Monday, August 17, 2015

Cinnamon For Hypertension

Cinnamon a commonly used spice is available as rolled quills, powder or liquid extract. There are many cinnamon varieties although the most commonly used is Ceylon cinnamon and Cassia (Chinese) Cinnamon. Cinnamon also offers various health benefits mainly due to the presence of volatile oils cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl alcohol and cinnamyl acetate. Cinnamon contains calcium, iron, manganese, vitamin K and dietary fiber.

Cassia cinnamon has especially been used for medicinal purposes. It could be used to treat hypertension, some types of cancer, chest pain or kidney disorders. Cinnamon is said to reduce high blood pressure and improve blood glucose circulation. It is also said to help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Foods rich in calcium like cinnamon could help lower blood pressure levels. Calcium acts as a mediator in contracting and relaxing blood vessels. Calcium deficiency could result in raising blood pressure levels. This is where cinnamon can help. 1 tbps of cinnamon provides close to 8% of daily body calcium requirement.

In one randomized trial that studied 58 patients , it was found that 2g cinnamon taken daily reduced high blood pressure and blood sugar levels over time. In a 2006 study it was found that cinnamon regulated blood sugar metabolism and lowered blood pressure in rats suffering from hypertension. Thus cinnamon can be of help in dealing with hypertension but detail effects of cinnamon need some more study.
Read more about Cinnamon.

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