Scientists Shocked By Huge Discovery About Cinnamon

A New Report Finds That You Could Potentially Speed Up Your Metabolism By Simply Consuming More Cinnamon.
A Surprising New Study Claims That The Common Household Spice Cinnamon, Which Is Sure To Be In An Abundant Supply This Holiday Season, Can Help Speed Up Your Metabolism And Help You Lose Weight. Scientists At The University Of Michigan Determined That Cinnamaldehyde, The Essential Oil That Gives Cinnamon Its Flavor, Appeared To Activate Certain Agents In The Body That Burn Fat.

Many People Struggle To Lose Weight Even With Diet And Exercise Because Of A Slow Metabolism, And Scientists Have Been Trying To Understand This Mysterious Process. Unlocking The Secrets Of Metabolism Could Lead To Dramatic Advances In Treating The Growing Problem Of Obesity Nationwide.


Jun Wu, A Research Assistant Professor At The University, Wanted To Better Understand How Cinnamaldehyde Worked And How It Could Be Of Use To Humans, As It Had Already Shown Benefits To Mice In The Lab. They Found That Cinnamaldehyde Worked Directly On Fat Cells Called Adipocytes, Forcing Them To Start Burning Their Energy Through Thermogenesis.

The Full Statement From The University Follows Below.

New Research From The University Of Michigan Life Sciences Institute Has Determined How A Common Holiday Spice - cinnamon - might Be Enlisted In The Fight Against Obesity.
Scientists Had Previously Observed That Cinnamaldehyde, An Essential Oil That Gives Cinnamon Its Flavor, Appeared To Protect Mice Against Obesity And Hyperglycemia. But The Mechanisms Underlying The Effect Were Not Well Understood.

Researchers In The Lab Of Jun Wu, Research Assistant Professor At The Lsi, Wanted To Better Understand Cinnamaldehyde’s Action And Determine Whether It Might Be Protective In Humans, Too.

“scientists Were Finding That This Compound Affected Metabolism,” Said Wu, Who Also Is An Assistant Professor Of Molecular And Integrative Physiology At The U-m Medical School. “so We Wanted To Figure Out How—what Pathway Might Be Involved, What It Looked Like In Mice And What It Looked Like In Human Cells.”

Their Findings, Which Appear In The December Issue Of The Journal Metabolism, Indicated That Cinnamaldehyde Improves Metabolic Health By Acting Directly On Fat Cells, Or Adipocytes, Inducing Them To Start Burning Energy Through A Process Called Thermogenesis.

Wu And Her Colleagues Tested Human Adipocytes From Volunteers Representing A Range Of Ages, Ethnicity And Body Mass Indices. When The Cells Were Treated With Cinnamaldehyde, The Researchers Noticed Increased Expression Of Several Genes And Enzymes That Enhance Lipid Metabolism. They Also Observed An Increase In Ucp1 And Fgf21, Which Are Important Metabolic Regulatory Proteins Involved In Thermogenesis.


Adipocytes Normally Store Energy In The Form Of Lipids. This Long-term Storage Was Beneficial To Our Distant Ancestors, Who Had Much Less Access To High-fat Foods And Thus A Much Greater Need To Store Fat. That Fat Could Then Be Used By The Body In Times Of Scarcity Or In Cold Temperatures, Which Induce Adipocytes To Convert Stored Energy Into Heat.

“It’s Only Been Relatively Recently That Energy Surplus Has Become A Problem,” Wu Said. “Throughout Evolution, The Opposite—energy Deficiency—has Been The Problem. So Any Energy-consuming Process Usually Turns Off The Moment The Body Doesn’t Need It.”

With The Rising Obesity Epidemic, Researchers Like Wu Have Been Looking For Ways To Prompt Fat Cells To Activate Thermogenesis, Turning Those Fat-burning Processes Back On.

Wu Believes That Cinnamaldehyde May Offer One Such Activation Method. And Because It Is Already Used Widely In The Food Industry, It Might Be Easier To Convince Patients To Stick To A Cinnamon-based Treatment Than To A Traditional Drug Regimen.

“cinnamon Has Been Part Of Our Diets For Thousands Of Years, And People Generally Enjoy It,” Wu Said. “so If It Can Help Protect Against Obesity, Too, It May Offer An Approach To Metabolic Health That Is Easier For Patients To Adhere To.”

Now, Before Anyone Goes Dumping Tons Of Extra Cinnamon In Their Egg Nog In Hopes Of Keeping Holiday-season Pounds At Bay, Wu Cautioned That Further Study Is Needed To Determine How Best To Harness Cinnamaldehyde’s Metabolic Benefits Without Causing Adverse Side Effects.

The Research Was Supported By The Human Frontier Science Program, Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation, National Institutes Of Health And American Heart Association.

Other Study Authors Were: Juan Jiang, Margo Emont, Heejin Jun, Xiaona Qiao, Jiling Liao And Dong-il Kim, All Of U-m.
The Study Is Titled  cinnamaldehyde Induces Fat Cell-autonomous Thermogenesis And Metabolic Reprogramming.

Here’s A Brief Wikipedia Excerpt On Cinnamon In Nutrition.
Cinnamon Is A Spice Obtained From The Inner Bark Of Several Tree Species From The Genus Cinnamomum. Cinnamon Is Used Mainly As An Aromatic Condiment And Flavoring Additive In A Wide Variety Of Cuisines, Sweet And Savoury Dishes, Breakfast Cereals, Snackfoods, And Traditional Foods. The Aroma And Flavor Of Cinnamon Derive From Its Essential Oil And Principal Component, Cinnamaldehyde, As Well As Numerous Other Constituents, Including Eugenol.

The Flavour Of Cinnamon Is Due To An Aromatic Essential Oil That Makes Up 0.5 To 1.1% Of Its Composition. This Essential Oil Is Prepared By Roughly Pounding The Bark, Macerating It In Sea Water, And Then Quickly Distilling The Whole. It Is Of A Golden-yellow Colour, With The Characteristic Odour Of Cinnamon And A Very Hot Aromatic Taste. The Pungent Taste And Scent Come From Cinnamaldehyde (about 90% Of The Essential Oil From The Bark) And, By Reaction With Oxygen As It Ages, It Darkens In Colour And Forms Resinous Compounds.


Cinnamon Constituents Include Some 80 Compounds, Including Eugenol Found In The Oil From Leaves Or Bark Of Cinnamon Trees.

Cinnamon Has A Long History Of Use In Traditional Medicine. It Has Been Tested In A Variety Of Clinical Conditions, Such As Bronchitis Or Diabetes, But There Is No Scientific Evidence That Consuming Cinnamon Has Any Health Benefits.
Scientists Shocked By Huge Discovery About Cinnamon   Scientists Shocked By Huge Discovery About Cinnamon Reviewed by Unknown on 08:49 Rating: 5

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