Cinnamon the botanical name being Cinnamomum Zeylanicum, is a small, bushy green tree. The dried leaves and/or dried bark of this tree form a constituent of many spice mixtures and medicines. Both add to the taste and flavor of food in addition to its medicinal value.

Cinnamon is purported to be a natural insulin sensitizer without any known adverse events. Both in vitro and in vivo animal studies have shown that cinnamon is an insulin sensitizer.

Studies suggest that cinnamon may have a regulatory effect on blood glucose, making it particularly advantageous for people with Type 2 diabetes.

Studies also indicate that merely 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per day can lower LDL cholesterol.

In other studies, cinnamon has revealed an astounding ability to stop medication-resistant yeast infections.
In a study published by researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Maryland, cinnamon reduced the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells. Cinnamon had an anti-clotting effect on the blood.

In a study at Copenhagen University, patients given one-half a teaspoonful of cinnamon powder mixed with one tablespoonful of honey each morning prior to breakfast had considerable relief in arthritis pain after just one week and could walk with no pain at all after a month's time.

When added to food, Cinnamon inhibits bacterial growth and development as well as food spoilage, hereby making it a natural food preservative.

An additional study determined that smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function as well as memory. Moreover, researchers at Kansas State University discovered that cinnamon fights the E. coli bacteria in juices that are unpasteurized. Cinnamon is also a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium.

Cinnamon has also been used in "brain tonics" to improve memory. Additionally, it is considered useful for anxiety, depression and mental tension. Cinnamon is also regarded as a very effective remedy for irritating cough, common cold, allergic rhinitis, and acute and chronic sinusitis.

Gynecologists that practice Ayurvedic medicine recommend cinnamon in menorrhagia (excessive bleeding during menses) and there have been medical trials that have supported this recommendation.

Women suffering from the condition known as menorrhagia are usually treated by the use of birth control pills in conventional medication. The failure to control the excessive monthly bleeding by use of contraceptive pills when it occurs is replaced with another so called "cure".

The woman may sometimes be offered the unhappy choice of undergoing a hysterectomy in such cases-this being the second so called cure of conventional medication. So Cinnamon is at least a viable option.

So cinnamon can be a very potent natural "medicine" that lends help in digestive, respiratory and gynecological problems. Thus when used correctly the benefits just might be above what you expected.