Spice it up!
Cinnamon is my favourite “brain spice”. I use it daily.
Cinnamon can slow down the ageing of your brain, it tastes good, it’s inexpensive, it’s easy to use, and it has almost zero calories.
If that’s not enough, consider this:
- Researchers at Tel Aviv University found that cinnamon may be an important key in Alzheimer’s prevention.
- The same study found that this spice breaks up brain plaques that many believe causes Alzheimer’s.
- Cinnamon has also been shown to protect against infectious disease.
- Eating cinnamon produces sodium benzoate in your body. This increases neuro-chemicals in your brain called neurotropic factors.
These help your neurons stay alive, and stimulates the birth of new neurons (Psychology Today). - Cinnamon reduces blood sugar levels, and it also reduces cholesterol levels by up to 25%.
Cinnamon has been used since biblical times. Moses added it to anointing oil.
The Chinese called it gui zhi, and used it for antibacterial properties.
Medieval physicians treated infection and arthritis with cinnamon.
Also, it seems that almost everyone I talk to is trying to lose weight. One teaspoon of cinnamon has just six calories.
A dash has almost zero. Most of the six calories are from carbohydrates.
Six per cent of calories are from protein, just 1% from fat.
My recommendation
This year, why not make cinnamon part of your daily routine?
You could sprinkle cinnamon on apple slices. You could also top salad, smoothies, cereal, yogurt, and special coffees with this “brain spice”.
I like to sprinkle it on toast and honey. Some people add it to soup and meat.
Terry Small is a brain expert who resides in Canada and believes that anyone can learn how to learn easier, better, faster, and that learning to learn is the most important skill a person can acquire. For more Brain Bulletins, click here. Send us your feedback in the comment box provided or email us at editor@leaderonomics.com
Published in English daily The Star, Malaysia, 24 January 2015