Will cinnamon help me lose weight?

standout00
standout00 Posts: 150 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone! I sometimes sprinkle cinnamon in my coffee and I find that it helps me lose weight. Is that true or is it just a myth some people tend to believe? Thanks in advance for your helpful answers!

Answers

  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 3,873 Member
    There seems to be a little truth in it. It is also supposed to help blood sugar regulation.
    I can't see it helping my weight loss at all, but it tastes yummy!
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,700 Member
    Only if you put it and apple cider vinegar in cabbage soup, with a side of celery juice.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,700 Member
    Seriously. When I took a diabetes management class with my husband when he was diagnosed, the nutritionist told us that our tongues recognize the taste of cinnamon as being “sweet”, and to use it as a substitute for sugar whenever possible.

    So if you brew your coffee with cinnamon (as I sometimes do), shake it over oatmeal, etc it’s is far fewer calories than sugar which would aid weight loss.

    Check out Saigon or Vietnamese cinnamon versus the usual stuff at the grocery store. The taste is brighter and more cinnamon-y than regular cinnamon. Frontier Co-op
    Vietnamese cinnamon is 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

    I buy it by the pound on Amazon.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,326 Member
    If you believe that cinnamon will help you lose weight, if you truly do believe that, then cinnamon will help you lose weight. And I am not kidding.

    Hopefully though you actually either enjoy or do not mind cinnamon. If you're ONLY adding cinnamon for the express purpose of losing weight without actually being at the very least neutral... then I would probably look to spend that effort elsewhere.

    It does so happen that I personally enjoy cinnamon. Not so much in coffee which over the years I've switched to enjoying blacker than my ex's heart, but in yogurt, or over apples. Enhancing their appeal to me and allowing them to serve as substitutes for less filling for the calories alternatives.
  • AdahPotatah2024
    AdahPotatah2024 Posts: 2,484 Member
    I don't know, but I put a small cinnamon stick in with my coffee grounds sometimes before brewing.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,404 Member
    How much cinnamon would I have to add to a cup of salted caramel ice cream to net out at zero calories?

    I don't think it's going to work.

    I used to put some cinnamon in coffee grounds. I use much better coffee now. I do use some cinnamon sometimes as one of the spices I toss with sweet potatoes before roasting them. I sometimes add it to oats and yogurt. I even enjoy it on vanilla ice cream, but I rarely eat that.

    There is some evidence that chiles can aid in weight loss by increasing metabolism, but the impact is very very small. I still like to eat them. A fun snack can even be some hot chile, some cocoa powder, some cinnamon, a splash of vanilla, and some yogurt or cottage cheese. I don't plan on it helping me lose weight, but it's tasty. Sometimes I've even just skipped the yogurt and added some hazelnut oil and turbinado sugar. No real nutritive value, and it's kind of a weird treat, but I like it.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,248 Member
    Taking in fewer weekly calories than you burn will help you lose weight. No food will help you lose weight
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,638 Member
    edited February 12
    I was thinking "myth" from reflex as well as experience (I eat a lot of cinnamon). But I like to check facts before posting, usually. Interestingly, there are some meta-analyses that suggest cinnamon can be helpful, though the mechanism isn't obvious. (Could be sweetness-replacement, appetite suppression, nausea (!), who knows?) Effect is relatively small, but statistically significant.

    See, for example: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30799194/

    The dosage was above 2g/day, which is a realistic amount to eat. Meta-analyses are usually more persuasive than single studies, though that's a simplification. They're talking about obese subjects, so blood sugar control could also be the mechanism . . . there are studies that suggest cinnamon may have an impact on blood sugar control and related mechanisms.

    Cinnamon is also a blood thinner, so people who are on a medication that would contraindicate that probably should avoid eating lots of it. Also, some types of Cinnamon (cassia is sometimes pointed out) contain enough of the coumadin-like compound that there's concern about liver damage - not proven completely IMU. I personally prefer Ceylon cinnamon for that reason, since I eat a lot of cinnamon, but there are other types as well. Much grocery store cinnamon IME isn't super-clearly labeled as to type.

    Examine.com has a reasonable survey article, but I'm not sure whether it's public or paywalled (because I'm a subscriber):

    https://examine.com/supplements/cinnamon/
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,700 Member
    saigon /vietnamese cinnamon is a cassia cinnamon.

    It can be harmful in large quantities, but if I were using that much cinnamon, I’d worry about indigestion way sooner than anything else. 🤷🏻‍♀️

    It’s so much richer in flavor it’s well worth it, unless you’re downing it by the spoonful.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,638 Member
    springlering62 wrote: »
    saigon /vietnamese cinnamon is a cassia cinnamon.

    It can be harmful in large quantities, but if I were using that much cinnamon, I’d worry about indigestion way sooner than anything else. 🤷🏻‍♀️

    It’s so much richer in flavor it’s well worth it, unless you’re downing it by the spoonful.

    Richer? I dunno. Different, maybe stronger, not sure. Richer to you, I won't question, even if I wouldn't choose that word. But it's for sure a taste preference kind of thing. I started on Ceylon as a risk reduction since I eat so much, but I prefer the flavor of Ceylon vs. cassia personally, in contexts where the cinnamon is forward, especially.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,700 Member
    Pungent-er? 😇
  • ddsb1111
    ddsb1111 Posts: 888 Member
    edited February 12
    I want to be suspicious but I’m in my DGAF era, do you boo boo. 🥰
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,638 Member
    edited February 12
    springlering62 wrote: »
    Pungent-er? 😇

    Sure. Dunno. I'm not trying to diss your taste preference, in case it seems like I am. That's not a diss-able thing, in my world.

    The point is, it tastes different, and different people will possibly prefer different types by taste, as you and I do, no matter how they or we might describe that taste. Some people won't care one way or the other. Those who might care can try both, see what they like.

    But I know both of us are eating quite a lot of it and are fans - others might reasonably fall in the "don't care which type" zone.

    ETA: We agree that Frontier has great cinnamon. I buy Frontier Ceylon cinnamon by the pound on Amazon, too.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    springlering62 wrote: »
    Pungent-er? 😇

    Sure. Dunno. I'm not trying to diss your taste preference, in case it seems like I am. That's not a diss-able thing, in my world.

    The point is, it tastes different, and different people will possibly prefer different types by taste, as you and I do, no matter how they or we might describe that taste. Some people won't care one way or the other. Those who might care can try both, see what they like.

    But I know both of us are eating quite a lot of it and are fans - others might reasonably fall in the "don't care which type" zone.

    ETA: We agree that Frontier has great cinnamon. I buy Frontier Ceylon cinnamon by the pound on Amazon, too.

    I love the Frontier brand, but was not a fan of their Ceylon cinnamon, which I'm sure was not on Frontier. I didn't like it in baked goods or coffee. I probably would have liked it in savory dishes, but my partner does not like savory dishes with warm spices, so I don't make very many of them these days. I bet it would have been great in Cincinnati chili. I gave it away when I cleaned out my spices last year.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,744 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    If you believe that cinnamon will help you lose weight, if you truly do believe that, then cinnamon will help you lose weight. And I am not kidding.

    Hopefully though you actually either enjoy or do not mind cinnamon. If you're ONLY adding cinnamon for the express purpose of losing weight without actually being at the very least neutral... then I would probably look to spend that effort elsewhere.

    It does so happen that I personally enjoy cinnamon. Not so much in coffee which over the years I've switched to enjoying blacker than my ex's heart, but in yogurt, or over apples. Enhancing their appeal to me and allowing them to serve as substitutes for less filling for the calories alternatives.

    Haha! Too funny.

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