Food & Nutrition
Cinnamon for Weight Loss & Other Health Benefits
Jun
Used by mankind since 2000 BC, cinnamon is a spice that was at once valued more than even gold. The spice has several medicinal properties for which it is a well-known ingredient in ayurvedic science.
Besides using it as a home remedy for cold and nausea, there are many aspects to cinnamon nutrition facts. One such is the use of cinnamon for weight loss diet.
Introduction
Have you been always looking up for weight loss tips and got overwhelmed with so many ideas? Or have you been sweating a lot in the gym lately and not losing an inch? Weight loss has become a myth among us.
From extreme diet plans to extreme exercises, there are so many ways one can go for weight loss. However, only a few ways are feasible for daily routines.
While the weight loss industry is filled with several gimmicks, healthy eating happens to be the smartest move for maintaining weight. And by healthy eating we don’t mean expensive food items, we mean regular food sources that are beneficial for health as well as weight loss.
One such amazing nutrition source is cinnamon. Yes, cinnamon aka in Hindi as dalchini is a spice that can do much more than twist up the dishes. In fact, there are many health benefits of cinnamon that makes this spice a must-have for the health watchers.
Cinnamon Nutritional Facts
Cinnamon helps in cutting the body fat and hence, expedite the weight loss process. But before jumping into how to use cinnamon for weight loss, let’s know a bit about the nutritional facts of this spice.[8]
| Name | Amount (per 100 grams) |
| Calories | 247 Kilojoules |
| Total Fat | 1.2 grams |
| Cholesterol | 0 milligrams |
| Sodium | 10 milligrams |
| Potassium | 431 milligrams |
| Total Carbohydrates | 81 grams |
| Protein | 4 grams |
| Vitamins | 0.05 grams |
| Dietary Fibre | 53.1 gram |
Cinnamon is obtained from the inner bark of different trees from the genus Cinnamomum. The term “cinnamon” means mid-brown colour. Cinnamomum Verum is a native to Sri Lanka, the Malabar Coast of India and Myanmar.
Sri Lanka is known to produce most of the world’s Ceylon cinnamon. However, in 2016, China and Indonesia produced a whopping 75% of the world’s cinnamon supply. China is the native for the Cinnamomum cassia which is thicker than the Sri Lankan cinnamon.
Benefits Of Cinnamon
Popularly known to add taste and flavour to dishes, cinnamon is one of the spices in the world that comes with several health benefits. Besides the aromatic compounds, the spice contains many medicinal properties too.
Almost every part of the cinnamon tree has some medicinal benefits, including the leaves, flowers and roots.
Here are some of the major benefits of cinnamon:
1. Cinnamon is a natural source of antioxidants
Antioxidants are required by our bodies to fight against several oxidative damages created by free radicals. These antioxidants should be included in a diet through different food sources.
Studies show that cinnamon contains extracts like ether, aqueous and methanol that have considerable antioxidant activities. [1].Moreover, in another study, cinnamon stood out as a winner with the most powerful antioxidant properties, compared to other 26 spice varieties. [2]
2. Cinnamon benefits the diabetics
Cinnamon contains insulin-potentiating factors that may be of . Studies reveal that the aqueous extract of cinnamon promotes insulin-potentiating effects.
Another study proved that the polyphenol type-A polymer found in cinnamon, acts as insulin-like molecules. After this classification, naphthalene-methyl ester, a newly formed compound from hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, has shown glucose-lowering effects that further establishes cinnamon’s anti-diabetic properties. [3]
3. Cinnamon lowers cholesterol
Besides impacting the blood glucose levels, cinnamon is also believed to influence cholesterol levels. While there have been many experiments proving this on mice and rats; a recent study reported that dosing of 1, 3 and 6 grams per day caused a reduction in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels in humans. [4]
Also Read: 8 Superfoods That Lower Cholesterol
4. Cinnamon affects risks of heart diseases
The effect of including cinnamon in regular diets has shown that the spice can be beneficial in lowering of type 2 diabetes as well as lowering of bad cholesterol levels.
Researches have proved that consumption of cinnamon is directly linked to a significant lowering of fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol levels in humans. These statistics are associated with lowering the risks of heart diseases.
5. Cinnamon can be beneficial for Alzheimer’s
Cinnamon extracts show properties that inhibit the building up of the protein tau–an aggregation of which is found to be associated with Alzheimer’s disease in vitro.
Cinnamon’s aqueous extract is also found to promote disintegration of recombinant tau filaments associated with Alzheimer’s Disease.[5] There have been many studies in mice with Parkinson’s Disease also that showed the benefits of cinnamon in protecting neurons and improving motor functions.
6. Cinnamon benefits weight loss
The flavouring agent, Cinnamon, isn’t just a miracle spice for diseases like diabetes and cholesterol, it is also quite helpful in weight loss.
Studies have reported that cinnamon supplementation can significantly affect obesity measures. [6]. The Ceylon Cinnamon supplementation can burn fat and can be used to manage weight in many ways.
Also Read: 5 Handy Tips On Healthy Weight Loss
4 Amazing Ways Of How Cinnamon Helps In Weight Loss
1. Start Your Day With Green Tea & Cinnamon:
Morning tea is always a good idea but a better idea is to add the health factor in it. Ditch your regular milk tea with a cup of health-boosting Cinnamon Green Tea. Besides boosting your immunity, it will also help you start your day with a weight control tea.
Immunity Boosting Tea
Ingredients:
- 200 ml Water
- 5 – 6 nos Tulsi Leaves
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon Stick(Powdered)
- 1/4 tsp Green Tea
Recipe:
- Take water in a tea vessel and add a few tulsi leaves and a cinnamon stick. Boil the water for some time.
- Once it starts boiling, turn off the gas and add some green tea leaves with a spoon of honey. You’re now ready with the health tea!
2. Go for a healthy breakfast by adding cinnamon to it:
Whether an oatmeal or starting off with a heavy breakfast (with a small amount of brown rice), add cinnamon to the dish. Along with flavor it will bring you a morning boost that will take you ahead with the day!
Ingredients:
- 100 gm Oats
- 150 ml Milk
- 2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
- 4 nos Walnut
- 4 nos Almonds
- 24 nos Raisins
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 200 ml Water
Instruction:
- Take a bowl of water and add some amount of oats to it. Stir it properly and don’t make it too thick.
- Take some cinnamon powder to it along with some milk. Don’t over do the cinnamon, otherwise the taste might turn too sweet.
- Cook them well and add walnuts, almonds and honey to the recipe.
You’re now ready with your cinnamon breakfast!
3. Cinnamon coffee at work:
If you are all held up at work but can’t concentrate without coffee, just add some cinnamon to your caffeine doses.
Yes, add some cinnamon powder to your coffee to add a natural boost to your office breaks. It will keep you active at work, all day long!
4. Another way of adding cinnamon to your weight loss routine is to have a cinnamon – walnut smoothie:
Our experts came up with a yummy recipe to help you include more cinnamon to your daily routine.
Cinnamon-Walnut Smoothie
Servings – 2
Ingredients
- 250 ml coconut water
- 5-7 nos walnuts
- Vanilla extract for flavor
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instruction:
The recipe is simple! Just blend all the ingredients in a blender and enjoy your healthy smoothie.
How To Use Cinnamon To Lose Belly Fat?
While we all desire to lose weight, there’s a bigger challenge in losing away those inches from the waist region. The plank exercises are a good way to affect the visceral fat but diet is also an integral part of losing the love handles.
Although cinnamon doesn’t work on fat cells directly, the spice helps in losing weight and hence belly fat in several ways:
- Cinnamon, when included in the diet, helps in making you feel full after eating. It stabilizes the satiety response and hence, prevents you from overeating.
- Cinnamon also improves the digestion process. Being a spice, it promotes the complete breakdown of foods by the digestive hormones. It makes each nutrition unit of foods to be easily absorbed by the body. This helps in meeting the nutrient requirements of the body. Hence, it prevents the semi-digestion of foods which otherwise are stored as fats.
- Cinnamon can prevent fat cell storage by regulating blood glucose levels. Excess glucose is usually converted to fat and stored in the body. Like mentioned above, cinnamon has insulin-potentiating effects that regulate the blood glucose level. Also, this helps in maintaining the diabetic weight in patients.
- Cinnamon helps in keeping the body active by boosting the metabolism. It is known that adding cinnamon in your food can actually improve alertness. Hence, helps in maintaining body weight.
Also Read: 7-Day Diet Plan To Reduce Belly Fat By Expert Nutritionists
Side Effects Of Cinnamon For Weight Loss
While we are now fairly acquainted with the benefits of cinnamon, there are few things you should know about overeating of the spice.
- Eating too much of the Cassia cinnamon can hamper your health. Cinnamon is found to consist of high amounts of a compound called coumarin. This coumarin is found to be interlinked with liver damage issues.
- Cinnamon also contains cinnamaldehyde.[6] This compound can trigger allergic reactions in the body when consumed in high amounts. Thus, overeating of the spice may result in mouth sores or even burning or itching sensations.
- The cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon can be a throat irritant that may lead to common problems like coughing or breathing problems. In fact, taking high amounts of dry cinnamon may reach the lungs and create lung infections too.
- Taking cinnamon in excessive amounts can promote the side- effects of certain medications. It can amplify the side effects of medicines like paracetamol and acetaminophen and may cause liver damage. Cinnamon supplements may also affect the working of antibiotics and diabetes medicines.
- Cinnamon can even induce premature labour. Hence it is advised to avoid cinnamon if you are pregnant.
FAQ’s
To help you carve your diet chart more accurately and to let you know how much and how cinnamon can help you, here are a few frequently asked questions that will guide you through.
1. How can I use cinnamon for weight loss?
A. You can include the spice in your daily nutrition plans in different ways. Be it including in your morning tea or just adding it as a flavouring agent to your dishes, everything works fine. Cinnamon can aid you in weight loss by controlling your appetite and also by regulating your blood glucose levels.
2. Can cinnamon help lose belly fat?
A. By maintaining the cholesterol levels and the blood sugar level, eating cinnamon can affect the overall weight loss of the body.
The fat stored in the belly, known as visceral fat, often leads to heart diseases and diabetes. And studies have shown that through diet this fat can be managed well. Many research performed on mice has proved that including cinnamon in the diet may help reduce this belly fat.
Hence, dieticians have shown positive reviews about adding cinnamon to cuisines to prevent cholesterol, diabetes as well as belly fat.
3. Is cinnamon bad for kidneys?
A. Including cinnamon naturally in your diet can be beneficial for many health problems. However, supplemental doses of spices such as turmeric and cinnamon may result in certain issues.
Studies show that high oxalate intake may result in kidney issues. The percentage of oxalate that was water-soluble differed markedly between cinnamon (6%) and turmeric (91%).
Hence the consumption of supplemental doses of turmeric and not cinnamon may significantly increase urinary oxalate levels. Thereafter increases risks of kidney stone formation. [7]
4. How much cinnamon can you take a day?
A. You can take 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder a day. Like mentioned above, excessive doses of cinnamon may result in other health issues. Hence, including it moderately in your diet can do the trick!
In case of doubts or confusion on consuming cinnamon, you can always have a word with your nutritionist. Experts advice is always a way to success!
