The little-known benefits of cinnamon

In Eastern medicine, cinnamon is considered one of the four most precious medicinal herbs: ginseng, deer antler, cinnamon, and rehmannia. Vietnam is one of the countries that grows a lot of cinnamon, exporting hundreds of tons of cinnamon bark and tens of tons of cinnamon essential oil annually.

Cinnamon is a wild tree found in forests, or it can be grown from seeds or cuttings. It can be harvested after 5 years, but the best bark is obtained after 20-30 years.

The bark is rich in tannins (5%) and contains essential oil (1.2-1.5%), but the essential oil is rich in cinnamic aldehyde (80.85%). It contains no eugenol but small amounts of cinnamic acid, cinnamyl acetate, and o-methoxycinnamaldehyde; it also contains cinnzeylanol and cinnzeylanin.

Traditional medicine has a wide variety of uses for cinnamon-based remedies. According to the latest research, cinnamon also helps prevent diabetes, reduce the risk of heart disease, has strong anti-inflammatory properties, protects the brain from dementia and cognitive decline, prevents cancer, treats acne, eliminates bad breath, and is good for the skin. Cinnamon has provided us with many medicinal remedies and therapeutic applications throughout the history of medicine.

Cinnamon is a valuable medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine, and its bark can be used as a cooking spice.

In daily life, cinnamon has many applications, such as in cooking as a spice.healthcareSuch as and aesthetically pleasing uses like herbal scented sachets, home fumigation, making shoe insoles, etc.

- To help you sleep: You can burn cinnamon essential oil and place it in a corner of the room. This will create a diffusion mechanism, filling the room with a distinctive herbal scent and making it easier to fall asleep soundly.

- Treating joint pain: Cinnamon soaked in alcohol can be used for massage to relieve joint pain very effectively. However, caution is needed as excessive use can cause skin burns due to the heat of cinnamon. A few drops of cinnamon essential oil mixed with a carrier oil such as coconut oil or baby oil can be used for massage to help relax and loosen muscles.

- Combating bad breath: You can use dried cinnamon bark or cinnamon essential oil. The aroma of cinnamon will help you have fresh breath. Chewing a piece of dried cinnamon also has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties to eliminate cavities and other causes of bad breath.

- To alleviate flu and cold symptoms: add a few drops of cinnamon essential oil to a small bowl of hot water and steam your face to clear the airways, relieve nasal congestion, and make breathing easier.

- Used for soaking, bathing, and steaming: to fragrance and warm the body, and to relax the entire body.

- Cinnamon, a spice in many delicious dishes: The fragrant, spicy, and sweet taste of cinnamon helps to reduce the fishy or gamey smell of fish and meat, making dishes more appealing and stimulating the digestive system. It is a spice ingredient in pho, beef noodle soup, cinnamon-flavored pastries, cinnamon-flavored meatballs, etc.

Besides its aroma that makes dishes more appealing, the essential oils in cinnamon also help the digestive system fight bacteria, add warmth to dishes, dispel coldness, and help prevent stomach aches. However, caution is needed and moderation is key. Excessive use of cinnamon can irritate the mouth, and those allergic to cinnamon should avoid dishes seasoned with it. Furthermore, consuming too much cinnamon is not recommended because its warming properties can disrupt the balance of yin and yang in the body.

Cinnamon essential oil has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties. It can be used to eliminate musty odors from clothes or damp walls, air conditioners, cars, and other unpleasant smells that affect the fresh air. Cinnamon scented sachets also deodorize, warm the soles of the feet, and help prevent athlete's foot.

Cinnamon is also an indispensable ingredient in herbal incense used in worship and meditation. Incense containing cinnamon is very fragrant, bringing a feeling of warmth and peace. The ingredients for making incense include sticks, cinnamon powder, gum powder, etc. Depending on the mixing method, different special fragrances are created.