Can Cinnamon Help Reduce Menstrual Cramps & Heavy Bleeding?

Menstrual cramps and heavy bleeding during menstruation can actually interfere with your daily activities and can negatively impact the quality of life in those days. If you are suffering from painful periods and want to know a natural remedy that could work effectively in relieving those menstrual cramps and heavy bleeding, then you must try out cinnamon. Read below and know more about it.

Yes, Cinnamon is a well known spice that is used all over the world. Though there are a lot of varieties of the tree, the most commonly used are Ceylon and Cassia cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon is generally curled in to layers of thin papery bark, which are pretty easy to break up. While, cassia cinnamon is a curl of a single thick bark.

Cinnamon is an excellent antiseptic and digestive aid. It is loaded with antioxidants, and also has a mild analgesic effect, which may be why one of its traditional uses in treating pain, fever, sore throats and inflammation. Cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl alcohol, and cinnamyl acetate are the three active chemical compounds present in cinnamon, which are linked to the medical action of Cinnamon.

Cinnamon has been long used as an analgesic in Chinese and Indian medicine and a fewer studies have emerged to suggest that it can also be effectively used for treating menstrual cramps and heavy bleeding during the periods.

Let us know more about it by taking a look on the following two studies.

In a recent study, Iranian scientists conducted a randomized, double-blind trail for assessing the effects of cinnamon on menstrual bleeding and systemic symptoms in Iranian college students who where suffering from primary dysmenorrhea. This study conducted at IIam University of Medical Sciences in Western Iran, involved 76 women in between the age group of 18-30 years, with moderate primary dysmenorrhea and regular menstrual cycles. These women were all healthy in general and none of them were taking oral contraceptives.

Half of the women were given a placebo capsule and the other half of them were given capsules containing 420 mg of dried cinnamon bark powder. All of the participants were instructed to take 2 capsules, 3 times regularly during the first three days of their menstrual cycle.

It was noted that women taking the cinnamon capsules experienced less severe pain and also the pain was of a shorter duration, as compared to the other group. They experienced less nausea, vomiting and compared to the placebo group of women, those taking the cinnamon capsules, had fewer episodes of heavy bleeding during their menstrual periods.

In one more study researchers compared the effects of cinnamon to Ibuprofen. This study involved three groups of women.

One of the group was given 420 mg of cinnamon, second group was given 400 mg of Ibuprofen and third group of women were given placebo pills. Both, cinnamon and Ibuprofen helped in reducing pain severity and duration, though Ibuprofen has a small advantage. The cinnamon also appeared working more slowly. After 4 hours, there was no difference between it and the placebo group; however, after 8 hours, there was a significant lowering of pain among the group of women taking cinnamon.

Cinnamon can be used in the following ways.

• Simply add half-a-spoon of cinnamon powder to a glass of warm water and drink it. You can also squeeze half-a-lemon and add honey to it for taste.
• Cinnamon powder can also be added to curries and dals and consumed.
• You can also prepare Cinnamon tea and drink it to get relief from menstrual cramps and heavy bleeding. In order to prepare the tea, try gently boiling a Ceylon cinnamon stick in 1 ½ cups of water for about 20 minutes and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes. Then, strain and drink it as it is or add some honey and/or milk. There are also some cinnamon teabags sold in healthfood shops, which contain finely chopped cinnamon bark. Allow these to steep for 10 minutes before drinking.
• It must be mentioned that you need to start drinking the cinnamon tea throughout the day before your period starts and through the first few days of your period for getting best relief.

Now that we know about how cinnamon can help reduce menstrual cramps and heavy bleeding, it might be a good idea for you to try this remedy if you are suffering from menstrual cramsps and heavy bleeding during your periods.

Make a note to talk to your doctor in case you have exteremly severe pain and bleeding during menstruation.