Benefits of cinnamon. How to use ground cinnamon

For many years, cinnamon has been considered the prima donna of spices. Several centuries ago it was very expensive and worth its weight in silver. This unique spice can diversify the taste of dishes and brings irreplaceable useful action on human health.

The seasoning is made from the bark of an evergreen tree growing in the Asian tropics. Specialists especially value Ceylon cinnamon. In chain stores you can buy the spice in the form of sticks, or you can buy it in powder.

Benefits of spices

The irreplaceable benefits of cinnamon are explained by the presence of a certain composition of elements that are found in the spice. This:

• dietary fiber, carbohydrates and fats, proteins, saturated fatty acids, di- and monosaccharides;
• unique oil – eugenol;
• vitamins A, E, C and group B;
• macroelements: potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus;
• trace elements: zinc, iron, manganese, copper, selenium.

In addition to the well-known beneficial properties, this spice helps improve taste quality baking and sweet drinks, cinnamon is widely used in cosmetology and as a means traditional medicine. She provides:

• anti-inflammatory;
• antimicrobial;
• painkiller;
• antibactericidal effect.

The medicinal benefits of the substance are based on the content of special polyphenols in it. Cinnamon is often recommended for use for prevention and treatment during the height of viral diseases and for their prevention. This remedy promotes expectoration, stimulates immune system body. Warm drinks with the addition of cinnamon help increase sweating, relieve swelling of the nasal mucosa, and make breathing easier.

The spice is often used to treat diseases of the stomach and intestinal tract. She provides:

• tonic;
• stimulating;
• antiseptic effect.

It increases appetite and stimulates the digestive process. Fiber, which is part of the spice, has the ability to cleanse the human large intestine of accumulated toxins. The spice has a positive effect on the gastrointestinal tract. intestinal tract, improves its performance.

Experts note the special property of cinnamon - to prevent blood clots, and its ability to increase the elasticity of blood vessels. Therefore, it is recommended to take it regularly to reduce the risk of heart disease and vascular system, for the prevention of heart attack and stroke.

World scientists, after conducting research, concluded that cinnamon helps normalize blood sugar levels. It is useful for patients with diabetes, since the polyphenol contained in the spice helps improve the patient’s body’s response to injected insulin. Scientists have proven its properties: reduce hunger, accelerate metabolic processes in the body, improve blood circulation.

The smell of cinnamon is used by specialists when prescribing aromatherapy. Choline stimulates brain activity, improves memory and helps improve mood and improve performance. The spice is considered the most useful for depression: its aroma invigorates a person and helps improve mood.

Eugenol, an essential oil found in cinnamon, has an analgesic effect for skin diseases. Due to the cinnamic acid aldehyde found in the spice, its warming effect is highly valued.

The benefits of spice for beauty

This universal seasoning not only imparts a noble aroma and taste to dishes, but also has a beneficial effect on the human body - cinnamon is used in the cosmetology industry. Thanks to the antioxidants contained in the composition, the spice’s ability to stimulate blood circulation in the vessels of the skin and hair follicles has been proven.

This popular spice has long been added to face masks and stimulates hair growth, giving it an amazing silky shine to restore its structure and strength. Cosmetologists use such masks for patients with weak and brittle hair. Ease of manufacture and use allows them to be used at home.

Popular recipes for masks for healthy hair in women

Restorative. To prepare the mask mixture you need to take:

• a teaspoon of ground cinnamon,
• fresh honey - 2 tablespoons,
• heated oil (olive or castor) - 2 tablespoons.

Mix the mixture well and apply to damp hair. Cover your head with a plastic cap or film and wrap it with a scarf. The mask lasts for about an hour. Then rinse your hair with running water and shampoo. Rinsing is done with water, to which you need to add juice from half a lemon.

Mask – adding volume to hair. Cooking method:

• grind a red tomato into a paste,
• oil (burdock or sunflower) and honey, one tablespoon each,
• one teaspoon of ground cinnamon,
• well beaten chicken egg.

All ingredients are mixed well. The mixture must be applied to the head and along the entire length of the hair. Keep for about an hour. After time, the hair is washed with shampoo or soap and rinsed with water with added lemon juice.

A mask that promotes hair growth. The use of such a mask helps strengthen hair and promotes its fastest growth. Preparation:

• a medium-sized onion is ground into pulp;
• Grate 4 cloves of garlic (medium size) on a fine grater;
• two teaspoons of cinnamon;
• a teaspoon of liquid honey.

Everything is mixed very thoroughly and rubbed into the skin and hair roots. The head is covered with a plastic cap and tied with a scarf for half an hour. Wash your hair with running water and soap or shampoo, and be sure to rinse with nettle decoction.

What else are the benefits of unique cinnamon?

Modern scientists have proven that it is cinnamon that helps preserve the beauty and youth of a woman’s body. Regular consumption of the spice enhances sexuality and awakens desire, normalizes menstrual cycle, increases the sensitivity of erogenous zones.

Many people know about the miraculous property of seasoning to enhance metabolic processes in the body. Thanks to this action, fat cells are quickly burned. A drink made from spices and low-fat kefir is popular among women who want to lose weight.

The recipe for making the drink is quick and quite simple: combine one and a half liters of kefir with one spoon of cinnamon and mix well. Keep refrigerated. Take a glass throughout the day. During the fasting day - just one - the weight loss is 1 - 1.5 kg. For further weight loss, this drink is used to replace dinner.

The benefits of spices for the stronger sex are undeniable. Its use increases potency and improves erection. Preparation of the drink: pour a spoonful of cinnamon powder into a glass of boiling water. Leave for 40 - 45 minutes, add two tablespoons of honey and be sure to mix thoroughly. Take half a glass only once a day for two months.

The main thing to remember is that when using cinnamon, you cannot add sugar or fat inside. When combined with these ingredients, cinnamon loses the lion's share of its irreplaceable properties.

Cinnamon is known primarily as one of the most popular spices. Once upon a time, in ancient times, it was available only to kings and emperors, but today it can be found in the arsenal of any good housewife.

Cinnamon is used for baking, making desserts, chocolate, added to coffee, often cinnamon sticks are stored in the closet and just for smell. In the East, lamb and poultry dishes are often seasoned with cinnamon. But few people think about how useful and harmful properties this product has. But in vain. Cinnamon is the dried bark of cinnamon trees. It contains essential oils (about two percent), tannins, resin, and is rich in calcium and dietary fiber. So what effect does cinnamon have on the body? What benefit can it bring, and what harm can it cause?

Let's figure it out:

Useful and healing properties of cinnamon

1. Due to its composition, cinnamon prevents the development of such terrible diseases, such as colon cancer. Fiber and calcium “bind” bile salts, after which these substances harmful to the colon are eliminated from the body.
2. The fiber contained in cinnamon is an excellent preventative for combating constipation and diarrhea.
3. The antioxidant and antibacterial properties of cinnamon are of no small importance; an extract from it is used as one of the components for the production of cold medicines. medicines. Everyone knows the good old “grandmother’s” recipe for colds - honey with cinnamon.
4. Scientific research show that this spice helps lower blood sugar, which is of particular value for diabetics. Just half a teaspoon of cinnamon can significantly affect insulin activity and the ability of cells to absorb glucose. 5. Cinnamon helps reduce “bad” cholesterol in the blood. The habit of drinking a cup of cinnamon tea before starting working day can significantly reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Even for those who have already had a heart attack, cinnamon can do a good job - it will help strengthen the heart muscle and reduce the risk of another heart attack.
6. Due to its antibacterial properties, cinnamon can be used in canning, especially as an ingredient in marinades. Well, in general, cinnamon allows you to extend the shelf life of products to which it is added.
7. Cinnamon oil has the ability to relieve skin irritation, so it is added to various creams and ointments.
8. The aroma of cinnamon has the ability to lift your mood, improve brain function and visual memory.

Cinnamon as a means to increase potency in men

Benefits of cinnamon for men's health have been known for a long time. Here is just one of the recipes to help improve erection: To prepare the drug you will need a glass of boiled water, a spoonful of ground cinnamon and two spoons of honey. Pour boiling water over the cinnamon, leave for 30-40 minutes. When the mixture has cooled, add honey to it, mix thoroughly and drink half a glass once a day. It is advisable to conduct the course within two months.

Another remedy for increasing potency is cinnamon, which can be added little by little to food. But here you first need to make sure that the oil High Quality, without chemicals and dyes.

Cinnamon as a means for weight loss

Cinnamon can really help those who want to lose weight excess weight due to its ability to accelerate metabolic processes. For these purposes, tea with ground cinnamon and honey is best suited. It is better to prepare it in the evening, and drink it in two doses - morning and evening.

The recipe is simple: Pour a teaspoon of cinnamon powder into a glass of boiling water, add two teaspoons of honey, let it cool, and put it in the refrigerator overnight. We drink half a glass the next day before breakfast, the rest before bed.

In addition, cinnamon can be added to coffee, yogurt, porridge (pumpkin, rice, oatmeal) and other dishes for the same purpose.

Coffee with cinnamon

Many fans of cinnamon coffee do not even suspect that in this way they help their body maintain a normal weight. Making coffee with cinnamon is as easy as shelling pears - just add a pinch of powder to the drink and you're done.

The main condition is not to add any fats and sugars, because in combination with them, cinnamon loses the lion's share of its beneficial properties. No cream, sugar, ice cream or honey - just coffee and cinnamon.

As a last resort, you can add some other spices like ginger root and cardamom - each spice on the tip of a knife.

Contraindications

As with any other product, even the healthiest one, it is important not to overdo it with cinnamon. Half a teaspoon a day is unlikely to harm anyone, but with more serious doses caution is needed:

1. Cinnamon contains a substance called “coumarin” (there is very little of it in Ceylon cinnamon, much more in Chinese cinnamon). This substance may cause headache and have an adverse effect on liver function if cinnamon is taken in large quantities.

2. In some cases, consuming cinnamon in large quantities can lead to increased nervous excitability. Sometimes taking cinnamon can worsen headaches in people with a high fever.

3. In the initial stages of pregnancy, you should also be careful with cinnamon - in large quantities it can lead to contractions of the uterus and even provoke a miscarriage.

5. Those suffering from bleeding (both external and internal) should not overuse cinnamon.

6. Cinnamon thins the blood, so it should be avoided by people with low blood clotting ability.

7. Individual intolerance to cinnamon.

It remains to add that cinnamon lovers should listen, first of all, to their body.

Remember: even the most useful product Can be harmful if you overdo it.

Video: how they collect cinnamon in Sumatra

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Summary articles

The homeland of the evergreen tree, which belongs to the genus Cinnamon, the Laurel family, is India and Sri Lanka. Cinnamon The dried bark of a plant used throughout the world as a spice. Every housewife knows how to use powder from ground tree branches to prepare aromatic baked goods and other delicious dishes. Cinnamon is also a component of many cosmetics and traditional medicine.

Types of spices

There are several types of cinnamon, differing in quality, taste and smell of the product.

Ceylon. The most expensive and high-quality cinnamon. The value of the product lies in its pleasant and rich taste, sweet and slightly hot. Producers of this cinnamon are India, Indonesia, and Brazil.

Chinese. Produced in the southern regions of China. Not popular due to its sharp and cloying taste.

Malabar. This cinnamon is also produced in India. It has a rich bitter taste.

Cinnamon. The manufacturer of this product is Indonesia. The spice has a mild and rich taste.

Composition of cinnamon, calorie content

The spice, which every good housewife has in her kitchen, is rich in vitamins. It contains B vitamins, ascorbic acid, tocopherol, and retinol.

Cinnamon– an excellent source of minerals: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, iron. Also from useful substances The spice composition includes tannins, essential oils, phytoncides, and fiber.

The calorie content of the product is 250 kcal per 100 grams. But due to the fact that the spice is used in small quantities, it does not affect a person’s weight at all. An adult should consume no more than 1.5 teaspoons of cinnamon powder per day.

Benefits of cinnamon for the human body

Important! Cinnamon has beneficial influence on many organs and systems.

1. The product stimulates the synthesis of gastric juice, improves food absorption, prevents the fermentation of food particles, and therefore is used to normalize the functioning of the digestive tract. The spice benefits the intestines: it eliminates bloating caused by excess gas, normalizes stool, preventing constipation.
2. Cinnamon can remove from the body excess liquid. Therefore, the use of spice is recommended for people suffering from swelling of the extremities and impaired kidney function. Cinnamon also accelerates the release of bile, which makes the liver easier.
3. The tissues of the plant contain polyphenols - useful compounds that normalize the concentration of sugar in the blood. Therefore, cinnamon is recommended for diabetics to reduce the symptoms of endocrine disease.
4. Cinnamon tea is beneficial for women of reproductive age. The spice helps normalize the menstrual cycle, reduces the intensity of uterine cramps, and prevents excessive bleeding. Drinking the drink is especially recommended after menstruation, as cinnamon helps increase hemoglobin levels in the blood.
5. Cinnamon is beneficial for mature men who are beginning to develop impotence. To maintain sexual activity, representatives of the stronger sex are recommended to take a mixture of cinnamon and natural honey a tablespoon.
6. The spice brings great benefits to older people. It has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart muscle and normalizes blood pressure. Old people who frequently consume cinnamon significantly reduce the risk of senile insanity.
7. The product is recommended for athletes. The spice contains substances that strengthen the tissues of bones and joints, restoring strength and elasticity to muscle fibers. Cinnamon also accelerates the removal of excess salts from the body.

Use of cinnamon in folk medicine

Since cinnamon has many beneficial properties and has a beneficial effect on the human body, it is used to prepare a huge number of medicines offered by traditional medicine.

Cinnamon tea

An excellent remedy for colds. The drink has a warming effect, strengthens the immune system, and tones the body. Making tea is easy. You need to take 3 cinnamon sticks, 8 clove balls, half a glass of finely grated root.

The ingredients are placed in a saucepan and filled with 2 liters of water. The solution is brought to a boil. Then the juice of half a lemon is squeezed into it. The drink is brewed over low heat for about 30 minutes. The finished healing tea is filtered and drunk with honey.

Cinnamon to lower blood pressure

A good way to normalize blood pressure– kefir with cinnamon. To prepare the drink, you need to take 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder, pour it into a glass of kefir, and stir thoroughly. This medicinal drink should be drunk once a day.

Cinnamon to increase blood pressure

The spice has an amazing property: it helps both hypertensive and hypotensive patients. In case of a sharp decrease in blood pressure, tachycardia, arrhythmia, it is recommended to take cinnamon essential oil. You need to pour 2 - 3 drops of oil into a glass warm water, stir well. The resulting drink should be divided into 4 daily doses. For taste, you can add honey to the medicine.

Restoration of the nervous system

Essential oil cinnamon has a beneficial effect on nervous system. It is often used in aromatherapy to normalize the mental state, eliminate the blues, and relieve symptoms of chronic fatigue.

Treatment of vascular pathologies

To get rid of frequent and painful migraines, traditional medicine experts recommend rubbing cinnamon powder on your temples and forehead. Also, consuming the spice with honey can reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and ischemia. To strengthen blood vessels, it is useful to drink a decoction of cinnamon three times a day.

Treatment of joints

There is a drink that helps relieve arthritis pain. To prepare it, you need to pour a pinch of cinnamon powder into a glass of warm water and add a teaspoon of honey. The drink is thoroughly stirred and drunk little by little throughout the day.

Cinnamon against diabetes

The spice helps reduce blood sugar. Diabetics are recommended to drink cinnamon drink every morning. To prepare the medicine, you need to add a pinch of cinnamon powder to half a glass of warm water and stir well.

Cinnamon against skin diseases

Mixture of honey and cinnamon - excellent remedy for the treatment of a wide variety of skin pathologies. This ointment can be used to treat skin areas affected by eczema, acne, or fungal infection. To prepare the ointment, you need to mix 50 grams of natural honey and 3 pinches of cinnamon powder. The product is applied to the affected skin for 10 minutes, then washed off.

Hair care. Cinnamon hair mask

Cinnamon in certain cases helps to cope with baldness in both men and women. People experiencing hair loss are advised to prepare a restorative mask. To do this, you need to mix 20 grams of honey, 30 grams of burdock oil and 5 pinches of cinnamon powder. This mask should be rubbed into the scalp and left for 30 minutes, wrapping your head in a towel. After the procedure, the head is washed.

Skin care. Face mask with cinnamon and honey

Cinnamon is a good remedy for preventing rapid aging of the skin. You can prepare a rejuvenating face mask. To do this, mix honey, aloe juice and cinnamon powder. The mask is applied to the face for 20 minutes. It is recommended to carry out the procedure once every two days.

Cinnamon for recovery after childbirth

Doctors recommend that young mothers drink cinnamon drink, which helps to quickly return to normal after childbirth. To prepare a healing drink, you need to throw a cinnamon stick into a container filled with 0.5 liters of water. The drink is brought to a boil and infused for 20 minutes. Honey is added to the finished medicine. You should drink the restorative in small portions 3 times a day.

Harm of cinnamon to the body

Cinnamon is a harmless product, but only when consumed in moderation. Any product, if consumed in excess, can cause harm to the body. Therefore, both in culinary and medicinal purposes cinnamon must be used according to the recipe.

People suffering from gastritis and peptic ulcers should consume foods containing cinnamon with extreme caution. The fact is that the spice has an irritating effect on the mucous walls of the digestive tract. Also, people with kidney or liver disease should not consume cinnamon frequently.

The spice is prohibited during pregnancy. But during lactation, women can eat dishes with cinnamon, but only a little. Entering the body of a young mother in small quantities, the spice improves the production of secretions by the mammary glands.

The benefits and harms of spices for children's bodies

It is prohibited to give foods and drinks with cinnamon to children under three years of age. But for children school age the spice is very useful. If the child is not prone to allergies, then cinnamon can be given to him daily.

The aromatic product has a beneficial effect on the child’s body, supports heart function and circulatory system, normalizes the state of the nervous system, prevents the occurrence of mental disorders. It is useful to give your child tea with cinnamon during the season of viral and colds.

A seven-year-old child needs 2 times less cinnamon per day than an adult. It turns out that the children's daily norm is about half a teaspoon. If the baby is prone to allergic reactions, then you shouldn’t give him cinnamon. The spice can cause a skin rash accompanied by severe itching in a small allergy sufferer.

Cinnamon in cooking

Cinnamon is a popular ingredient in the most different dishes and drinks. The spice gives food a soft and thick aroma and a pleasant sweetish taste.

Housewives all over the world prepare tender and delicious apple pies with cinnamon. The spice is one of the best fillings for rolls, buns, and cottage cheese desserts.

Cinnamon is a unique product in terms of its breadth of use, combining not only with dessert dishes, but also with main dishes. Experienced chefs add spice to fish, meat, mushroom dishes, soups.

Cinnamon is an ingredient in many drinks: tea, coffee, mulled wine, jelly, a variety of fruit drinks and cocktails.

How to choose the right cinnamon?

Only high-quality Indian spices bring benefits to the body. How not to make a mistake when choosing a product?

The main indicator of spice quality is color. Good cinnamon light brown, sometimes yellowish. There is a low quality spice - cassia, produced from the Chinese bush of the same name, but similar to cinnamon. Cassia has a rich brown, almost brown color.

Cinnamon sticks are fragile and break easily. Cassia sticks are hard and almost impossible to crumble.

Video: The benefits and harms of cinnamon

Instructions for use:

The cinnamon tree belongs to the laurel family, and the spice cinnamon is the bark of this tree crushed into powder or rolled into a tube. There are Malabar, Ceylon, Chinese cinnamon and cinnamon, which grows on the Moluccas Islands. Ceylon cinnamon is the most prized.

Cinnamon is endowed with beneficial properties thanks to the essential oil it contains, as well as magnesium, iron, calcium and other substances. The spice has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, warming, antipyretic, diuretic, antitumor effects, stimulates the gallbladder, kidneys, liver, digestion, significantly increases efficiency, stimulates the nervous system and helps cure depression, improving mood.

Uses of cinnamon

The healing properties of cinnamon are recognized not only as non-traditional, but also official medicine: based on essential oil, medicines for colds and gastrointestinal diseases are prepared, and warming ointments are produced. Cinnamon essential oil can also be used as a separate preparation. It tones, relieves spasms, relieves pain, has a cardiotonic, anti-putrefactive effect. Cinnamon oil treats dyspepsia, flatulence, colitis, atony, colds, flu, relieves rheumatic pain, and restores the menstrual cycle. It is also used in cosmetology - removing fungus, warts, acne, papillomas.

It has been established that regular consumption of spices improves the absorption of sugar, lowers the level of glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, so it is effective in diabetes mellitus. Approximate dosage is 0.5 teaspoon of seasoning per day.

Cinnamon is also used to stimulate brain activity, increase concentration, improve visual memory - if you have problems, this spice is recommended to be consumed in small quantities regularly. Another indication for the use of spices is tumors of the large intestine.

The beneficial property of cinnamon, its ability to lower blood pressure, deserves special mention. Hypertensive patients are recommended to eat up to a teaspoon of cinnamon per day every day. It is recommended to share this daily norm for four doses. If cinnamon in its pure form is poorly tolerated, you can add it to various dishes to reduce blood pressure: kefir, meat, porridge, yogurt, etc. The spice should be consumed in this way until the blood pressure stabilizes. You can take other medications to lower your blood pressure at the same time.

Cinnamon is recommended for elderly and weakened people, as it has a tonic and warming effect.

The properties of cinnamon, such as stimulating metabolism, cleansing the body of waste and toxins, improving digestion and enhancing intestinal motility, are used for weight loss. A cinnamon cocktail helps a lot: add 0.5 tablespoons of cinnamon and ginger to a glass of kefir, and add a little crushed red pepper on the tip of a knife. It is recommended to drink the drink every evening instead of dinner. If it seems too spicy, you can remove the red pepper and increase the amount of cinnamon - up to 1 teaspoon. Contraindications to drinking a weight loss cocktail with cinnamon are inflammation, ulcers, and erosions of the gastrointestinal tract. Those who took this remedy, in addition to weight loss and improved bowel function, noted a decrease in appetite in the evening and the disappearance of a feeling of heaviness in the stomach. It is also known that you can speed up your metabolism, stimulating the process of losing weight, by seasoning any diet-allowed food with cinnamon every day.

Contraindications to the use of cinnamon

The spice should not be used for food or externally in case of individual intolerance, as well as for pregnant women, because it can cause uterine contractions. Contraindications to cinnamon are also the presence of any bleeding, low blood pressure and high temperature.