Cinnamon May Help Obese People Lose Weight, Research Reveals
While cinnamon is one of the most beloved spices, a recent study has revealed that it may actually aid in solving obesity problems, too.
A recent research from the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute has revealed that cinnamon can be potent in fighting obesity after a team studied the spice's cinnamaldehyde, an essential oil that gives cinnamon its flavor and was earlier discovered to apparently protect mice against obesity and hyperglycemia. Upon conducting more study on the spice's essential oil, it was indicated that cinnamaldehyde improves metabolic health by directly working on fat cells, causing them to start burning energy through a process called thermogenesis.
"Scientists were finding that this compound affected metabolism. 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," explained Jun Wu, a research assistant and professor at the LSI, said.
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When Wu and her fellow researchers tested the human adipocytes, otherwise known as fat cells, from volunteers of a range of age, etnicities, and body mas indexes, with cinnamaldehyde, it was observed that several genes and enzymes sped the lipid metabolism process. Additionally, it was also revealed that the human adipocytes experienced an increase in their Ucp1 and Fgf21, which are necessary proteins in the process of thermogenesis.
With a third of America's adult population suffering from obesity, there is no denying that the results of the research are good news to those who are suffering from the condition as it may just be a matter of time before an affordable and viable treatment for obesity can be made available.
"Cinnamon has been part of our diets for thousands of years, and people generally enjoy it. 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," Wu said.
Although the discovery is nothing short of exciting, Wu warns people not to overdose themselves with cinnamon just yet. After all, a further study is still needed before the best way to harness the effects of cinnamaldehyde's metabolic benefits without causing adverse side-effects can be determined.
