TCM clinic: Cholesterol-combating cinnamon

WHAT IT IS: This familiar spice is used in Eastern and Western cultures to flavour food, drinks and even personal products such as toothpaste and mouthwash.

In traditional Chinese medicine, cinnamon, known as rougui in Chinese, is also a prized herb used to warm the body and promote blood circulation.

Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka, but it can also be found in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and China, among other places.

It is derived from the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree from the Lauraceae family.

The tree bark is peeled from the lower branches, and it curls into quills when dried.

The third edition of the Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica states that good quality cinnamon has an intense aroma and consists of thick, heavy, oily pieces of bark, which are purplish red on the cross section.

Cinnamon powder is sold at $120 for a tael (37.5g), while cinnamon sticks retail at $100 for a tael at some medical halls here.

HOW TCM USES IT: Cinnamon bark, with its sweet, acrid taste, is considered hot in nature.

Hence, it is used to “warm” the body and address yang deficiencies related to the heart, kidneys, liver and spleen.

In TCM, a balance of yin (the element responsible for cooling organs) and yang (the element linked to heat) in the body are needed for good health.

Mr Low Soon Meng, a TCM practitioner at Ma Kuang Healthcare Group, said a person with yang deficiency may exhibit a host of ailments.

These include a pale complexion, a pale tongue, cold extremities or limbs, profuse sweating, a low tolerance for cold temperatures and a fine pulse which is not easily discernible when taken at the wrist.

In TCM, the kidneys are responsible for reproduction and the metabolism of water, so yang deficiency in the kidneys would lead to frequent urination, erectile dysfunction for men and irregular periods for women, Mr Low said.

On the other hand, the spleen is believed to govern digestion and absorption of food, so yang deficiency in the spleen would give rise to loose stool and bloatedness.

Cinnamon bark is said to fortify the element of yang in the body and help resolve these ailments.

Mr Low said any kind of yang deficiency can have its roots in a weak constitution or be related to lifestyle habits, such as overworking, an overactive sexual life and consuming too much cold food and drinks – all of which deplete yang energy.

He added that working in a humid environment, such as a wet market, gives rise to “dampness” and yin in the body, which also depletes the yang needed to warm the body.

WHO IT IS FOR: This herb benefits most elderly people, as ageing causes yang deficiency in the kidneys, which results in symptoms such as a sore back, a copious amount of urine, cold limbs and a poor appetite.

Mr Low said the elderly could consume cinnamon bark with other herbs, such as codonopsis root and largehead atractylodes rhizome, which promote the flow of qi (vital energy) in the body.

In TCM, a good flow of qi and blood is needed for good health.

People who have digestive problems, such as bloatedness and diarrhoea, can use cinnamon bark too.

People who feel cold easily, have cold limbs and a tendency to perspire – an indication of poor qi flow as qi prevents the loss of fluid – can also warm their bodies with cinnamon bark.

WHO SHOULD AVOID IT: Pregnant women should consume cinnamon bark only under the supervision of a TCM practitioner.

The warming nature of the herb promotes blood circulation.

It is feared that if this is done unnecessarily, it may raise the risk of a miscarriage, said Mr Low.

People who suffer from constipation should avoid using cinammon as it would dry their intestines further, he added.

WHAT RESEARCH HAS SHOWN: A study published in the journal Diabetes Care in 2003 found that cinnamon lowered the levels of blood glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride (a type of energy-providing fat in the blood) in people with type 2 diabetes.

This chronic metabolic disease occurs when the body either resists the effects of insulin or does not produce enough insulin to maintain a normal blood sugar level.

The 60 subjects were divided randomly into six groups. They were given either 1g, 3g or 6g of cinnamon daily, or placebo capsules.

After 40 days, all three cinnamon groups had lower levels of fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or “bad” cholesterol, and triglyceride.

On the other hand, no significant changes were noted in the placebo groups.

The authors from Pakistan and Maryland in the United States also concluded cinnamon may be beneficial for the rest of the population “to prevent and control elevated glucose and blood lipid levels”.

Source: The Straits Times

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Category: Features, Wellness and Complementary Therapies