Wellness Wire: Protect Against Alzheimer’s with Cinnamon

As if you needed another reason to love cinnamon, a new study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease stated that the soothing smell of the spice can play a role in warding off Alzheimer’s disease.

Two compounds found in cinnamon—cinnamaldehyde and epicatechin—may help stop the memory-robbing “tangles” of tau protein from forming in the brain. Tau proteins are knots made up of protein called tau that play a role of the structure and the function of neurons.

See, just thinking about cinnamon is helping your memory.

As we age, we become more susceptible to the twists and tangles of the tau protein, and Alzheimer patients see them in even larger amounts. The researchers from the University of California in Santa Barbara say that the bright, sweet smell of cinnamon has been effective in preventing the tau tangles.

This promising research is reason enough for us to make a dash of cinnamon a part of our daily routine. Here are 4 simple ways you can head straight into cin city:

1. Sprinkle cinnamon on your morning cup of Joe. Cinnamon is great in tea too!
2. Add a dash of cinnamon to your toast, yogurt, applesauce or oatmeal.
3. Eating fruit? Add cinnamon. The spice is wonderful on bananas, peaches, grapefruit and more.
4. If you are a peanut butter lover, you can add some cinnamon right into the creamy spread.

Are you a cinnamon addict? How do you use the spice in your daily routine?

photo credit: bitzi ☂ ion-bogdan dumitrescu via photopin cc