Sprinkling cinnamon on your breakfast ‘REVERSES the dangers of a high-fat diet’
CINNAMON may reverse the effects of a high-fat diet by stopping the build-up of belly flab.
Tests showed the popular spice slowed the fat storing process and reduced the risk of heart disease.
The findings were presented at an American Heart Association conference on Saturday.
Researchers examined the effects of cinnamon on rats.
They fed the rodents cinnamon supplements for 12 weeks alongside a high-fat diet.
They discovered that rats who ate the spice weighed less, had less belly fat and healthier levels of sugar, insulin and fat in their blood compared to rats who were not fed a cinnamon supplement.
The rats also had more antioxidants and anti-inflammatory molecules, which can protect the body from stress and inflammatory diseases.
It is not the first study to highlight the health benefits of cinnamon.
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In 2016 researchers from Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago found cinnamon may help improve our learning ability.
The spice was found to boost levels of a protein involved in memory, learning and organising, they discovered.
The same researchers also found that cinnamon can reverse changes in the brain associated with Parkinson's disease.
The 2014 study found the spice protected neurons in the brain and improved motor functions.
It also has potential benefits in the fight against cancer.
In 2015 a team of researchers from the University of Arizona discovered that cinnamon could inhibit bowel cancer by protecting cells against carcinogens.
A team of Australian researchers have also found that cinnamon calms the stomach and aids digestion.
This helps reduce damage to the lining of the stomach and reduces inflammation and diseases of the gut, said experts from RMIT University in Melbourne.
And in addition to the spice's disease-fighting benefits, cinnamon is also packed full of antioxidants which can reduce inflammation.
Antioxidants play an important role in protecting the body from harmful free radicals - a molecules that can interfere with the body's ability to function normally.
It is thought antioxidants may also play a role in the management and prevention of some diseases including Alzheimer's disease, eye problems and some arthritis-related conditions.
Cinnamon is a spice that is made from the inner bark of trees called cinnamomum.
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