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With the onset of the cooler weather brought by Autumn, we typically shift from drinking cool drinks to savoring warmer ones.   Hot ciders, hot teas and hot chocolates are the choices for many folks for Autumn beverages, because they warm us up on cold mornings and evenings.   The spice that is often chosen to enhance these beverages is cinnamon, because it enhances the taste of the hot drinks.   Cinnamon does more than enhance the flavor of hot beverages, it’s water soluble component  provides a balanced anti-inflammatory effect for our senior bodies.   It turns out that inflammation in our bodies is like a two-edge sword. We need an inflammatory response, because without it infections and wounds would never be healed.  The second edge of inflammation acts as an accessory in many serious diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis and many others. For good health, especially for good senior health, we need to keep the inflammatory response in balance. As we age the inflammatory processes tend to fall out of balance causing those serious diseases.
Fortunately our bodies have their own balancing mechanisms that utilize certain proteins that can be induced by insulin, which is an anti-inflammatory hormone, and cinnamon extract.  Recent research has shown that water soluble cinnamon extract lessens a type of intestinal inflammation.  In addition to lessening inflammation, cinnamon has been shown to mimic the effects of insulin, manage blood-sugar metabolism, help regulate fatty acids, help reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and act synergistically with insulin.  Working together with insulin cinnamon reduces the type of inflammation in order to improve cardiovascular health.