: cinnamon and honey relieve pain symptoms and heal ulcers.

If hearing is impaired, taking cinnamon and honey gradually improves it.

For a cold: a tablespoon of honey and a quarter of a spoon of cinnamon, drink this warm water. Take three times a day. It cures cough, runny nose, relieves colds.

Cinnamon. Reviews. Questions

Where is cinnamon added? In juice, cottage cheese, various desserts, in coffee and cakes.

It is added to meat dishes? Yes. It goes well with chicken, lamb, pork. But cinnamon is also put in fruit fillings for pies. In pies, its aroma is heard immediately. Add it to porridge, jam and sauces.

Is cinnamon harmful? Everything is good in moderation.

Is ground cinnamon good or bad? The benefits and harms of cinnamon powder are exactly the same as those of ordinary cinnamon sticks. Her faction doesn't matter here.

Cinnamon has been known to the world since 1536, when Portuguese navigators discovered thickets of cinnamon trees in the Ceylon Islands. Local residents actively used the bark of these trees in cooking. Soon this spice conquered the whole world and is now used in recipes from different countries.

The Mexicans add it to chocolate and coffee, in Spain a cinnamon stick is served with gin and tonic, the French bake cinnamon cookies, and in the East it is used as a seasoning for lamb and poultry.

There are 4 types of cinnamon in total:

• Ceylon cinnamon. Distributed in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and some countries South America. It has a sweetish, slightly burning taste and the most delicate aroma;
• Chinese (cassia canel or plain cinnamon). Her home is South China. She has more pronounced taste than Ceylon, but less refined aroma;
• Malabar (cassia-vera or brown cinnamon). Found in India or Burma. The taste is quite sharp, with bitterness;
• cinnamon. This is a spicy, pungent type of cinnamon that grows in Indonesia and the Moluccas.

Chemical composition and pharmacological properties of cinnamon

The composition of cinnamon includes: about 60% cinnamic acid aldehyde, 4-18% eugenol, essential oil, starch, mucus, resin, tannins, vitamins, macro- and microelements.

Main pharmacological property and the specific aroma of cinnamon are due to its main component - cinnamic acid aldehyde. Cinnamon oil is detrimental to a number of viruses, microbes and fungi, including the most aggressive ones. It also has antiseptic, diaphoretic, antipyretic and expectorant properties, making it a desirable component of antiviral and antimicrobial therapy.

Even in ancient medical manuscripts, recipes are described that include cinnamon tincture. Means based on it were prescribed to enhance digestive activity, restore strength, vascular problems and uterine bleeding.

Beneficial features

Skillfully using the beneficial properties of cinnamon, you can provide significant assistance to your body in the fight against many diseases. Here's what this spice is capable of:

For the beautiful half of humanity, this spice can do a good job. with pain syndromes during menstrual cycles - It relieves spasms well. Cinnamon also has an exceptional ability to inhibit the growth of Candida fungus, which often affects the female microflora.

Separately, it should be noted the effective the use of cinnamon in cosmetology. A scalp massage with cinnamon oil can stop hair loss and speed up hair growth.

Cinnamon powder added to cosmetic mask for the face, enhance its effect and have bactericidal action on the skin.

Useful properties of cinnamon for men

Men should pay attention to this spice for one reason already - the stronger sex is prone to heart disease. Cinnamon helps lower cholesterol levels and just one daily cup with a pinch of cinnamon can significantly reduce the risk of developing diseases of cardio-vascular system. Even for those who have already suffered a heart attack, cinnamon will be useful. It will strengthen the heart muscle and help prevent a second heart attack.

Another magical property cinnamon - it is a powerful aphrodisiac, increasing sexual desire and improving the quality of sex.

Benefits of cinnamon for weight loss

Useful qualities of cinnamon have found application and in dietetics. Firstly, this spice is low-calorie - only 247 kcal per 100 g. Secondly, cinnamon activates metabolic processes in the body. It has the ability to increase the metabolism of glucose in the body by 20 times, which allows it to be actively absorbed by cells, and not settle in the form of body fat.

The easiest way to add cinnamon to cereals, cottage cheese or coffee. In the evenings, before dinner, you can make such a cocktail: add half a teaspoon of cinnamon and ginger and a pinch of red pepper to one glass of kefir. This mixture dulls the feeling of hunger and reduces appetite. Of course, cinnamon rolls do not contribute to weight loss - cinnamon itself does not burn fat.

Contraindications to the use of cinnamon

Despite so many medicinal properties, cinnamon should not be taken uncontrollably. Like almost any product, it has its contraindications:

• cinnamon absolutely contraindicated in pregnant and lactating women. The spice increases uterine muscle contractions and can cause miscarriage;
• people with a tendency to blood pressure , also do not use cinnamon, as it can increase the heart rate;
• spice contains coumarin, in large numbers negatively affecting the kidneys and liver, therefore, it is better for people with diseases of these organs not to abuse cinnamon;
• cinnamon contraindicated in children under 3 years of age.

For everyone who is not included in the above categories, this spice will only be useful, it will help you get healthier and lose weight. But even with such significant healing properties, let's not forget that cinnamon is just delicious! A cup of freshly brewed coffee powdered with cinnamon and a slice of apple pie will give you as much pleasure as it does good.

Cinnamon: medicinal properties and contraindications for taking at different ages

Cinnamon (the name in botany is Ceylon cinnamon) is an evergreen tree or shrub of the laurel family that grows in the tropical zone in China, on the island of Ceylon, on the Hindustan Peninsula, on the islands of the Indonesian archipelago, in Brazil.

Thanks to biblical texts and written ancient sources, it is known that cinnamon was used before our era in Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome; in the Middle Ages, it was brought from Egypt to Europe by Italian merchants.

After the discovery of the island of Ceylon by Portuguese travelers in the 15th century, its factory production by Dutch and English entrepreneurs begins.

Making cinnamon

Cinnamon trees grow in two years, after which they are cut, but only young branches are processed: the bark is cut off from them, while its outer part is unsuitable, it goes into processing inner part bark.

A new tree, after cutting, grows from the remaining rhizome.

The inside of the bark goes to the dryer and is then used in the form of sticks or ground into a powder.

Cinnamon is actively used in culinary arts as a spicy seasoning and in medicine as biologically active additive. In order for this well-known spice to bring benefits, and not harm, you need to know its medicinal properties and contraindications for use.

Composition of cinnamon

Now cinnamon is popular not only for its spicy smell, but also for its unique composition, it contains:

• essential oil;
• tannins;
• starch;
• compounds of calcium, magnesium, zinc and potassium salts;
• iron-containing elements;
• manganese salts;
• B vitamins;
• ascorbic acid;
• tocopherol (vitamin E);
• nicotinic acid (vitamin PP).

Cinnamon - high-calorie product containing saturated fatty acid and lots of carbs

Useful properties of cinnamon

Thanks to the substances included in the composition, cinnamon has numerous beneficial properties.

It has long been known as a tool that:

1. lowers the temperature
2. warms;
3. reduces the intensity of inflammatory processes;
4. relieves severe pain;
5. fights infection
6. increases the body's resistance.

What diseases is cinnamon useful for?

The healing properties of ground cinnamon can be used in the prevention and treatment of many common diseases:

• cardiovascular insufficiency;
• diseases digestive system(in particular, peptic ulcer, gastritis);
• diseases excretory system( , and other);
• flu and colds;
• arthritis;
• elevated blood cholesterol levels;
• weakened immunity;
• damage and infectious diseases skin;
• helminthiases;

Also, cinnamon helps to eliminate bad breath, get rid of acne, from, strengthens and restores the hair structure, facilitates toothache and etc.

Cinnamon for diabetes

Recent studies by scientists have proven the effectiveness of the healing properties of cinnamon for.

Cinnamon, thanks to its tannins and essential substances, cinnamic aldehyde can lower blood sugar levels.

If you take cinnamon regularly for 3-4 weeks, diabetic patients accelerate metabolism, dilate blood vessels and increase tissue sensitivity to insulin, and as a secondary effect, there is a decrease in body weight and inflammation.

After consultation with an endocrinologist, diabetics can inject cinnamon into daily diet starting at one gram per day and working up to three grams.

The most popular recipes suggest adding ground cinnamon to kefir and drinking it before meals twice a day, as well as brewing one or two cinnamon sticks with tea and drinking this drink throughout the day.

Using Cinnamon: Traditional Medicine Recipes

Honey with cinnamon

Preparation: Sprinkle two tablespoons of honey with crushed cinnamon and take before meals.

Tea with the addition of two tablespoons of cinnamon and one teaspoon of honey eliminates inflammation Bladder relieves pain stomach cramps, restores normal digestion, has anti-ulcer activity.

Tea with cinnamon and orange peel

Preparation: pour boiling water over orange peel and one cinnamon stick, insist for ten minutes, then pour the mixture into tea, boil, let it brew for three minutes and take as a drink three to four times a day.

Cinnamon kefir cocktail is effective for weight loss

Preparation: a teaspoon of cinnamon powder, a teaspoon of grated ginger root and a pinch of red pepper are added to 250 g of kefir, mixed thoroughly and consumed before meals.

Video: Kefir with cinnamon for weight loss

Nourishing hair mask

Preparation: mix two teaspoons of olive oil with a teaspoon of cinnamon powder and half a tablespoon of honey to obtain an emulsion, rub into the scalp for 10 minutes. before washing your hair for 5-10 minutes, then rinse off the mask with warm water.

An ointment of honey and cinnamon is used externally against the fungus of the skin and mucous membranes, as well as for fast healing wounds and cuts.

Preparation: mix equal amounts of honey and cinnamon powder until smooth and apply to the affected areas of the skin or mucous membranes.

Applications of honey and cinnamon relieve toothache

Preparation: mix five teaspoons of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon and apply on tooth surface until complete disappearance pain.

Cinnamon and honey paste

Lowers blood cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of. Preparation: mix honey and cinnamon and spread on bread, eat daily for breakfast.

Body wraps made from honey and cinnamon are a means of improving blood circulation, breaking down fats and removing toxins. Therefore, with the help of such wraps, you can fight cellulite, fat deposits in the waist area and.

In the main wrapping recipe, you can add ground red pepper, olive oil, ground coffee, mustard powder, blue clay.

Honey-cinnamon facial and body scrub has a rejuvenating and tightening effect, gives the skin freshness and elasticity.

Contraindications

Excessive consumption of cinnamon can be harmful to health.

1. children under three years of age;
2. pregnant and lactating women;
3. at ;
4. in the presence of bleeding;
5. at chronic diseases kidneys and liver;
6. along with drugs.

How to choose and store cinnamon?

Cinnamon comes in two varieties: Ceylon and Chinese. It should be borne in mind that Ceylon has a more pronounced flavor than Chinese.

Cinnamon is stored in a glass container with a tight lid in a dark and dry place. Ground cinnamon should not be stored for more than six months, but cinnamon in the form of sticks retains healing properties and spicy aroma all year long.

Conclusion

Cinnamon - wonderful product, which has a complex of useful properties that strengthen health and vitality.

Video: Useful properties and harm of cinnamon