This popular baking and culinary spice may have additional benefits beyond only stimulating your taste receptors with its fragrant properties. A recent research found that consuming cinnamon-containing items aided in memory and learning and may have alleviated certain anxiety symptoms. Previous studies have shown that cinnamon has beneficial health effects. Cinnamon’s anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and cancer-fighting effects have all been confirmed by research. The spice may also help increase immune system function.
Scientists from Iran’s Birjand University of Medical Sciences have performed a meta-analysis of previous studies, finding that cinnamon intake may help mitigate or avoid memory loss and enhance learning. Researchers found 40 studies on the advantages of cinnamon intake for learning and memory after reviewing the corpus of literature available via PubMed, Google Scholar, the Web of Science, and Scopus. Only five of the forty were done in a laboratory; the other 33 were done in living animals. Both of the latter two were medical trials. Most of the evaluated research revealed a beneficial impact of cinnamon intake on learning and memory.
The study participants’ cognitive performance improved in an in-vivo setting when exposed to cinnamon or its components such cinnamic acid, eugenol, and cinnamaldehyde. Cinnamaldehyde and cinnamon were shown to improve cell viability and decrease amyloid-beta and Tau aggregation in in-vitro tests of Alzheimer’s disease.
Two clinical trials examined the effects of cinnamon on persons under the age of 60 who were either prediabetic or in their 20s. Sticks of cinnamon gum were recommended for the young people, whereas 2 grams of cinnamon-infused white bread were given to the adults at risk for developing diabetes.
Results showed that young people who chewed cinnamon gum had better memory and brain function and had less anxious feelings. The cinnamon bread had a moderate effect on the cognitive performance of the non-diabetic subjects. While preliminary research suggests that cinnamon and its components may improve cognitive performance, the authors note that additional study is necessary to draw firm conclusions. The researchers believe that more attention should be paid to how cinnamon affects the brain in the future, with the intention of learning more about the spice’s potential to reduce cognitive decline and boost brain health.
