Karen Dworkin (http://nativekitten.blogspot.com/ says there is cinnamon and then there is cinnamon. Who knew there was a huge difference in what kind of cinnamon you are using. You live your learn and just learned something from a master herbalist. About to toss out my mine now and get the good stuff the Ceylon cinnamon.
There are actually different cinnamon.
Ceylon cinnamon is the true cinnamon and is typically more expensive than the other cinnamon (called cassia cinnamon) that are more commonly used.
The big difference between them is that cassia cinnamon have higher levels of coumarins compared to the Ceylon cinnamon.
The anti-coagulant properties of coumarins does not cause a problem when ingesting Ceylon cinnamon, but can become dangerous when ingesting the cassia cinnamon, if consumed in large amounts on a regular basis. This is especially dangerous for someone who is on blood-thinning medication!
Not that I am taking blood thinners but I am eliminating things like goji. Anything that I know of that thins the blood. I had trouble in May with them trying to get my blood to clot when I had that horrible cut. They (medical staff) kept asking me if I was on blood thinners my reply was no but found out I was eating some.
So I am watching those blood thinning things and bit by bit eliminating them from my daily intake.
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Budding Planet says,
Here’s how you spot the difference between the two types of cinnamon
cassia is dark, reddish brown whereas Ceylon cinnamon is light tan in color
cassia sticks form a “double-scroll” whereas Ceylon cinnamon appears rolled like a cigar
cassia is thick and hard whereas Ceylon cinnamon is thin and brittle
You can go here to see the images http://spices.suite101.com/article.cfm/difference_between_cassia_and_cinnamon
This is very important if you enjoy stuff like cinnamon buns, or if you have high blood pressure for example and you are on blood thinning meds.
Real Cinnamon Sticks – Light Tan and Brittle – Stephanie Jolly
I added just a bit of dehydrated raw wheat grass powder in my plain water today. My almost 5 (so he says) year old rugrat took a sip and said, “Hmmm, this is good tea Mummy”. This is excellent because it means his taste buds are starting to appreciate more complex flavors.
ften times, we don’t know what they like. So it’s always good to keep introducing new food to them every once in a while.
Guess how old Rosemary is. You really would not believe. She looks so vibrant and young.
In fact, Rosemary Fletcher had spent 11 years confined to a wheelchair and doctors said she will never walk again. She looked at how she ate and she healed herself naturally.
My kids’ nanny just told me they make corn meal from scratch in Indonesia. They shuck the corn. Dry it in the sun. Then, they soak the dried corn for 12 hours to remove the outer hard layer. Next, they grind it by hand or pay a small fee to use the neighborhood grinder, cause nobody owns a blender at home. Hard work isn’t it?
But the story doesn’t end there.
Once they have the corn meal, they spend hours cooking and creating delicious masterpieces out of what was originally fresh corn shucked from the garden.
Did you know that a teaspoon of cinnamon has 5 times the calcium as a teaspoon of milk? And that’s just the beginning. Scientists are uncovering a lot of potential in this common spice, including the ability to help stabilize blood sugar and reduce insulin resistance.
Who would have thought that plain old cinnamon could be so good for you? In traditional medicine, cinnamon has been used for digestive ailments such as indigestion, gas and bloating, stomach upset, and diarrhoea. It has a mild anti-inflammatory effect. It also slows the spoiling of food (which is probably related to why it was used as an embalming agent in ancient Egypt), and has anti-fungal properties as well. Researchers even found that sniffing cinnamon resulted in improved brain function -– subjects did better on memory and attention tasks when taking whiffs of cinnamon as opposed to other odours or no odour. However, the potential health benefits of cinnamon that have received the most attention have to do with its effects on blood glucose and cholesterol.
Cinnamon tea is a great way to reap the health benefits of cinnamon. You can buy cinnamon tea but it’s quite easy to make your own with the following recipe.
Ingredients
1 cinnamon stick
1 mug of hot water
Directions
Break cinnamon stick into pieces and place in a cup. Add hot water. Cover and steep for 30 minutes. You can keep adding hot water to the cup to enjoy all day long. Use more or less cinnamon depending on the strength you prefer.
You can also place a cinnamon stick in any tea while it steeps to add flavor and health benefits.
Note: You can also add a tiny pinch of cinnamon powder into your child’s milk for the added health benefits too. It makes the drink tastes exotic, kinda like some drink you’ll buy at a fancy coffee shop.
told me they make corn meal from scratch in Indonesia. They shuck the corn. Dry it in the sun. Then, they soak the dried corn for 12 hours to remove the outer hard layer. Next, they grind it by hand or pay a small fee to use the neighborhood grinder, cause nobody owns a blender at home. Hard work isn’t it?