Cinnamon is an aromatic spice which has been used widely as medicinal purpose and for seasoning for many dishes. This spice has a unique characteristic with its dark brown or red brown color. Another fact, cinnamon has many different varieties and the most popular varieties are Ceylon and Cassia. Indonesian cinnamon or Korintje cinnamon is classified as one of the Cassia cinnamon. From its name, you already know that this cinnamon is originated from Indonesia. Uniquely, this spice has a spicy and intense taste compared with Ceylon cinnamon which has a sweet taste.

So, as an herbal spice, you must be already know that Indonesian cinnamon has a lot of health benefits. But, do you know the exact health benefits of Indonesian cinnamon? Well if you don’t know yet, you will find a lot of benefits that this spice would offer for the good of your health.

1. Fight Against Free Radicals

As a traditional spice, there is no doubt that Indonesian cinnamon would be beneficial to fight against the harmful free radicals. This is because Indonesian cinnamon contains various strong antioxidants, which will fight against free radicals and protect your body from various health issues. Aside from that, various antioxidants that contained in Indonesian cinnamon would be beneficial to prevent the damage in your body cells.

 2. Prevents Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the most deadliest health condition since it will lead you to more severe health problems in the future. So, it turns out that Indonesian cinnamon would be very essential to prevent the development of diabetes, particularly diabetes type II. In fact, many research studies have shown that cinnamon would regulate the blood sugar level and lower the body’s insulin resistance among pre-diabetic patients.

3. Prevents Cholesterol

Aside from diabetes, cholesterol is one of the most dangerous health conditions because it will lead you to more severe problems. So, Indonesian cinnamon has a great ability to protect you from cholesterol because it can reduce the amount of bad cholesterol levels (LDL) and increase the amount of good cholesterol levels (HDL). In the matter of fact, one research study have shown that patients who ate cinnamon had up to 27% reduction of LDL in their body.

4. Treats Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease that commonly occurs in elderly people. This disease has obvious symptoms, such as excessive shaking in your hands, rigid muscles, slowed movement, lightheadedness, and many more. So, according to a study, Indonesian cinnamon would be very good to treat Parkinson’s because it will stimulate the change of the anatomical and biomechanical cellular. Although that study was done on mice, but cinnamon showed a very good potential to treat Parkinson’s.

5. Good for Your Diet

If you have a diet program and you want to lose some weight, then consuming Indonesian cinnamon in a regular basis would be a huge advantage. As already mentioned above, Indonesian cinnamon has a perfect ability to regulate the blood sugar levels. Because of that, you will lose some weight in a short amount of time. In addition to that, Indonesian cinnamon would also regulate the insulin levels, which will improve the health of your body’s metabolism. Whenever you have a healthy body metabolism, then the carbohydrates in your body would be changed into energy and also, you will be allowed to burn more calories.

6. Insect Repellent

It turns out that Indonesian cinnamon, if you use it as an oil, would be very good in order to keep the mosquitoes away from your skin. Yes, it is true that cinnamon has a very good smell for humans, but certainly the mosquitoes wouldn’t feel the same as you do. In the matter of fact, there was one study that has shown the mosquito larvae being killed after the application of cinnamon oil. So, after knowing this fact, avoid the harmful insecticides and use this natural spice as an insect repellent.

7. Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Indonesian cinnamon also has a perfect anti-inflammatory properties, which will be beneficial to protect you from various diseases associated with inflammation. Thus, without a doubt this natural spice would prevent you from having a heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and many more. In the matter of fact, many research studies have already shown that there are seven kinds of flavonoid compounds contained in cinnamon. As you already know, flavonoid is a kind of antioxidant which will be beneficial to fight against any kind of inflammation.

8. Prevents Heart Disease

Whenever you’re consuming Indonesian cinnamon on a regular basis, then you don’t need to worry of having various health conditions related to your heart. This is because this herbal spice would protect the health of your heart by shutting down all of the common sources of the heart problems, such as cholesterol or high blood pressure. As already mentioned above, cinnamon would be very good to reduce the amount of bad cholesterol levels (LDL) while keeping the good cholesterol levels stable. Also, cinnamon would be very good to reduce the blood pressure.

9. Antibacterial Properties

Aside from its anti-inflammatory properties, Indonesian cinnamon also has a perfect antibacterial properties. There is no surprise that bacteria, viruses, and fungi are the common source of various ailments and diseases in our body. Thus, we need to get rid of them out of our body and cinnamon would fight against the bad bacteria in our body. Aside from that, cinnamon would be very good whenever we use it as natural desinfectant too. With this cinnamon, all of harsh chemicals would be alleviated from our households.

10. Healthy Teeth

Indonesian cinnamon would be a perfect spice to support the health of your teeth because of its antibacterial properties. As you already know, bacteria play a big role to build-up the plaque in our teeth, which then will lead you to the gum disease. So, Indonesian cinnamon would be beneficial to fight against these bad bacteria and thus, you will be less likely to have diseases associated with your teeth in the future. Also, whenever you have a toothache, consuming Indonesian cinnamon would alleviate your pain before you can see the doctor.

11. Fights Alzheimer’s

Aside from its benefit to fight against Parkinson’s, it turns out that Indonesian cinnamon would be beneficial too to fight against any sign of Alzheimer’s. So, Alzheimer’s is a kind of neurodegenerative disease, which will cause its patient to forget about everything. Although Indonesian cinnamon couldn’t cure it, but this herbal spice would be very good to treat Alzheimer’s. In fact, many research studies have shown that cinnamon could improve the general motor function and inhibit tau aggregation, which is a common characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.

12. Fight Against Food Poisoning

Food poisoning is a condition whenever you feel something wrong in your stomach soon after you eat raw meats, raw eggs, or raw seafood. The most common form of food poisoning are diarrhea and cramping. This health issue is commonly caused by Salmonella, a kind of bacteria which commonly found  in raw foods. As already mentioned above, Indonesian cinnamon has a perfect antibacterial properties. Thus, this herbal spice would kill Salmonella, before they will do harm against your body.

13. Better Sex Life

If you’re consuming Indonesian cinnamon on a regular basis, then you will have a better sex life. So, there are so many findings that correlate between cinnamon and sex life. According to those findings, eating some hot spicy foods, such as cinnamon for example, would increase your body heat and also boost your sexual passion. Aside from that fact, there was a study conducted on mice. The mice were given a cinnamon and soon after they ate it, their libido and sexual function was significantly increased.

14. Prevents Cancers

It turns out that Indonesian cinnamon would be very beneficial to protect you from various kinds of cancer too. There are many reasons why cinnamon would be very useful in order to prevent cancer. First, cinnamon would improve the health of your colon and thus, it will prevent you from colon cancer. Second, cinnamon would prevent you from DNA damage, cell mutations, and the excessive growth of cancerous tumors because of its antioxidant properties. Third, cinnamon has a specific compound called cinnamaldehyde, which will trigger the cancerous cells to self-destruct.

15. Cures Candida

The Candida Albicans is a kind of dangerous yeast which will cause Candida to overgrowth and cause autoimmune symptoms in our body. Because of that, it is necessary to suppress the amount of Candida Albicans in our body. Indonesian cinnamon is one of the best natural sources that can lower the amount of Candida Albicans in our body and thus, we will be prevented from Candida. Aside from that, cinnamon would also very essential to regulate the blood sugar, which will prevent you from Candida that caused by too much sugar in the digestive tract.

16. Fight Allergies

Whenever you have a constant problem related with a health condition that caused by allergies, the consuming cinnamon on a regular basis would be a perfect solution. So, allergies are commonly caused by many factors, such as bacteria or dust. Indonesian cinnamon would be very good for allergies because it has an anti-inflammatory properties, which will reduce the inflammation. Aside from that, this herbal spice could protect you from histamine reactions, which is also the common cause of allergies.

17. Could be Used to Treat HIV

Although further study is needed, but there are some signs that Indonesian cinnamon would be very beneficial to treat against HIV. So, there was one study that concluded that cinnamon could block the type-1 HIV from infecting the body cells and also, it can prevent the growth of HIV into AIDS. But, you need to take a notice that you shouldn’t use this herbal spice as the only medication for HIV. It would be very good if you use it alongside with the other medications.

18. Cures Irritable Bowel Syndrome

It turns out that Indonesian cinnamon would be very useful to fight against various diseases associated with your gastrointestinal too, particularly Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). So, IBS is a disorder which will cause some discomforts around your large intestine. The symptoms are bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and inconsistent bowel movement and it is commonly caused by bacteria. Since cinnamon has a perfect antibacterial properties, then there is no doubt that it can get rid of harmful bacteria out of your gastrointestinal tract.

19. Boost Your Mood

If you have a stressful day and you feel really exhausted, then health benefits of cinnamon might help you a lot. There is no surprise that Indonesian cinnamon would be very useful to increase the overall mood of yours. This is because cinnamon has a very good smell and it could relaxed our mind. So, there is no surprise that you will find cinnamon as an aromatherapy in many groceries store easily. Also, cinnamon has antibacterial properties, which will fight against gut bacteria that could stimulate the symptoms of depression.

20. Supports Healthy Blood Clotting

Indonesian cinnamon would be very good in order to support healthy blood clotting too. This is because this herbal spice would make the blood become thin and protect you from unwanted clumping of platelets. In the matter of fact, there were so many studies on cinnamon’s effect on platelets which will contribute to the blood clotting. They were concluded that cinnamon would help to make the blood thinner. Thus, Indonesian cinnamon would be very good as anticoagulant.

21. Beneficial for Your Skin

Whenever you apply it externally, it turns out that Indonesian cinnamon would be very useful to boost the health of your skin. This is because cinnamon is an exfoliate agent, which will be beneficial to make your skin become smooth and clean. In addition to that, whenever you’re consuming cinnamon on a regular basis, then your skin will be looking firmer than before. This is because cinnamon would stimulate the production of collagen, which is a protein that would be very important to improve the health of the skin.

22. Treats Pre-Menstrual Syndrome

If you’re a woman with constant problems with pre-menstrual syndrome, then start to consume cinnamon would be a perfect choice. As already mentioned before, cinnamon would be very good to combat against stomach issues. Also, it contains anti-inflammatory properties, which will soothe the pain related to PMS. In addition to that, various nutrients contained in cinnamon such as manganese and calcium would ease the pain from cramping during PMS too.

 23. Fight Against Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Aside from its benefit to ease the pain caused by pre-menstrual syndrome, Indonesian cinnamon would be very good too to protect you from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). This is a condition whenever there are some cysts around women’s ovaries. Those cysts are commonly caused by hormonal imbalance between progesterone and estrogen. So, many research studies have shown that cinnamon would be very beneficial to improve the profiles of metabolic hormones and improve the fertility. As the information, infertility is one of the symptoms that will occur whenever you have PCOS.

24. Beneficial as Food Preservatives

Whenever you have cinnamon, you could use it as a natural preservative for foods. Nowadays, most of foods use artificial preservatives, so that they will last in a long amount of time and sometimes, it would cause negative effects on your health. In order to avoid that, using cinnamon as food preservative would be recommended, since it comes from a natural source and has antibacterial properties. In the matter of fact, cinnamon would be beneficial to inhibit the action tyrosinase, which then will stop the discoloration among fruits and vegetables.

25. Beneficial to Sweeten the Food

Whenever you’re cooking something, then you will be likely to add some sugar in your dish in order to make it sweeter. The problem is, too much sugar wouldn’t be healthy for your health in the long run. Too much sugar in your body would lead you to various dangerous health conditions, such as diabetes. So, it is very good if you use a natural sweetener into your dish instead of sugar. Cinnamon would be a perfect sweetener to add into your dish because it has a sweet taste. Also, this herbal spice has no sugar and calories, which will be beneficial for your diet, the cinnamon benefits.

How to Select and Store Indonesian Cinnamon

After you already know all of the health benefits related to the Indonesian cinnamon, we bet that you want to consume it as soon as possible and go to the nearest market to buy it. But, in order to get the full benefits of this spice, you need to buy the proper one and after that, you need to store it in a proper way. So, in the information below, you will find the easy way how to select and store Indonesian cinnamon properly.

• Go to the proper store and choose the Indonesian cinnamon which has a red-brown color and also has an empty cavity around its center.
• After you buy it, then it is better if you keep it in the closed glass which is free from air.
• After that, store the Indonesian cinnamon in a dry and cool place such as in your pantry or in your refrigerator too keep the freshness of it. Be sure that you keep away your cinnamon from direct sunlight or any kind of heat source.
• Ground Indonesian cinnamon normally will last for about six months. But, the stick one would last for abour a year, if you store it in a closed glass

Precautions and Warnings About Indonesian Cinnamon

Although Indonesian cinnamon would bring you a lot of benefits, but this herbal spice has some side effects for certain people too. So, in the information below you will find out what are some side effects of Indonesian cinnamon:

• People with Health Issues Related to Their Liver Should Avoid Consuming Indonesian Cinnamon. This is because all of the Cassia cinnamon varieties, including Indonesian cinnamon, has a very high amount of coumarin. Coumarin is a substance that commonly related to the potential liver damage. But, using this cinnamon as seasoning should be fine.
• The Effect of Indonesian Cinnamon for Pregnant Women is Still Unknown. So, it is better that whenever you’re pregnant, you have a consultation with your doctor first about whether you’re allowed to consume Indonesian cinnamon or not.
• Indonesian Cinnamon Would Cause Allergies to Certain People. Whenever you’re consuming cinnamon and after that you’re suffering from the symptoms of allergies such as itchy skin, diarrhea, itchy eyes, nausea, red skin, and many more, then you need to stop consuming cinnamon. This is because potentially, you are allergic to cinnamon.

So, now you already know all of the health benefits of Indonesian cinnamon, as well as how to store it and some precautions about it. In conclusion, Indonesian cinnamon is an herbal spice with tons of benefit for our health. Also, it has no calories and no sugar, which is beneficial to add more taste in your dish in a natural way. So, stay healthy!