For centuries, people have been using the mixture of honey and cinnamon as a means of improving their health. Many individuals believe that the mixture is a perfect combination that can cure a variety of ailments. The mixture of the two products are very popular in Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine. Honey could never expire and cinnamon was so valuable a thousand years ago that only a select few could get their hands on it.
Now with how easy it is to get these two products, anyone could try this mixture. With that said, here are some scientifically proven benefits to eating honey and cinnamon.
Lowering blood sugar levels
High blood sugar levels can cause a variety of diseases, and diabetes is among them.
- Honey may reduce blood glucose levels. With only 17% of honey being water, the rest are mainly fructose and glucose. These two types of sugars are easily absorbed by the body and don?t cause blood sugar spikes. That?s why diabetics can eat honey.
- Cinnamon helps reduce blood sugar levels. This is shown by studies using both healthy and diabetic volunteers. Of course, cinnamon should not be replaced for medication, but cinnamon is an effective food supplement.
Prevent aging
Free radicals (oxidants) aggressively oxidize tissues and destroy body cells. This leads to premature aging and a variety of diseases. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, thus slowing down the aging process.
- Honey contains phenols, enzymes, flavonoids, and organic acids ? ALL powerful antioxidants. Studies have shown that darker honey, such as buckwheat honey, as a rich source of these antioxidant compounds.
- Cinnamon contains polyphenols which is a strong antioxidant. Cinnamon beats 26 other spices and herbs in the number of antioxidants that it has.
Improved heart function
Honey and cinnamon help in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, which is the leading cause of death worldwide.
- Honey increases blood flow to the heart. Honey contains antioxidants which helps prevent blood clots that often lead to heart attacks and strokes.
- Cinnamon was found to reduce ?bad? cholesterol (it forms atherosclerotic plaques on arterial walls) and increase the level of ?good? cholesterol in our bodies.
Fight bacterial infections
Honey and cinnamon both have antibacterial properties when consumed. You can use this combination not only when you have a cold, but also when you have infections of the bladder or kidney.
- Honey is naturally an antibiotic. Honey has long been used for disinfecting wounds. It contains protein defensin-1 and the enzyme glucose oxidase that destroy bacteria.
- Cinnamon has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fungal properties. Cinnamon contains cinnamic aldehyde which gives off it?s famous scent and useful qualities.
Aid in weight loss
Honey and cinnamon aren?t going to directly make you lose weight, but they can help if they?re used correctly.
- Replacing sugar and sweets with honey. Controlled consumption of honey will reduce the number of calories in your diet. Refined sugars (the ones found in candies and sweets) causes a sharp rise in blood glucose levels and then a sudden blood sugar drops. These sharp changes in glucose levels may lead to the overproduction of insulin. Consuming honey allows our body to slowly absorb the sugars, preventing blood sugar spikes.
- Cinnamon reduces blood sugar levels and increases sensitivity to insulin that is responsible for our metabolism. Cinnamon not only speeds up our metabolism, it also aids in converting glucose into energy, not into fat.
When shopping for honey, be aware that there are a lot of bad vendors that dilute their honey with sugar, chalk, flour, and starch. Make sure to buy your honey from a trusted seller and to always test it?s purity. It is best to use unfiltered and unpasteurized raw honey. Here?s how you can learn to buy pure honey.
When buying cinnamon, go for cinnamon sticks instead of pre-grounded cinnamon powder. This makes it easier to distinguished Ceylon cinnamon from cassia, which is usually sold under the same name but has fewer benefits. Here?s how you can learn to distinguish fake cinnamon from real cinnamon.
Honey is not recommended for children under two because of the risk of infant botulism.
