Cinnamon – Cinnamomum spp.
It is hard to hit this time of year without dreaming about cinnamon in all its warming holiday guises. Well the good news is cinnamon has wonderful medicinal and overall health benefits – so no guilt about this holiday ingredient!
Cinnamon is the inner bark of small evergreen trees native to Southeast Asia. While there are many species of Cinnamomum, only a handful produce the cinnamon we know so well. True cinnamon is Cinnamomum vera and native to Sri Lanka. Today Sri Lanka still produces 90% of the world’s cinnamon. Other cinnamon varieties used around the world include Indonesian cinnamon (C. burmannii), Vietnamese cinnamon (C. loureiroi), and Chinese cinnamon (C. aromaticum). Like many of our aromatic spices from “the East”, cinnamon was shrouded in mystery and its origin was unknown to Europeans until the sixteenth century. Prized for their exotic flavors and smells, handiness in preserving food and medicinal properties, aromatic spices – including cinnamon – were in high demand and during the height of the spice trade worth more than gold.
Cinnamon has been used medicinally throughout Southeast Asia for thousands of years. In Ayurveda, it is revered for its warming properties and is used to increase circulation, especially to the lungs. It is wonderful for those with cold hands and feet or Raynaud’s disease and increases circulation to joints. It’s warming and stimulating to the kidneys and liver and is known to help boost the metabolism of fats and sugars. Recent scientific studies have confirmed these traditional uses and shown that cinnamon lowers blood sugar and helps prevent insulin resistance, making it useful in preventing and treating type II diabetes. It’s commonly used to balance the digestion and help soothe stomach disorders. It relieves nausea, vomiting, bad breath, gas and bloating. Combined with other warming and antibacterial herbs, such as ginger and black pepper it is used to treat colds. In India, cinnamon is often taken in honey, making it an easy medicine to take, even for kids.
In Chinese medicine it known as Rou Gui and affects the heart, kidney, liver and spleen meridians. It helps disperse excess cold and moves qi and blood stagnation. In both traditions, it is used to potentiate other herbs and often used in formulas.
As an expectorant, it’s excellent for chest conditions and coughs. Its demulcent and a hot tea soothes irritated and sore throats. Cinnamon is oxytocic and helps flush out uterine congestion, easing painful periods and amenorrhea. It is also commonly used as an aphrodisiac. Strongly anti-viral, it can be used to help treat the flu and any viral infections. Like clove and allspice it contains eugenol, which is an analgesic and particularly useful for toothache.
On top this it is an excellent source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium and helps lower cholesterol.
So go ahead and add a little extra to all those recipes!
Apples and Goji Berries with Cinnamon and Honey
4 large cooking apples
1/2 cup of Goji berries
2-3 tsp. of ground cinnamon
1/4 – 1/2 cup raw honey
4 tbsp Ghee (or unsalted butter)
Peel (optional) and slice the apples, removing the core. Place in a baking dish with goji berries and cover with cinnamon. Add honey to taste. If you are using sweeter apples then use less. Mix together, until the honey and cinnamon completely cover the apples. Top with ghee. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees until the apples are soft. Uncover and broil for a few minutes until slightly brown. Watch closely to make sure they don’t burn!
Serve on its own or with some yogurt.
Caution: Do not take in large quantities when pregnant.
