Cinnamon

My favorite spice of them all, cinnamon is sweet, spicy, and warm and is an incredibly versatile spice in your kitchen. I like to use cinnamon in tea, oatmeal, desserts, soups, on sweet potatoes, toast, marinades, and grain/rice dishes.

  • Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known to man, and has been used for thousands of years in Chinese botanical medicine for healing and wellness.
  • Specific oil in cinnamon has been shown to help prevent unwanted clotting of blood platelets – which are parts of blood that clump together in response to injury. Too much clotting of the blood (especially when your body isn’t injured) can cause inadequate blood flow to your heart. Not good!
  • Cinnamon also has anti-bacterial properties and has been studied for its effectiveness in stopping growth of bacteria, fungi, and yeast.
  • Cinnamon helps blood sugar levels stay normal in the body. After eating, the cinnamon slows the rate of the stomach emptying after a meal, which reduces the rise in blood sugar after chowing down.
  • Cinnamon may also help improve insulin response in people with type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that compounds in cinnamon not only perk up insulin responders, but it also stops an enzyme that deactivates them – meaning cells have the ability to use glucose, instead of hanging out in the bloodstream.
  • Cinnamon smells delicious, right? This delectable aroma may even improve your brain function! Research presented at an annual Association for Chemoreception Sciences in 2004 found that smelling cinnamon, or chewing cinnamon gum, enhanced study participant’s cognitive abilities, specifically on memory tasks, visual-motor speed, and attention processes.

Vegukate Tips:

You can purchase both cinnamon sticks and ground cinnamon. Store both in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. The sticks can be stored for up to a year, while the ground cinnamon is best up to six months.