Nutrition Videos

Cinnamon is used extensively both in cooking and in baking, although most people don't know that there's not only one, but two types of cinnamon. There's the cinnamon that is consumed widely, which was originally cultivated in China and is called cassia, while there's also Ceylon cinnamon, which we find more rarely and is more expensive. Some people consider the latter the original cinnamon. Both types of cinnamon are full of anti-oxidant, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory substances, which, as we've repeatedly said, are particularly significant and useful for our health, but what cinnamon is most famous about is that it helps stabilize blood sugar. Both types of cinnamon have also been used extensively as a dietary supplement for the treatment of diabetes, and they have both exhibited extraordinary effectiveness in the stabilization of blood sugar. The typical dosage that has been used in the studies is 1-6 g/day, typically divided in two or three doses. One of the most important studies asked the participants to consume two cinnamon capsules of 1 g after the meal, three times a day. This seems to be the highest dosage that has been used in studies, but unfortunately, it's not safe for long-term use if you choose the wrong type of cinnamon. Because out of these two types of cinnamon, one is less safe than the other. And if you haven't heard it before, cassia-type cinnamon, namely the cinnamon that is consumed widely, is not safe in such large amounts. Cassia cinnamon contains 250 times more coumarin, which is a really toxic substance, which, as extensive studies have shown, causes toxicity to the liver, the kidneys and the lungs, while some studies even claim that it may a cancerogenic effect. Researchers estimate that the maximum amount of coumarin we can accept without suffering from a toxic effect is less than one teaspoon of cassia cinnamon. Therefore, the dosage I mentioned earlier is way more than the amount you can safely consume. So, if you decide to use cinnamon as a dietary supplement, in order to improve the regulation of blood sugar, you'd better use only Ceylon cinnamon. On the other hand, you don't have to consider cinnamon a toxic substance, now that you've learned that a very large amount of it may be dangerous for your health. You just have to avoid consuming large amounts of it and consume the small amounts you add to your food, but no more than that. Cinnamon is very beneficial for your health and I agree with its use as a dietary supplement by people suffering from diabetes. But I believe that it's much better to use turmeric. Turmeric offers even more than cinnamon, at least according to the latest scientific studies. If you'd like to find out about the benefits of turmeric, I recommend watching the video on my right. Thank you.