Honey and cinnamon have many science-proven health benefits, including protecting the heart and supplying the body with antioxidants. A mixture of the two could benefit the body, but most of the claimed benefits are mere myths.
Honey makes a good sweetener in the confectionery industry, blends well with many recipes, and provides a good sugar solution to diabetic patients, especially when used in moderation. Cinnamon is an equally powerful ingredient that makes a good spice and still benefits the body with its antioxidant content. Mixing honey and cinnamon may help benefit from their shared properties, including better blood sugar control and heart protection. Still, many of the claimed health benefits of the mixture are mere myths that have no truth in them. For instance, honey and cinnamon mixture is said to help improve acne, aid with weight loss, treat allergy symptoms, and remedy many other ailments, but these claims lack scientific backing. Here is everything you need to know about the honey and cinnamon mixture.
Honey and cinnamon are both powerful ingredients
Honey and cinnamon are both powerful ingredients with multiple applications at home and in the food industry. Honey is the golden brown or slightly yellow fluid produced when bees covert the complex sugars in the pollens into simple sugars readily absorbed by the body. It is thick and sticky and can be used as spreading on bread, atop salads, sweetening tea, or as a sweetener in the baking industry.
Cinnamon is yet another powerful ingredient prepared by stripping off the bark of the Cinnamomum tree, drying it, and breaking it into pieces to form cinnamon sticks. The very sticks are processed into cinnamon powder found in most stores. Cinnamon has multiple applications in the culinary context, primarily because it blends well with other recipes. Like honey, it is also used in the baking industry to produce the unique flavor, taste, and aroma you have probably experienced in cinnamon-flavored cakes and other confectionery products.
Individual health benefits of honey
Honey, primarily the raw versions, have many health benefits, most of which are backed with science. Here are some health perks you can take advantage of by using honey;
- It possesses powerful antioxidants- honey is rich in powerful antioxidants, primarily phenols. Like other antioxidants, polyphenols are widely beneficial and help reduce free radical accumulation and inflammation risks
- It may help treat coughs in children- although honey is not recommended for children below 12 months because of the associated risk of botulism, slightly older children may benefit from its cough-relieving benefits, especially now that studies have found it to be more effective than many cough syrups.
- It may make a good replacement to the table sugar, basically because it has a lower glycemic index and will not cause faster insulin and sugar spikes than table sugar. However, it loads more calories to the body than sugar and needs to be used in moderation.
- It has wonderful wound healing properties- honey boasts powerful antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and antimicrobial properties, helping it heal wounds faster. In fact, honey is used in hospital solutions for this very reason.
Health benefits of cinnamon
Cinnamon is a powerful ingredient with several health benefits. For instance;
- It supplies the body with antioxidants- like honey, cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants and loads them to the body when used in foods. Cinnamaldehyde is cinnamon’s most active compound, which also owes it the antioxidant properties
- It may help lower Alzheimer’s disease risk- some studies suggest that using cinnamon, especially the concentrated extract from cinnamon sticks, reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. However, the very studies use high concentrations that would typically not be found in normal cinnamon amounts used for cooking.
- It may protect against some cancers- some studies also found the cinnamon extract to prevent the proliferation of certain cancers in animal cells, but more research is needed for this, especially featuring human cells.
- It may help reduce inflammation risk- the antioxidants in cinnamon helps it reduce inflammation, lowering the risk of inflammatory and neurodegenerative complications.
Other claims about cinnamon include reducing the risk of the postmenstrual syndrome (PMS), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but these are not supported by scientific research.
Health benefits of mixing cinnamon and honey
Since honey and cinnamon are two powerful ingredients, it only makes sense that mixing them would augment their health benefits. However, proponents of this idea have spread mere myths about the potential of this mixture, making it hard to support fiction from rumors. Thankfully, some health benefits are science-backed and include;
i. Promoting heart health
Cinnamon and honey both have a role in promoting heart health, and studies have confirmed this. For instance, one study found that honey daily could increase good cholesterol levels by 3%. Another study established that cassia cinnamon extract helped reduce triglyceride and bad cholesterol levels by 5-11% and 11%, respectively. Mixing the two might still result in the same effects.
ii. Controlling blood sugar levels
Cinnamon and honey can always be used by diabetic patients to sweeten tea, but the latter must be used in moderation since it is a carb with high-calorie content. In several studies, cinnamon effectively improved insulin sensitivity, making the body use glucose better. Honey has polyphenol antioxidants that slow down carb digestion and absorption and also doesn’t cause fast sugar spikes. A mixture of the two also leads to better blood sugar control and may be appropriately taken by diabetics to manage the condition.
iii. Boosting the body’s total antioxidant count
Honey is rich in powerful antioxidants, primarily polyphenols. As such, taking honey promotes the body’s total antioxidant count. Cinnamonaldehydes, the most active compounds in cinnamon, also boast antioxidant properties. Consuming honey and cinnamon together may help benefit from antioxidants, boosting the body’s total antioxidant count (TAC).
Myths about cinnamon-honey mixture
Proponents of mixing honey and cinnamon for augmented health benefits claim that the mixture has many far-reaching, most of which are mere myths. Some unproven benefits of the mixture include;
- Aiding with weight loss
- Treating acne
- Calming digestive issues
- Treating arthritis
- Calming cold
- Treating symptoms of allergy
Conclusion
Cinnamon and honey are powerful ingredients with many health benefits. Honey has powerful antioxidant, antifungal, and antibacterial properties and does not cause faster sugar spikes like sugar. Cinnamon also has antioxidant properties and may help control blood sugar levels. Although combining the two might result in some health benefits, most of the ailment-treating claims are not supported by science.
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