When you are very overweight, just changing a few things in your daily routine can help you lose weight relatively quickly. However, after an initial burst of weight loss, many times you stop losing weight quickly or stop losing weight at all. After a few months of weight loss, many people find that they hit this weight loss plateau. One way to help avoid this weight loss plateau is by speeding up your metabolism. Incorporating Cinnamon into your diet, or taking it as a supplement, is a healthy and all natural way to speed up your metabolism and to lose weight.
I haven’t been able to find studies that directly tested cinnamon’s effects on the metabolism… However, in addition to its effects on the metabolism, there is another reason that cinnamon can lead to weight loss (and this is supported by studies).
More and more research is showing that Cinnamon can help people with Diabetes and pre-Diabetes by reducing blood sugar levels and increasing natural production of insulin. A Pakistani study in which patients with type 2 diabetes were given between one quarter and two teaspoons of Cinnamon a day, demonstrated the aforementioned affects on blood sugar and insulin production in addition to lowering cholesterol (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14633804?dopt=Abstract)! The reason this is all important to weight loss is because fat cells are very responsive to high insulin levels. A recent National Institute of Health Study, showed how insulin directly stimulates fat cells to take in glucose (http://www.nih.gov/news/health/sep2010/nichd-07.htm).
So, if you are having trouble losing weight, taking cinnamon as a daily supplement may be a good idea. It’s effects on the metabolism, blood sugar levels, and insulin levels can help to overcome the “weight loss plateau”.
Also, if the cinnamon doesn’t help you lose weight, its nice to know that it may have a lot of other health benefits. Studies have shown cinnamon to: stop resistant yeast infections, reduce cancer cell growth, reduce arthritis pain, prevent food spoilage, and to fight E. coli. I’ve read that one study even showed that smelling cinnamon could improve mental function! Eating cinnamon probably won’t cure you of cancer, but its many beneficial properties will likely improve your body’s function in some way, and it will definitely provide you with long term health benefits.
I take about one teaspoon of cinnamon a day. I like to mix it into my morning oatmeal. It tastes great with the oatmeal and I also do this because of the large quantity of carbohydrates in oatmeal (carbohydrates increase blood sugar and insulin levels).
Update:
I was informed by a reader that the cinnamon you buy at the market is not “true cinnamon”. The true cinnamon spice is called Cinnamomum Zeylanicum, yet most cinnamon products come from a similar species called Cinnamomum Cassia. This may not seem very important, but if you want to use cinnamon as a weight loss supplement it may be important. This is because Cassia Cinnamon contains very high levels of coumarin which could pose health dangers (it has actually been banned in Germany!). Coumarin in too high doses can even damage the liver!
If you read the reader’s comments below, Pat has recommended a source for true Ceylon cinnamon. One pound of Cinnamon sticks from the Ceylon Online website will cost you $26.00 . I thought this was a bit on the high side, so I did some research, and actually found amazon to be a good source of true cinnamon. You can get a pound of Cinnamon Ceylon Powder
26 responses so far ↓
1 Cinnamon, speed up the metablolism, a natural weight loss supplement // Jun 23, 2008 at 4:00 pm
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2 Pat // Jun 24, 2008 at 4:04 am
The Cinnamon that we buy in the USA is actually Cassia.
Cassia has a chemical called coumarin which could be toxic. You must be sure that consume Cinnamon and not Cassia.
Please click the link under my name to learn how to identify real Cinnamon from Cassia.
3 George // Jul 21, 2008 at 12:15 am
Thanks Pat for the helpful link.
I purchased the Ceylon Cinnamon online and it arrived in 3 days all the way from Ceylon.
The Ceylon Cinnamon is much sweeter and now I can reduce on the sugar in my recipes.
4 tmikuckis // May 15, 2009 at 2:39 am
Thanks for the information Pat, when I heard about taking Cinnamon as a weight loss supplement I never heard about the possible harmful effects of Cassia. I have updated the post to warn readers, to avoid Cassia, and have found another good supplier of Ceylon cinnamon.
5 Shannon // Jun 30, 2009 at 6:28 pm
this has worked for me. its just i dont understand how it made my metabolism better….
6 Jed // Aug 14, 2009 at 1:47 am
I have to ask, though. Even if Cassia “could be toxic” would it really hurt you if you took half a teaspoon each morning? Or would it require a larger amount?
I guess what I’m asking is does anyone know how much coumarin it takes to become potentially toxic and harmful? I don’t hear about people being negatively affected by consuming cinnamon in the US, and my family and I consume quite a bit already. I don’t doubt any of the warnings above, but would like to know if there might be some further facts on it to regulate and protect myself and others who might already consume the US (cassia) cinnamon.
Does the higher presence of coumarin effect how affective the cinnamon is in raising your metabolism?
7 Sherry Ann // Jul 21, 2010 at 2:31 pm
The easy way to add cinnamon is just to buy it at the health food store in capule form. It is true ceylon cinnamon and goes for about $20 for 240 capsules. I pop 2 of them before breakfast and am done!
8 tmikuckis // Oct 27, 2010 at 2:15 am
I didn’t know about the capsule form Sherry Ann. Its a good idea, I’m just curious if the pill form impairs digestion at all…
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13 Theo Goodman // Apr 1, 2011 at 8:46 am
Yea , you need to use “real” Ceylon Cinnamon. It can also help heartburn and other health problems. Not only that it tastes so much better then the cheap stuff!
14 Amy // Apr 11, 2011 at 1:24 pm
You can also check spice stores and hispanic markets. My sister found Ceylon cinnamon sticks at a small, hispanic market. I found the powder and the sticks at Penzey’s Spices. They are nationwide and have a catalog. My sister was on a weight loss forum or some such thing and she stumbled onto a thread for Ceylon cinnamon. Drinking this as a tea infusion twice per day had helped several women to lose weight fast. One woman said she’d lost 35 pounds in two months. Maybe I’ll only do it once per day. I want to lose weight, but I’m afraid if I lose it too fast, I’ll get loose skin.
15 Amy // Apr 11, 2011 at 1:26 pm
p.s. I’ve lost 36 pounds already on Weight Watchers. I just want to lose a little faster than I am, since I’m having a hard time on the weekends when I stay with some friends while visiting my fiance in Denver. Maybe the Ceylon cinnamon will help combat the weekend fat pills.
16 Sarah // Jun 3, 2011 at 7:30 pm
I just have a question.. ok… apparently Ceylon is the better cinnamon, yes, but… can .. say cinnamon capsules that you buy from somewhere like walmart help you lose weight as well? Because i have been dieting and exercising for a year and i cant seem to lose any weight at all, and i’ve tried several different diet pills and things of that nature and still no luck.. and its becoming extremely depressing, but i really dont want to spend that much on the ceylon cinnamon… so… could the other kind work too?
17 G M // Aug 12, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Amy, I believe the lady who says she lost 35 lbs in 2 months.
I mix half a teaspoon of Cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of raw honey in warm water and it’s working for me so far! I drink a cup of it first thing in the morning and one cup last thing at night. Sometimes I add lemon.
I haven’t made major changes to my diet and don’t deprive myself of treats. I also cannot exercise right now due to an injury. I have lost 12 lbs in the last 19 days because of cinnamon and raw honey.
It’s worth a shot!
18 Carolyn // Oct 17, 2011 at 2:06 pm
I got my Ceylon cinnamon sticks from sagespice .com. How many cinnamon sticks should I consume per day to help me in my weight loss? I have been the Atkins diet and have lost 16.5 pounds in 12 weeks. This is good but, I would like to give my weight loss a boost. Anyone know the amount of ceylon cinnamon sticks to consume per day for weight loss?
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20 Reena // Dec 17, 2011 at 7:47 am
If I buy cinnamon sticks from the sri lankan grocer, pound it to power form and take it, will that suffice. Pls let me know.
21 George // Jan 2, 2012 at 2:53 pm
This video will show you how to make a simple Cinnamon tea.
Enjoy
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