Life is often hectic, unplanned, and—especially during the holiday season— stressful. Despite the idea that the holiday season should be filled with cheer, people often find themselves stressed this time of the year. While a little stress is relatively harmless, for some people, too much can cause an increase in blood pressure which could lead to serious health conditions. This year, while you’re out shopping for your gifts and holiday baking ingredients, it might pay to pick up a little more cinnamon than you normally use for making all those yummy gingerbread cookies. This easily accessible herb might be working double this season—adding flavor to your dishes and also lowering blood pressure.
Cinnamon is an herb that is available year-round and has been used for centuries in cooking as well as for its health benefits. Especially popular during winter months, cinnamon is a common ingredient in many holiday specialties. While its exact role as being a natural medicine has been studied vastly, there are still a lot of questions that remain unanswered. A study done by Dutch researchers which was “a randomized trial involving 58 people with type 2 diabetes […] concluded that 2 g of cinnamon daily reduced HbA1c (a measurement of blood sugar levels over time), as well as high blood pressure,” as stated on the medical website NYU Langone.
Similarly, in another study “involving 22 pre-diabetic patients with metabolic syndrome, researchers found that an extract containing 500 mg cinnamon given once daily was effective at modestly reducing fasting blood sugar and systolic blood pressure,” NYU Langone further explains. Unfortunately, however, “the low dosage of cinnamon used in this study raises concerns about the reliability of these results,” NYU Langone concludes.
A 2006 study conducted by the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found different results. This study claims that “cinnamon actually helps reduce blood pressure in people with diabetes. (The researchers also noted that cinnamon reduces systolic blood pressure in people without diabetes, too)” according to health and wellness website, LiveStrong. LiveStrong states that the study found that “a half a teaspoon” was all the cinnamon one needs per day in order to lower blood pressure; however, even though more research is needed as to why cinnamon seemingly lowers blood pressure, “it does seem that cinnamon reduces the amount of circulating insulin, which may explain why it’s effective for those with diabetes.” Research, however, seems to be lacking on explaining exactly if and why cinnamon can really lowers blood pressure levels. A medical information website Web MD points out that while some studies found that cinnamon “may lower blood sugar in people with diabetes […] other studies had not found a benefit.” Despite its popularity, cinnamon proves to be a tricky case!
Verdict: False. Cinnamon, it seems, will only be useful as flavoring this holiday season. The research on cinnamon lowering blood pressure is not conclusive enough to be considered factual, but hope remains! Some studies do claim to have found that cinnamon will lower blood sugar even though the results are disputed. Speak to your doctor about healthy and safe ways for you to lower your blood pressure this holiday season. And try to relax! The holidays should be a time of happiness!
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Cinnamon is amazing. All herbs and spices have innumerable amounts of health benefits but cinnamon is just too good to be true!