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Food Profile - Cinnamon
Origin: Imported from China to Egypt as early as 2000 B.C.,
cinnamon was given as a prestigious offering to Monarchs. It is
even featured with positive and symbolic meaning in the NY Times
All-time Best Seller, The Bible, in the books of Exodus and
Proverbs.
Plant: A small evergreen tree with oblong leaves and little
green flowers with an unpleasant smell. Inside the tree's small
purple berry is a single seed. Cinnamon is harvested by growing
the tree for two years and then cutting it back in order to grow
shoots from the tree's roots over the duration of the next year.
The shoots are then stripped of their bark and dried. After
naturally drying, the outer portion is removed and only a
minimally thin inner bark is used. Finally, the thin bark is
layered with other pieces and once more left to dry into the
recognizable curled strips. This final result, known as the
quill is then cut into spicejar-sized pieces. The oil, also
highly utilized is prepared by pounding the bark, soaking it in
sea water and then distilling it.
Quality: The best cinnamon comes naturally out of Sri Lanka, as
well as commercially grown farms in Brazil, Madagascar, Sumatra,
West Indies, Vietnam, and more. It possesses a very thin smooth
bark with a light-yellowish brown color. Its fragrant odor is
particularly sweet, warm and it gives a very pleasing taste, the
result of the concentration of its cinnamon oil.
Benefits: U. S. Department of Agriculture found in studies that
using a half teaspoon of cinnamon daily lowered many dangerous
blood related levels, including blood sugar in diabetics
(especially Type-2), cholesterol, triglyceride and Low Density
Lipo-proteins (LDL's). The same result is achieved by adding
cinnamon in tea. To be furthered researched is a notion that
ingesting cinnamon can lower blood pressure and whether or not
excessive amounts of the fat-soluable components of cinnamon are
safe from toxicity.
The Oil of cinnamon also has its benefits - boosting brain
function. Research by the Association for Chemoreception
Sciences found that products with cinnamon oil enhanced
resesarch participant's cognitive processing, especially, in
computer-based tasks such as attentional processes, virtual
recognition, working memory, and visual-motor speed.
Blurb: When mentioning cinnamon, desserts such as the cinnamon
roll come to mind first. However, in all purpose cinnamon does
more than just make your food taste good. It also qualifies as
an "anti-microbial" food, stopping the growth of bacteria as
well as fungi such as yeast (Candida). In laboratory tests,
growth of yeast with resistance to anti-fungal medication was
often stopped by cinnamon extracts. With this data, cinnamon
even proves itself worthy as a natural food preservative...but
really, to us it just tastes and smells great!
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=68
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon
About the author:
Sherri L Dodd is the creator and author of Mom Looks Great - The
Fitness Program for Moms. She is an ACE-certified Personal
Trainer, Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant and Kickboxing
Instructor with over fifteen years of exercise experience. She
has lectured to groups on her fitness plan and is a freelance
writer on the topics of fitness and general nutrition as well as
the humorous side of motherhood.
Sherri L Dodd
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