Cinnamon Uses and Plant Monograph
Cinnamon is one of the most popular and loved spices in the world. We relish it on everything from pastries, to chocolate, to vegetables and meat, as a flavoring in candies, gums and toothpastes, and as an effective and reliable herbal medicine. It’s amazing to think of all the ways we benefit from the bark of this tropical tree!
Cinnamon Bark Uses & Plant Profile Summary
- Botanical Name: Cinnamomum aromaticum, C. cassia, C. verum, C. zeylanicum
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Family: Lauraceae
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Parts Used: bark (prepared as sticks, chips, powder or essential oil), twigs, dried flowers
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Energetics: stimulating, warming, drying
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Taste: spicy, sweet
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Plant Properties: aromatic stimulant, demulcent, astringent, anodyne, hypoglycemic, anti-oxidant
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Plant Uses: toothache, diarrhea, move blood, infections, arthritis, insulin resistance, cold/flu, pain
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Plant Preparations: decoction, tincture, culinary, powder
What’s the Difference Between Different Types of Cinnamon?
Cinnamon bark by any other name would certainly taste as sweet…or so the saying goes.
There is some confusion concerning cinnamon as the common name refers to several different species that are similar, but not the same.
In the United States if you buy ground cinnamon from the store you are most likely buying Cinnamomum cassia (cassia or Chinese cinnamon). This cinnamon is native to Indonesia and now grows in tropical climates all around the world. Cinnamomum burmannii (Indonesian cinnamon) is another species that is often sold under the name of cassia cinnamon.
In other parts of the world, Cinnamomum verum (syn. C. zeylanicum) is considered the “true cinnamon” and is also called Ceylon cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon).
There are actually over a 100 different varieties of cinnamon trees out in the world, but these three are the most commonly available in commerce. When it’s necessary to distinguish between these two general types of cinnamon, I’ll refer to them as either cassia cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon.
Difference in Taste
Ceylon cinnamon is considered to have sweeter and lighter flavor, while cassia cinnamon is considered to be spicier and more pungent. Responding to the difference in tastes between these two spices, chefs prefer the sweeter Ceylon cinnamon in dessert dishes and prefer the cassia cinnamon in savory dishes such as meats and soups.
Difference in Constituents
Recently there has been some concern regarding cassia cinnamon. Cassia cinnamon has a higher content of coumarins, which are a constituent that can thin the blood. Regularly ingesting more than one teaspoon of cassia cinnamon powder per day could pose a health risk to some individuals including those with liver problems, those taking anticoagulant medicines or those about to undertake surgery. If you regularly ingest over 1 teaspoon of cinnamon a day, then the safest choice is to use Ceylon cinnamon.
History of Cinnamon
Aromatic cinnamon has a rich history that spans thousands of years. It was first written about over 4,700 years ago in Chinese texts. The Chinese continue to use cinnamon extensively and distinguish uses between the bark (rou gui) and twigs (gui zhi).
Cinnamon is mentioned in the Bible when Moses is told to make holy anointing oil using two different kinds of cinnamon. The ancient Egyptians also used cinnamon to flavor food as well as in the embalming process.
Cinnamon was a highly regarded spice and was once highly valued. In the 1st century C.E., Pliny the Elder wrote that cinnamon was worth 15 times the value of silver by weight. For centuries, the Arabs controlled the cinnamon trade and there were many fantastical stories about where cinnamon came from and how it was cultivated, in order to enhance the magic surrounding this exotic spice and keep prices high.
Battles were once fought over cinnamon. During the 1500s, the Portuguese colonized Sri Lanka and began to control the cinnamon spice trade. By 1658, the Dutch East India Company had taken over operations. In the late 1700s, the English defeated the Dutch and took control of the island, but by this time the Ceylon cinnamon trade was declining due to the introduction of the more abundant cultivated cassia cinnamon from other parts of the world.
Cinnamon for Digestion
Although we are most familiar with cinnamon as a culinary spice for apples and pastries, cinnamon has a long list of medicinal attributes.
It’s pleasing, spicy, aromatic, and sweet taste and warming attributes can ease digestive woes by increasing circulation and moving along stagnant digestion. This makes it useful for a variety of digestive complaints including indigestion, gas, and cramping. Cinnamon spiced milk is a nutritive beverage that warms the body, supports digestion, and can help tone the lower digestive tract to relieve loose stools.
“Cinnamon bark is one of the pleasantest of the spices, warming, diffusibly stimulating, and leaving behind a gentle astringent influence. It acts upon the stomach, and through it upon the whole sympathetic system-also promoting assimilation, and stimulating the entire nervous and arterial organisms to a moderate extent.”
- William Cook, Physiomedicalist
A Warming Spice for Chills, Colds, and Diarrhea
Cinnamon can be used to increase general circulation and can be especially useful when someone has chronically cold hands and feet. It can also benefit acute situations like colds and the flu in which the person feels shivery and cold. Herbalist Lesley Tierra says, “Cinnamon bark also leads the body’s metabolic fires back to their source, alleviating symptoms of a hot upper body and cold lower body.”1
Herbalist jim mcdonald recommends using cinnamon for fevers in cases in which the body externally feels cold and clammy but there is copious sweating, as well as diarrhea.2 In this way you can warm the exterior, stop copious sweating, and tone loose bowels to avoid dehydration.
For Supporting Oral Health
Cinnamon has an affinity for the mouth and teeth. Cinnamon can be used to alleviate toothaches (the diluted essential oil works especially well for this). You can even use cinnamon powder to brush your teeth.
The astringent and anti-microbial properties of cinnamon will provide support for oral health that goes beyond cosmetic improvements.3 One in vitro study showed that cinnamon was effective at disrupting biofilms of Solobacterium moorei, a Gram-positive anaerobic bacterium that is associated with bad breath (halitosis).4
For Relieving Pain and Inflammation
Cinnamon has a strong antioxidant capacity and can be used to decrease inflammation caused by oxidative stress.
In one small study, 36 women with rheumatoid arthritis were given either two grams of cinnamon or a placebo for eight weeks. After eight weeks, those taking the cinnamon showed significantly decreased inflammation and pain as well as lower diastolic blood pressure.5
Cinnamon can be taken to relieve menstrual cramping. This works especially well when preventively taken a few days before menstrual cramping is expected. You can make a basic chai tea for this purpose while also adding crampbark (Viburnum opulus) to the mix for increased antispasmodic properties. Cinnamon not only relieves cramping, but according to Felter and Lloyd’s Kings American Dispensatory, cinnamon is specifically indicated for “Post-partum and other uterine hemorrhage, with profuse flow, cold extremities, and pallid surface.”6
For Lowering Blood Glucose
Numerous clinical studies have shown that cinnamon can dramatically benefit people with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Its benefits include lowering fasting blood glucose, lowering HbA1c (a marker that shows average blood glucose levels over time), and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
In one human clinical trial, researchers gave people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes two grams of cinnamon daily for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, those taking the cinnamon had significantly lower HbA1c and lower blood pressure.7
Another study evaluated the effects of an herbal formula that included mulberry (Morus alba), tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus), stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), Ceylon cinnamon, and dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) in 103 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The results showed that “supplementation significantly reduced HbA1c, blood glucose, and lipids with good tolerability and no observed adverse interactions with conventional medications.”8 A 2017 study concluded that, “A single supplement intervention with 3 g cinnamon for 16 weeks resulted in significant improvements in all components of metabolic syndrome in a sample of Asian Indians in north India.”9
Another study showed that women who had been diagnosed with PCOS showed significant improvements in fasting insulin and insulin resistance after taking 1.5 grams of cinnamon daily for 12 weeks.10
Cinnamon has also been shown to dramatically improve cholesterol levels in adults with type 2 diabetes. In one study, researchers concluded that the results of the study “suggest that the inclusion of cinnamon in the diet of people with type 2 diabetes will reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.”11
For Inhibiting Pathogens
In vitro tests have shown that cinnamon essential oil is effective against various respiratory tract pathogens, candida, and bacteria.12 13 14
Plant Preparations
You can find or make several different preparations of cinnamon bark.
Powdered cinnamon is easily found at grocery stores, although in the U.S. this will most likely be cassia cinnamon as opposed to Ceylon cinnamon. Powdered Ceylon cinnamon can be found at herbal apothecaries and specialty spice stores. Ceylon cinnamon is easier to find in Europe.
Cinnamon sticks (or quills) are whole sections of dried bark. The quality of cinnamon sticks are determined by how tight and whole they are.
Cinnamon chips are small pieces of cinnamon bark. These are a convenient way to add cinnamon to tea blends, especially when you want to use less than a whole cinnamon stick.
Around the world cinnamon is used as a flavoring spice in a wide variety of dishes ranging from sweet to savory. It is famous in pastries, chocolates, and other sweet treats. It is also commonly used in meat and vegetable curries.
You can use cinnamon as medicine in a variety of ways:
- The powder can be taken as capsules or stirred into foods.
- Cinnamon can be prepared as a decoction (simmered tea). This has noticeably more mucilage than other preparations.
- It can be made into a tincture (often using both alcohol and glycerin to fix the tannins).
- It can be infused into alcohol or oil and used as a topical liniment or massage oil.
- The powder can be used as a tooth powder.
- The essential oil is very hot and should only be used in diluted amounts (the current recommendation is .07% dilution or 1 drop cinnamon bark essential oil to approximately 2 ounces of a carrier oil, such as olive oil or coconut oil).
Dosage Recommendations
Cinnamon can be enjoyed in small amounts in order to flavor food or sweets. The therapeutic (medicinal) dose for cinnamon is 1 to 6 grams per day.
Special Considerations
- Large amounts of cinnamon are contra-indicated during pregnancy.
- Culinary amounts are considered safe.
- Cinnamon can significantly lower blood glucose levels, so people with diabetes should closely monitor their insulin if they wish to regularly take cinnamon.
- There have been some recent concerns about potentially harmful properties of cassia cinnamon for the liver. If you plan to take this herb in large amounts for an extended period of time, I recommend using Ceylon cinnamon.
- Cinnamon is such an effective blood thinner that it is not advised to take therapeutic doses of cinnamon at the same time as blood thinning medications.
Footnotes
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