Cinnamon good for heart health, reduces disease risk

New Delhi: Scientists have found that cinnamon may reduce the effects of a high-fat diet and risk of cardiovascular damage by slowing the fat storing process in the body.

Researchers fed rats cinnamon supplements for 12 weeks along with a high-fat diet.

They found that after 12 weeks the rats weighed less and had less belly fat along with healthier levels of sugar, insulin and fat in their blood, compared to rats that did not receive cinnamon with their high-fat foods.

Researchers, including Vijaya Juturu, from US-based company OmniActive Health Technologies, noted that rats which were fed cinnamon had fewer molecules involved in the body's fat-storing process and more antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecules that protect the body from the damages of stress.

The results suggest that cinnamon may reduce the risk of cardiovascular damage of a high-fat diet by activating the body's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory systems and slowing the fat-storing process, researchers said.

(With Agency inputs)