Nutrition

What is cinnamon tea good for besides helping with weight loss?

By Eloísa Carmona - 2020-12-28T16:09:02Z
The most common question about cinnamon tea relates to weight loss, but in reality, this spice in its drinkable form has many other benefits for your body.For example, the properties of cinnamon tea can help regulate blood sugar levels or contribute to the preservation of brain function, as well as having relaxing and even sedative effects.Cinnamon tea is a beverage that is made by simply boiling a stick (a small piece) of cinnamon in water and letting it steep to create a strong and highly aromatic drink. Many people combine it with other ingredients, such as ginger, honey, or milk.What is cinnamon tea good for?In addition to being a caffeine-free and relaxing drink, this tea has several important benefits. The first and perhaps most famous is that it can contribute to weight loss.If you are also wondering whether drinking cinnamon tea can help with weight loss, we have good news, as several studies have shown promising results. However, before telling you about them, you should be clear that the research on the effects of cinnamon tea is still limited regarding this.So what has science said? A study conducted in India showed that taking three grams of cinnamon a day as a dietary supplement for 16 weeks resulted in a significant decrease in waist circumference and body mass index compared to a control group.Another study published in Scientific Reports found that cinnamon extract promotes a process believed to increase metabolism and protect against obesity in fat cells.However, large amounts of cinnamon can contain dangerously high levels of coumarin and when consumed in excess, this natural compound can increase the risk of bleeding and cause or worsen liver disease. This is especially true for Cassia cinnamon, which contains up to 63 times more coumarin than Ceylon cinnamon.So more research is needed to confirm whether weight loss benefits occur at lower doses, such as those found in cinnamon tea.But the benefit you will find in cinnamon tea is that it contains many antioxidants, compounds that combat oxidation caused by free radicals, which are molecules that damage cells and contribute to diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.Cinnamon is particularly rich in polyphenolic antioxidants. In fact, it is one of the spices with the highest antioxidant activity, surpassed only by cloves and oregano.Furthermore, research shows that cinnamon tea can increase overall antioxidant capacity, which is a measure of how many free radicals your body can combat.Another of the great benefits of cinnamon is that it reduces inflammation and can improve heart health. Inflammation is the root of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, while studies also report that cinnamon can lower blood pressure, as well as triglyceride and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in some people.And not only that, cinnamon can also increase HDL (good) cholesterol levels, which helps improve heart health by removing excess cholesterol from blood vessels.Despite these beneficial properties, one must always keep in mind the main contraindication of cinnamon: excessive consumption of coumarins, found in cinnamon, can reduce liver function and increase the risk of bleeding, so you should consume cinnamon in moderation.