Short answer: Cinnamon can’t “scrub” away or break down calcified plaque in your arteries. Once hard plaque (atherosclerosis) has formed, it often must be addressed medically. But for protection and curing, cinnamon is a wonder. It does so by decreasing blood sugar and inflammation — the new two big “glues” to explain why that plaque sticks to artery walls at all.Coronavirus Pandemic Full coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak and how it impacts you RedirectToAction DataVisualizationCoronavirus Deaths by ZIP Code: New York City Diabetes medicine decreases virus dangerThe reason? Picture cinnamon not so much as a pipe cleaner, but more of a protective coating that prevents the pipes from getting rusty and stopped up in the future.
For the “Natural Alternative” Looker.AppendLine0x40 pretender.booties But for those in pursuit of a “natural alternative.
The Goal: Heart health managed without being dependent on heavy medication.
The Counter-Intuitive Truth:
You could think of plaque as the kind of grease that builds up in a kitchen drain — the kind that needs a solvent to dissolve it. But arterial plaque is more akin to a blister beneath the surface of an artery, covered with a hard scab. The problem, in most cases, with natural remedies is that they try to wash away something that is actually lodged in the tissue. The magic of cinnamon isn’t sanitizing; it’s masquerading as insulin.
Cinnamon contains compounds (in particular methylhydroxychalcone polymer) that boost the sensitivity of your cells to insulin. When your insulin functions better, your blood sugar falls. Less blood sugar output translates to less damage done to your artery walls, and that stops the body from plastering cholesterol over the cracks until it’s crusted over like a patch job.
Your Action Plan:
The “Coumarin” Safety Check:
The majority of what is sold in grocery stores as cinnamon is Cassia*. High amounts of coumarin, which when ingested in medicinal doses daily, can harm the liver.
Step: Change to Ceylon Cinnamon (it is frequently labeled as “True Cinnamon”). It’s more expensive, but okay to drink daily long term.
The Extraction Protocol:
Only eat the powder. There are also many active properties in cinnamon that are water-soluble.
Method: Boil a Ceylon cinnamon stick in water for 15 to 20 minutes. You can drink this tea before your biggest meal of the day. This is aimed at the post-meal sugar spike that does the most arterial damage.
Dosage Strategy:
Begin with 1 gram (about 1/2 teaspoon) twice a day. Furthermore, do not take over 6 grams a day even with Ceylon cinnamon as it can irritate your digestive tract.
For the Health-Oriented Warrior
The Objective: an ideal diet for a plaque-free system.
The Counter-Intuitive Truth:
Eating cinnamon on something sweet (such as a cinnamon roll) would make it impotent. This time we are dealing with Gastric Emptying Rate – or “Critical Thinking”. The best thing I’ve found from cinnamon is, it acts physically to slow down the rate at which food empties out of your stomach. If you combine it with fast-digesting simple sugars, though, sugar will flood into your bloodstream before the cinnamon can get its foot on the brake.
Your Action Plan:
The “Buffer” Technique:
CINNAMON: Consume alone, take with all of your starches.
Step: Add cinnamon if you are eating oatmeal, sweet potatoes or fruit. It functions as a metabolic cushion, leveling off the curve of glucose. The flatter the glucose curve, the less inflammation there is in the endothelial lining (the artery’s inner wall).
Lipid Profile Management:
Triglyceride’s high levels are more dangerous than cholesterol. Cinnamon has been proven to decrease trigycerides.
Step: Pair 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon with a healthy fat (think olive oil or avocado) at least one time per day. The fat helps absorb the cinnamaldehyde (the oil-soluble active ingredient), and the cinnamon metabolizes the fats.
The 40-Day Cycle:
Studies indicate effects only plateau or manifest after some time.
Step: Set yourself to a 40-day cycle of daily usage, followed by a 1 week break. This will prevent your body from becoming immune to the active ingredients.
For the Concerned Caregiver
The Goal: Protecting elderly parents who may think cinnamon is a “miracle cure.”
The Counter-Intuitive Truth:
The threat here is not that cinnamon isn’t effective; it’s that it may interact with the drug your parent already takes. Cinnamon is a slight blood-thinner. Therapeutic doses of cinnamon can make your parent’s blood sugar crash (hypoglycemia) or increase bleeding risks if they’re on certain diabetes medication and blood thinning medications like Warfarin.
Your Action Plan:
The “Substitution” Method:
The sense of taste generally diminishes in older adults, so they may find themselves craving sugar. High sugar accelerates plaque growth.
Step: Not to Think of Cinnamon as a “Medicine.” Frame it as a taster of flavors. Cinnamon in their coffee or oatmeal to replace sugar. This takes away the bad (inflammatory sugar) and replaces with the good (anti-inflammatory cinnamon) for a two-in-one approach.
The “Feet Check” (Monitoring):
If your parent has bad circulation with plaque, make sure to examine for edema (swelling).
Step: Check their blood pressure and their blood sugar for two weeks after they begin consuming cinnamon. Tell the doctor to decrease their prescribed dose if it!!!8217;s too low—do not stop taking the medication without a doctor!!!8217;s okay.
The Myth-Busting Conversation:
You’ve got to manage their expectations, prevent them from stopping their statins.
Script: “Mom/Dad, the cinnamon is like car was on a car that protects paint; the medicine from the doctor is like fixing an engine. We need both.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can cinnamon help dissolve the plaque in my arteries?
A: Absolutely not, cinnamon cannot “scrub” or remove calcium plaque (atherosclerosis) when it has formed/created. But in being a potent preventer — of inflammation and blood sugar — it acts like 50 milligrams of prevention to keep plaque from accumulating while protecting the lining of artery walls.
Q. Is large grocery store cinnamon safe for daily use?
A: Generally, no. Most cinnamon found in the grocery store is of the “Cassia” variety, and this form is often high in coumarin—a substance that can be damaging to your liver if you are taking medicinal doses daily. Consider switching to “Ceylon” (or “True”) Cinnamon, which is safe to consume over the long term.
Q: What amount of cinnamon should one take daily to help protect the heart?
A: A safe dosage is 1 gram or about a level 1/2 teaspoon daily and a limit of 6 grams per day so as to not upset the digestive system. They recommend a “40-day cycle,” meaning you take it every day for 40 days, then break off for one week to avoid building up a tolerance in your body.
Q: What is it about cinnamon that actually helps to prevent heart disease?
A: Cinnamon can have two effects that help control diabetes by acting like insulin and slowing the speed at which food leaves your stomach (gastric emptying). This flattens glucose curves and reduces triglycerides, which causes blood sugar spikes that damage arterial walls lining the blood vessels and lead to plaque buildup.
Q: Is there a risk to taking cinnamon if I’m on medications?
A: Yes. Cinnamon is known to be a mild blood thinner and also serves to lower blood sugar. Even if you are taking blood thinners (like Warfarin), or potent diabetes drugs, significant amounts of cinnamon might increase your chances for bleeding episodes or hypoglycemia. It’s always wise to consult a doctor before incorporating it into your routine.
References
- Subject: Order of cinnamon on Glucose and Lipids.
- Source/Authors: Khan A, Safdar M, Ali Khan MM, Khattak KN, Anderson RA.
- Source/DHHS Publication/Date: Diabetes Care, December 2003.
- Method: 60 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly distributed into receiving a daily intake of either 1, 3 or 6g cinnamon for a period of forty days.
- Results: All three levels of cinnamon reduced the mean fasting serum glucose (18-29%), triglyceride (23-30%), LDL cholesterol (7-27%), and total cholesterol (12-26%). This validates the lipid-reducing potential, which very much indirectly relates to plaque building.
- Subject: Cinnamon and Gastric Emptying.
- Entity/Authors: Hlebowicz J, Darwiche G, Björgell O, Almér LO.
- Source/Date: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 2007.
- Method: Investigated healthy participants who consumed rice pudding with and without cinnamon. Gastric emptying was assessed by real-time ultrasonography.
- Findings: This makes perfect sense in view of the fact that adding 6g of cinnamon to ordinary meals dramatically slows gastric emptying, reducing post-meal insulin response; ie lessening the latter’s mechanisms by which it maintains blood sugar levels!
- Re: Coumarin Poisoning in Cassia Cinnamon.
- *Author: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
- Date: Updated Scientific Opinion, 2008.
- Data: Set a Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for coumarin of 0.1 mg/kg body weight. Cassia cinnamon (ike the one found in McCornick’s spice jars) can have between 2,000-5,000 mg of coumarin per kg.
- Implication: 1 teaspoon of Cassia cinnamon could exceed the ADI in a smaller adult, supporting the advice to switch to Ceylon (true) cinnamon.
