Cinnamon and honey are both staples of a wide variety of types of food. But did you know that these two ingredients don’t just add sweetness to your breakfast, baked good, meal, or dessert? Cinnamon and honey both offer a wide array of health benefits. They aren’t just treats for the tastebuds, they’re also treats for your body!
First, the biggest benefit of both cinnamon and honey is that they are both incredibly versatile on top of being delicious. You can add honey to an incredible amount of things. They can be used to add a sweet touch to meats like pork, chicken, and fish, which all go well with a honey glaze or sauce. Honey is also a staple in baking cakes and tarts, desserts like mousses and cobblers, and breakfast foods like oatmeal, pancakes, and breakfast oats.
On the other hand, cinnamon is just as easy to integrate into your diet. Cinnamon is incredibly popular for adding spice to desserts like pies, breakfast food like granola, and drinks like lattes. They’re also a staple for autumny baking, like pumpkin spice, pies, cookies, and bread. Of course, you can take both of these on their own. It’s always better to consider your specific diet!
Honey in itself offers a great variety of health benefits. For one, raw and minimally processed honey is chock full of antioxidants, including phenolic acids and flavonoids. These antioxidants help prevent premature aging and the development of heart disease and type 2 diabetes by neutralizing damaging ROS in your body.
When it comes to managing your blood sugar, honey is a better option than conventional sugar. While it still boosts your blood sugar level, the antioxidants help against metabolic syndrome and reduce inflammation on top of boosting blood sugar regulation.
Honey is also great for topical use due to its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. In a practice used since ancient Egypt, honey is excellent for treating partial-thickness burns, infected wounds, and even foot ulcers from diabetes (with a 43.33% success rate according to one study.)
Cinnamon as an ingredient also boasts some great benefits for your health! Like honey, cinnamon is rich in antioxidants which offer protection from free radicals. One study even shows that cinnamon outdoes oregano and garlic- both considered superfoods- in terms of antioxidant activity.
Cinnamon has also been shown to do well when it comes to the battle against heart disease. According to one study, one gram/half a teaspoon of the stuff each day can lead to better blood markers thanks to cinnamon’s power to reduce total cholesterol levels and triglycerides without negatively affecting the good HDL cholesterol.
Cinnamon is also beneficial when it comes to tackling blood sugar levels. With its strong anti-diabetic properties, cinnamon has positive effects on the body’s insulin resistance and can actually lower the body’s blood sugar. When glucose enters your bloodstream after you eat, cinnamon will decrease how much goes in through digestive enzymes.
These are but a few of the wonderful health benefits offered by honey and cinnamon. I strongly recommend adding both to your diet!