We recently looked at the beneficial effects of tomato on the skin. In this article, let us check out cinnamon.
Cinnamon could easily be considered as the ‘next big thing’ as a health supplement. Easily available, and quite affordable, the health benefits of cinnamon stretch all the way from the skin to the heart. Most of its benefits are centred around ‘Metabolic syndrome‘ or ‘Syndrome X’ – I had written about insulin resistance in a recent article, and its importance for healthy skin and hair, and particularly, weight loss and body shaping.
So how does cinnamon work?
Cinnamon is a very good anti oxidant, and we know that antioxidants are the repair agents of the skin and the hair. So right away, that is a very good reason to include more cinnamon in the diet. Next, it has beneficial effects on the lipid metabolism. Abnormal lipids are also commonly seen in young men, with central or vertex hair loss, and this could be a very useful dietary addition in this group of men. In women, in whom PCOS plays a very important role in hair loss, hirsutism and acne, dietary supplementation of cinnamon (doses studied ranged from 1.5 to 3 g per day, in divided doses) helps in reducing insulin resistance. This helps both the PCOS and the adverse effects of PCOS on the skin, hair and the body, in addition to helping with infertility. One way in which cinnamon, may act, is by helping the good microbes in our gut, which can indirectly help with glucose and fat metabolism.
In all, cinnamon seems to be a very promising and upcoming DIY, dietary tool – for helping to improve acne, acanthosis, insulin resistance and hair loss. What’s more, cinnamon also comes with the added mental health benefit of better working memory!
From theory to practice:
How can you have cinnamon? Anyway that you choose to! You can add the powder to your apple cinnamon water as below. Or just take it with your salad, or blend it into your smoothie!
The minimum duration that was required for benefit, as per the studies, was 8 to 12 weeks. So make sure to give it a good 2-3 months to appreciate the benefits.
While diet is a great way to approach the skin and the hair, advanced level problems like cystic acne still need to be addressed by your dermatologist, to prevent long term scarring.
Coming soon in this series of Plants R Us, is a very common and very easily available but sadly underrated plant!
