Now to the actual topic of this post... CINNAMON!! my favorite spice.
Lately I've been hearing people I know talk about some recent development about cinnamon being bad for you. When asked further they tend to make an adjustment to their claim that it is in large doses. Being someone who uses cinnamon by the spoon-full, I had to do some research to validate this claim.
First disclaimer... everyone's body is different. The following research is more of an average over a wide population, not discussing specific people's allergies. If you have an allergic reaction to cinnamon... don't eat it. (should be common sense but not everyone is common with their sense...)
So! here we go. The "scary" cinnamon story.
In a quick google search you find forums with fearful posts warning those people taking the cinnamon challenge (eating a spoon-full of cinnamon dry supposedly can't be done) that what they are doing is toxic. I don't know how long these posts have been around but the popularity in my circles has increased as of late. The fear comes from the Cinnamomum cassia. One of the many types of cinnamon that does actually have side-affects to eating large quantities. It is toxic. But what are large quantities? Webmd just says "very high quantities". The page is referring to the pill-form doses that can be found in the vitamin section of your local grocery store and not the jars that are found in the spice section. Being in pill-form, users are more likely to overdose as they can just keep popping those pills (not sure why you would but... ya never know). To use a toxic level of cinnamon in your food would be... well it would be more than the "cinnamon challenge" which is too hard for people to ingest all at once anyway. That is assuming you ONLY are ingesting cinnamomum cassia. Webmd has this to say:
Most of the spice sold as cinnamon in the United States and Canada is Chinese cinnamon (C. cassia). The more expensive Ceylon cinnamon (C. verum) is the form of the spice preferred in Mexico, Europe and Oceania.[3][dead link] "Indonesian cinnamon" (C. burmannii) is also commonly sold in the United States, where it is labeled only as cinnamon
In short, when you buy cinnamon, you are getting a mix of different types of cinnamon plants who are not all toxic. Even if you did ingest a "very large quantity" of cinnamon, you aren't getting that full dosage of the cassia plant so that quantity is diluted.
The health benefits are substantial and make cinnamon worthwhile to eat (especially if you enjoy the taste). These benefits include:
-Improving glucose and lipids levels to fight against diabetes.
-Help prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease
-Fight against HIV (not a cure but helps reduce HIV activity)
-Help stop the destructive process of multiple sclerosis
-regulate blood sugar levels
-lower the effects of high fat meals
-relieve pain from arthritis
-boost immune system
-prevent blood clots
-relieve indigestion
**Keep in mind not all of these have been scientifically proven as fact and is therefore not considered medical treatment for ALL of the above ailments, however the correlation between cinnamon and the above benefits make it worthwhile to consume.
Summary:
Cinnamon is not bad for you unless you specifically take "very large quantities" of the specific C. cassia plant. It is a lovely spice that tastes great, not to mention has several health benefits that make it worth taking as a pill to some people. Cinnamon = good :D
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