bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Tribune News Service

Cinnamon, the unofficial aroma of the holidays, is a surprisingly complex spice.
It’s not just its sweet and fiery flavour. Nutritionally, it is both unremarkable and packed with potentially healthy compounds.
Cinnamon helped inspire the voyages of European explorers Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama, and wars and conquests around the globe.
In the 2010s, videos of young people attempting what was called the “Cinnamon Challenge” went viral. The task involved trying to eat an entire tablespoon of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds or less, without drinking any fluids.

According to a 2013 study titled Ingesting and Aspirating Dry Cinnamon by Children and Adolescents: The Cinnamon Challenge, published in the medical journal Pediatrics, the videos often “raised concerns of choking, aspiration, and pulmonary damage” as the “fibres and other components of cinnamon can also cause allergic and irritant reactions”.
Ceylon cinnamon, or “true” cinnamon, is called Cinnamomum verum and is grown mostly in Sri Lanka. In the United States, the most commonly sold type is cassia cinnamon – Cinnamomum cassia. The cassia variety is sometimes called Chinese cinnamon, although variants are grown elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Most of the US supply comes from Indonesia.
Cassia cinnamon has a stronger flavour and different chemical profile to the Ceylon variety, and studies do not always distinguish between the varieties, said Dr Connie Rogers, a professor and head of the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Georgia, in Athens.
“There’s been a lot of work in clinical trials and in preclinical models, and sometimes the forms haven’t been identified clearly,” she says.
In any form, cinnamon adds few basic nutrients. According to the US Department of Agriculture, a teaspoon provides traces of vitamins and minerals, plus about six calories.

That makes cinnamon a “safe and easy way” to flavour food without adding significant calories, Rogers says.
Cinnamon also is full of plant-based chemicals called polyphenols that might offer health benefits. One of them, cinnamaldehyde, gives cinnamon its aroma and flavour.
These polyphenols work as antioxidants to prevent tissue damage and limit inflammation. Chronic inflammation is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and other health problems, and, Rogers says, “cinnamon may be a really great dietary addition to help prevent or control that inflammation”.
Some studies have shown that cinnamon may help to lower blood glucose for people with type 2 diabetes. A study published in March 2024 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who ingested Indonesian cinnamon for two weeks had lower glucose levels than people who took a placebo.
Cinnamon also has been studied for its effects on blood cholesterol levels, with mixed results.

Unlike spices that have been studied mostly in concentrated form, cinnamon studies have used relatively small amounts that an average person might consume in a day, Rogers says, so people should “absolutely” check with their doctor before increasing how much they eat regularly, especially if they are taking it as a dietary supplement.
“It’s certainly not recommended to replace diet, exercise and any pharmacological treatment that somebody’s taking for a clinical condition like diabetes,” she says.
While the research on blood glucose is promising, overall the research on cinnamon is “too new” to draw any solid conclusions about possible medicinal properties.
“There appear to be health benefits in some of the clinical research, and in some other research, there doesn’t seem to be a benefit,” Rogers says. Cinnamon appears to be safe, she says, but “clearly we do not completely understand how this is working”.
Some aspects of cinnamon require special attention.

Compared with Ceylon cinnamon, cassia cinnamon contains high levels of coumarin, which can harm the liver. The US National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health says that in most cases, consuming cassia cinnamon would not cause significant problems, but prolonged use could be an issue for people with liver disease.
Since last year, the US Food and Drug Administration has issued several recalls for various brands of cinnamon because of high levels of lead. A list of products is posted on the FDA’s website.
People have been using cinnamon for thousands of years – it appears in Chinese text from 4000BC – and the possibilities for using it are vast. In Mexico, Ceylon cinnamon is used to flavour coffee or brewed as tea. In the Middle East and India, it is more likely to appear in savoury dishes.
Rogers likes cinnamon with nonfat vanilla yogurt.
“I usually add berries and cinnamon to that because the cinnamon goes really nice with any kind of berry,” she says.


Why cinnamon is such a special spice and good for your health, just not by the spoonful

True Hong Kong service won’t be found in an order-it-yourself app

How salt cod is a Christmas family favourite in Portugal, baked, grilled, even in lasagne

‘Bit of a joke’: India’s popcorn tax sparks roasting of complex GST system

Food and Drinks

Cinnamon sticks are taken from the inner bark of the cinnamon tree. Photo: Shutterstock

Cinnamon is the unofficial spice of the holiday season and is used in sweet and savoury dishes and drinks around the world. Photo: Shutterstock

Freshly harvested cinnamon in Sri Lanka. Photo: Shutterstock

Cinnamon is derived from the inner bark of the cinnamon tree, and is a major commodity in several regions in Indonesia. Photo: Shutterstock

Dr. Connie Rogers, a professor and head of the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Georgia in Athens. Photo: University of Georgia

A bowl of massaman curry with rice, peanuts and cinnamon. Photo: Shutterstock

5 Christmas spices for baking gingerbread and making mulled wine. Think cinnamon, vanilla

Cloves are commonly used in mulled wine and hot whisky. Photo: Shutterstock

Cinnamon is probably the most important of all Christmas spices. We look at it and four others essential for festive baking. Photo: Shutterstock

Star anise is used to flavour gingerbread, but should be used sparingly. Shutterstock

German fruit bread stollen is one of the many Christmas treats commonly made with star anise. Photo: Shutterstock

Vanilla workers in Madagascar, the number-one producer of the important Christmas spice. Photo: Shutterstock

Cardamom can be cooked by boiling in the pod. Alternatively the seeds can be fried and then crushed with a mortar. Photo: Shutterstock

Cloves, with their sweet-spicy aroma, are commonly used in mulled wine and hot toddies. Photo: Shutterstock

Mulled wine typically contains cinnamon and other spices to achieve that quintessential festive flavour. Photo: Shutterstock

A hit of cinnamon may help you cool down, a new study shows

Cinnamon has been shown to help reduce body temperature.

shutterstock_89370919.jpg This image show a man grabbing his fat on the stomach. [2016 FEATURES HEALTH CANCER ] Photo / SHUTTERSTOCK

This Shutterstock image shows Santa Cruz, California, USA - July 5. 2015: A group of people enjoy a fast roller coaster ride (Undertow) at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. [FEATURES]

Can cinnamon have benefits for diabetics and dieters?

Cinnamon is more often associated with pastries in Western cuisine. Photo: Alamy Stock Photo

shutterstock_80714635.jpg This image show hands of a patient with diabetes checking his blood sugar levels. [2016 FEATURES HEALTH ] Photo / SHUTTERSTOCK

Jia Ling’s weight loss journey: how YOLO actress-director shed more than 50kg through a 2-week diet cycle and intermittent fasting

Jia Ling shed over 50kg (110 pounds) in a year for her role in the hit movie YOLO. How? Afterwards the Chinese actress revealed the diet plan she followed, and other steps she took,  to lose the weight. Photo: Sony Pictures

Jia at the premiere of her film YOLO, which means “You Only Live Once”, in Beijing, China. Photo: Getty Images

Eggs feature in all three meals on day two of the diet. Photo: Shutterstock

A still from YOLO. Photo: Weibo

Day five’s lunch features chicken breast. Photo: Shutterstock

Eat oatmeal for breakfast on day seven. Photo: Shutterstock

Have sea bass on day 10. Photo: Shutterstock

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Health & Wellness

Health

Cinnamon smells like Christmas, gives flavour to food without adding many calories, and may lower blood glucose and reduce inflammation


Cinnamon smells like Christmas, gives flavour to food without adding many calories, and may lower blood glucose and reduce inflammation.


Wellness

Healthy eating