15 Health Benefits of Dalchini or Cinnamon

Dalchini or cinnamon is one important spice and has been in use since thousands of years, not only for its aroma, but also for its excellent medicinal properties as well. The best benefit of dalchini or cinnamon comes from its antioxidant properties. Apart from being rich in antioxidants, cinnamon is also filled with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anti-diabetic properties and is known for its tremendous health benefits. To know more about the health benefits of dalchini or cinnamon, do keep reading.

Dalchini or cinnamon offers a wide range of most important nutrients and is especially high in its fiber content and manganese level, along with many other minerals and vitamins.

One tablespoon of cinnamon contains approximately, 19 calories, 0.3 g of protein, 6.2 g of carbohydrates, 0.1 g of fat, 4.1 g of dietary fiber, manganese content of 1.4 mg, 77.7mg of calcium content, and vitamin K or 2.4 mg. Apart from all these nutrients that are mentioned, each serving of dalchini or cinnamon also contains minute amount of vitamin E, vitamin B6, niacin, potassium, magnesium, zinc and copper in it.

One of the most crucial health benefits of dalchini or cinnamon comes from its anti-inflammatory properties that help in treating inflammation in the body and helps in getting you relief from several kinds of swelling. You can enjoy a cumulative anti-inflammatory effect, when dalchini or cinnamon is used along with other spices and other food items.

We mentioned earlier that dalchini or cinnamon is greatly known for its wonderful antioxidant properties. Cinnamon is rich in Polyphenols, the potential antioxidants that help in fighting free radicals (2). It has been ranked at the top out of 26 of the most popular spices and herbs across the world, in terms of the wonderful level of antioxidant.
Apart from the polyphenols, dalchini or cinnamon even has phenolic acid as well as other flavonoids; and these are quite similar antioxidants that are present in other nutrient-rich and power- packed foods such as dark chocolates and berries.

Among all the important health benefits of dalchini or cinnamon, the best is the benefit of lowering blood sugar levels. Taking cinnamon on a daily basis has been linked to a lowering of the blood sugar levels. Cinnamon achieves this by lowering insulin resistance.

However, in case you have liver problems, always make sure to take cinnamon only after consulting your doctor. The antioxidants found in dalchini or cinnamon help in a great way. The antioxidants cut down the oxidative stress, which can otherwise worsen the diabetic conditions. It must be mentioned that oxidative stress is one major factor for causing type 2 diabetes.

Dalchini or cinnamon is also known to have another exclusive health benefit that is, it preserves and improves the brain function. Research shows that cinnamon might enhance the function of brain and can even help in defending against the development of several neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
In animal models, it has shown that dalchini or cinnamon protects neurons against the oxidative stress so as to reduce the risk of inflammation and cell damage, which in turn can preserve the brain function and also prevent a decline in cognitive function.

There is another crucial health benefit of dalchini or cinnamon. This spice prevents the risk of developing cancer. Cinnamon is highly toxic for the cancer cells. Thus it induces cell death of cancer cells. Cinnamon reduces the cancer cells growth and also prevents the cancer cells from proliferating.

In a study conducted on mice, it was found that cinnamon or dalchini activates enzymes found in the colon that are beneficial in detoxifying the organ and thus prevent proliferation of cancer.

A bioactive compound known as Cinnamaldehyde present in dalchini or cinnamon also exhibits anticancer properties. And the polyphenols found in dalchini or cinnamon provides fine protection against the brain cancer.

Dalchini or cinnamon also offers some excellent heart health benefits. It reduces the bad cholesterol or the LDL and it stabilizes the good cholesterol or HDL levels, and this in turn prevents heart attack⁽¹²⁾. It is very much true in case of type 2 diabetic patients. There have been a lot of animal studies that have been conducted to show dalchini or cinnamon can lower blood pressure^(13).

Dalchini or cinnamon can even reduce the negative effects of diet rich in high-fat content. Scientists have shown that consuming dalchini or cinnamon can lower the fat molecules in the body or the molecules that are involved in the process of fat-storage.

In addition to this, dalchini or cinnamon improves the circulation of blood in the body. It means that cinnamon improves the ability of your body in repairing itself after it has been damage; and it also includes heart tissue damage.

PCOS or Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a problem having several symptoms that requires to be managed, and dalchini or cinnamon might be an important element that can help in treating the symptoms. First would be managing of insulin resistance in case of women having PCOS, which can result in weight gain.

Dalchini or cinnamon can also aids mitigate heavy bleeding during menstruation, which is associated with some common conditions in females, like endometriosis, uterine fibroids and menorrhagia⁽¹⁴⁾.

Dalchini or cinnamon is known to have antimicrobial properties that extend to viruses. Thus, it might help in fighting or managing HIV.

Scientific research shows that dalchini or cinnamon extract may help fight against the HIV virus by preventing it from entering the cells. So, it is possible that cinnamon extract can contribute to manage HIV in a potential way. However, more human trials are still required to prove this benefit.

Dalchini or cinnamon may also be essential in improving your eye health. When used along with other herbs, cinnamon may be beneficial in treating several disorders of the eye including dry eye and conjunctivitis. However, more research is still required so as to prove these eye health benefits of dalchini or cinnamon.

There are several potential health benefits of dalchini or cinnamon. One of them is its benefit in defending your body from illnesses. Cinnamon contains natural antibiotic, antimicrobial, antifungal as well as antiviral properties in it and even its essential oils contain potential immune-boosting compounds. This is why dalchini or cinnamon is used in several cultures to fight harmful viruses and infections naturally.

The cinnamon or dalchini oil can also protect against bacterial infections, which causes conditions such as strep or sore throat, common cold and pneumonia. You just have to add a teaspoon of the dalchini or cinnamon powder to the morning tea to get enough relief.

One of the finest benefits of dalchini or cinnamon is its benefit for dental and oral health. Cinnamon can give you relief from mild cases of toothache⁽¹⁹⁾. Research has shown how cinnamon can be beneficial in treating toothaches and several oral and dental infections and also help in eliminating bad breath⁽¹⁹⁾.

In order to freshen your breath, you can chew on a cinnamon or dalchini stick or can gargle the cinnamon water.

There is an excellent health benefit of dalchini or cinnamon, which is it helps in proper functioning of the digestive system. The oils found in cinnamon contain potential antimicrobial properties, which help in fighting infection-bacteria causing in the digestive tract. The antifungal properties found in the cinnamon or dalchini even treat candida in the digestive tract.

Dalchini or cinnamon essential oil helps in improving the absorption of nutrients in the gut. This improves the gut health as well as contributes to the overall well-being. You can simply add one drop of cinnamon essential oil to the morning tea and have it.

People with allergies might get relief from cinnamon because of the beneficial compounds present in it. In fact, dalchini or cinnamon may help in fighting common symptoms of allergy, as it has shown its effectiveness in reducing inflammation and fighting reactions in several animal models.

The potential health benefits of dalchini or cinnamon extends to the skin health too. It is beneficial for skin because of its antimicrobial and antibiotic properties, which can help in protecting your skin from rashes, irritation, allergic reactions and skin infections.

Applying cinnamon essential oil on the skin directly can be beneficial in reducing skin inflammation, pain, swelling and redness. You can use dalchini or cinnamon along with honey to boost your skin health even more and it might be helpful in treating skin allergies, rosacea and acne.

Though there is less research on this, there are few reliable sources that suggest dalchini or cinnamon may enhance the growth or hair. It is because dalchini or cinnamon improves the circulation in the scalp. Applying the paste of cinnamon on the scalp can actually help in hair growth. For preparing the paste, you need half-cup of olive oil and one teaspoon of honey and a teaspoon of cinnamon paste. You need to warm the olive oil slightly and then take it off from the heat or the flame and pour it into one bowl to add cinnamon paste along with honey and mix them well.

You need to apply this cinnamon paste on the scalp and let it stay for about 15 minutes after which, you can wash, shampoo and condition the hair normally. Applying this cinnamon paste once a week can help you get better hair growth and also reduce the hair fall.

Cinnamon or dalchini is good and generally safe when it is used in moderate quantity and it can be taken with minimal side effects. However, high amount of dalchini or cinnamon can result in several adverse symptoms. There might be risk of certain cancers when cinnamon is taken in high quantities⁽²²⁾. Consuming more of dalchini or cinnamon has also been known to be associated with breathing issues and mouth sores in some patients⁽²³⁾.

It is also known that cinnamon can cause negative or allergic reactions. When taken in excess amount, cinnamon can interfere with other medications and other medical conditions.

Lastly, cinnamon can also be unsafe in case you take excess of cinnamon supplements, especially if you are breastfeeding or pregnant or if you have diabetes, liver diseases or had a recent surgery.

NOTE: It is always essential that you read the recommended dose of the dalchini or cinnamon extracts and other herbal extracts and never consume more than the recommended amount or the prescribed amount by your doctor so as to keep away from complications.

You might be impressed with all the above health benefits that we discussed about dalchini or cinnamon. So, why not add this spice to your regular diet and make the best benefit out of it. However, make sure in case you are suffering from any ill health condition or if you are pregnant, then do consult with your doctor before adding dalchini or cinnamon to your daily diet.

References:  

Also Read:

• Can Cinnamon Help Reduce Menstrual Cramps & Heavy Bleeding?
• 6 Beauty Benefits and Health Uses of Cinnamon Essential Oil