When I think of cinnamon, I usually think of cinnamon rolls rather then the actual spice. But this winter, I’m starting to think of cinnamon with much more appreciation. As cinnamon is not only tasty, but very beneficial for your health too.

Cinnamon cassia also known as Chinese cinnamon. Image source.

Cinnamon is native to India. The three commercially cultivated cinnamon include Ceylon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), Indonesian (Cinnamomum burmanii), and Chinese cassia (Cinnamomum cassia). Many of the commercial cultivation of cinnamon are cassia. Countries that process cinnamon include India, China, Vietnam, Madagascar and Sri Lanka.

This is what a Ceylon cinnamon tree looks like: it can grow up to 15 meters high.  Photo from Pukka Herbs.

The harvesting of cinnamon is an interesting process. Cinnamon barks are harvested by cutting back two year old trees.  When the tree stems are chopped, new stem start to sprout around it. The process is call coppicing.  Then new stems can be harvested and the inner bark extracted for use.  That is what you see as the curled cinnamon sticks.

Cinnamon is usually sold in powder form or as cinnamon sticks (quills). The cinnamon commonly found in the market is cassia, which is Chinese cinnamon.  It’s difficult to tell between true cinnamon.

The sweet aroma is really what makes cinnamon special. It just reminds you of the holiday and can warm you up from the inside out. This special aroma comes from the cinnamon barks, which has volatile essential oils.

I have been tempted to add cinnamon oil to my handmade soap, as cinnamon oil is antibacterial. But I’ve heard about too many people being allergic to it. May be better used as a natural household cleaner instead.

The sticks make great Christmas decoration, as seen from Nye Noona’s beautiful photo of her Christmas tree. Photo graciously borrowed from Nye Noona.

The folks at World’s Healthiest Foods has a neat background about cinnamon. You can read more about it here.

One that I found interesting is that the scent of cinnamon oil can boost your brain activity. “Specifically, cinnamon improved participants’ scores on tasks related to attentional processes, virtual recognition memory, working memory, and visual-motor speed while working on a computer-based program.” -Research study from 2004 by the Association for Chemoreception Sciences, in Sarasota, FL.  I personally would think it’s peppermint oil, citrus oil, or the smell of coffee!

According to Gaia Herbs, cinnamon is not just good for digestion, it is also vital to promoting overall health.

“The bark of the preferred species (zeylanicum and burmanii) contain up to 10% volatile oil content in which the constituent Cinnamaldehyde is found. It also contains mucilage, tannins, carotenoids, and phenolics. Cinnamaldehyde has antioxidant properties and helps support fat and cholesterol levels in a normal range. The phenolic compounds especially the polyphenolic polymers have been studied for their effects to support insulin and blood sugar levels within a normal range and promote healthy blood flow. Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is vital to promoting healthy vision, heart, circulation, kidneys and a healthy nervous system.” - Gaia Herbs

In traditional Chinese medicine, cinnamon can provide relief from the cold or flu. Just make tea using fresh ginger and cinnamon powder. Even if you are not sick, it still makes a good herbal drink!