Reasons to Drink Cinnamon Tea Regularly
Cinnamon tea is on the list of the healthiest beverages in the world. It has the tendency to provide the body with essential health benefits.
The tea is made out of the bark of the tree – cinnamon tree. This bark naturally curls on its own while it dries. This explains why ungrounded cinnamon always looks curly and woody. After the bark of the tree is removed, and after it must have been completely dried, most people make tea out of it. They either boil the cinnamon bark in water or ground the bark to make a fine powder, then make a tea out of it.
Cinnamon is packed with essential compounds that can supply or offer the body numerous health benefits. Some of these benefits include; weight management, reducing the effects of cramps, especially menstrual cramps, reducing inflammation, improvement of heart health, and the regulation of blood sugar in the body.
This article elaborates on the different health benefits cinnamon tea has to offer the body.
Packed with Antioxidants
One of the most important compounds in cinnamon tea is the antioxidant compound. These antioxidant compounds help in the protection of your body from illnesses and diseases. It has a very large amount of antioxidant properties.
One of the major functions of antioxidants in the body is the combating of free radicals from the body. Free radicals are recognized to cause oxidative damage to the cells and vital organs of the body.
One of the most common types of antioxidants that cinnamon is rich in is polyphenol antioxidant. According to research, cinnamon has higher antioxidant properties than both cloves and oregano combined.
Improves Heart Health by Reducing Inflammation
The healthy compounds in cinnamon can help in the reduction of inflammatory markers in the body. Inflammation is said to be the cause or trigger, or symptom of many diseases, including organ-related diseases, like kidney, heart, and lungs diseases.
In addition, drinking cinnamon tea regularly can help protect your health by regulating your blood pressure, preventing it from being too high or dropping below normal. It also reduced the amounts of triglycerides in the body and LDL, a compound otherwise known as bad cholesterol. Coupled with all of these, cinnamon tea can increase the amount of good cholesterol in your body, which in turn helps protect your heart health.
One of the most effective types of cinnamon is Cassian cinnamon. This cinnamon contains lots of health-beneficial properties like coumarin compounds, a compound known to help in the prevention of the narrowing of the blood vessels.
However, it is important to note that consuming excess amounts of coumarin can be dangerous for your health, as it could lead to liver failure. This is why it is advisable to consume it in moderate amounts.
Regulates Blood Sugar
Another feature of cinnamon tea is its anti-diabetic properties. Cinnamon, amongst all of its health benefits, is widely known and used for the reduction of high blood sugar and the regulation of the sugar levels to prevent it from dropping below normal.
Here, its purpose is comparable to that of the insulin hormone in the body. The insulin hormone is responsible for the conversion of sugar out of the blood into the tissues. When it becomes faulty, sugar begins to accumulate in the bloodstream, causing diabetes. This is why the presence and proper functioning of the insulin hormone are very important.
Cinnamon also helps in the reduction in the concentration of sugar in the blood. It does this by tackling first the carbs in the gut, breaking the carbs down, and reducing the risk of having a blood sugar spike after any meal.
Helps in the Management of Weight
Weight management involves measures and practices that allow for either the removal or reduction of excess weight or the increase in weight.
Cinnamon, in this case, helps in weight reduction. In fact, studies have shown that consuming cinnamon tea regularly can help you burn fats and calories and also reduce your waist circumference.
People who took 1 cup of cinnamon tea regularly for 5 weeks experienced a reduction in their weight. Although experts have advised that, to get your desired results, you have to combine drinking the tea with engaging in physical activities, as this would reduce both your weight and prevent muscle loss.
However, when cinnamon is consumed in very large quantities, side effects begin to surface. It contains coumarin, a compound that provides the body with essential health benefits, but at the same time must be taken with caution because too much of it can cause the liver to begin to malfunction and can also lead to unnecessary bleeding. This coumarin is higher in the Cassian cinnamon, and the Cassian cinnamon has up to 60 more coumarin than other types of cinnamon.
Combats Fungi and Bacteria
Asides from its antioxidant properties, cinnamon is also rich in antifungal ad antibacterial compounds. These compounds help in the prevention of the growth of bacteria and fungi that cause diseases in the body. Some of these bacteria or fungi include staphylococcus, salmonella, and E.coli bacteria, all of which are capable of causing diseases in humans.
In addition, the antibacterial properties of cinnamon can help in the reduction or even the elimination of bad breath. It also ensures that the teeth are safe and prevents them from experiencing cavities.
Can Reduce Both Premenopausal Symptoms and Menstrual Cramps
Drinking cinnamon tea regularly in moderate amounts as a woman can offer you several health benefits, especially in the aspects of that painful menstrual cross you always experience or that premenopausal symptom that makes you always feel like an angry bed that does not want to be touched.
With cinnamon, premenopausal symptoms and menstrual cramps can become bearable. Research carried out of some women showed that women who drink cinnamon tea experienced less menstrual cramps in their first 3 months of menstruation after drinking the tea.
In addition, cinnamon can help prevent other symptoms like nausea, extreme pain, and unnecessary heavy bleeding during menstruation.
Some of the other properties cinnamon has to offer the body include;
- It Combats skin aging, prevents untimely wrinkles, improves the elasticity of the skin, all of which help in helping you keep that young look for a longer period of time.
- Research has linked the consumption of cinnamon with the reduction of cancer risks. It has compounds that can eliminate cancer cells and inhibit the growth of any cancer cell.
- Cinnamon can also help in the improvement or preservation of brain health. It can help in the reduction of brain and memory-related illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease and improve the condition of those with Parkinson’s disease. Drinking cinnamon tea has been linked with improving memory retention as well.
- Cinnamon may help in the management of HIV. Although research is still ongoing about this claim. However, different studies and research have shown that cinnamon can help your body combat some strains of HIV.
- Cinnamon has compounds that can keep the face clean and free from acne. It has antibacterial attributes that help combat the bacteria that trigger acne.
Easy to Incorporate into Diets
Cinnamon can easily be incorporated into your diet. All you just need to do is either boil it in water or ground it and make tea out of it. Drink it in moderate amounts after every meal. You can either drink it warm or cold.
The easiest and best way to make tea out of cinnamon bark I’d by adding 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to 200ml of water, preferably boiled and still hot water. Then store until the water and the ground cinnamon are properly mixed. Or you can also make the tea by dipping the dried cinnamon bark, the ungrounded one, into boiling water and leaving for up to 15 minutes. Then drink the water afterward. That is after it must have cooled off a bit.
Also, if you do not want to make cinnamon tea by yourself at home, you can buy cinnamon tea bags in stores and pharmacies or even online. They are portable and convenient, especially when you need the tea, but do not have the luxury of time to make it by yourself.
Since cinnamon tea has no caffeine content, you can drink it at any time during the day or even at night. Consuming it for sugar reduction purposes would involve you adding it to your meals, but in moderate amounts to prevent its side effects. Also, if you are already on a blood reduction medication, it is best to avoid cinnamon tea for the time being, or speak with your doctor about it, to know whether or not you need to drink it.
In conclusion, cinnamon is a natural and healthy herb that can offer various health benefits to the body. Nevertheless, excess eating of it can lead to grievous and dangerous side effects.