Is Cinnamon Good or Bad for High Blood Pressure?
High blood pressure (hypertension) is one of common medical health problems in many countries. We can say it is the door for other serious health conditions to occur. It is often associated with high risk of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Cinnamon is one of popular herbs used to treat some health problems. But is it good for high blood pressure? Does it work to help lower and treat hypertension? There may be no exact answer of the question – but let’s explore more this issue!
Cinnamon – what actually is it?
It belongs to botanical family called as ‘Lauraceae’. It is native to South Asia (particularly Sri Lanka and India). Today, it can be found in many countries with tropical climate such as Mexico.
Many years, it has been involved in traditional medications in Asia, like medication called Ayurvedic – a pretty popular traditional treatment in India. How about in the American continent?
Well, the use of this plant is still popular among original users. In general, it is still prevalent used to treat problems of digestive system such as stomach upset and diarrhea.
Some people also still use it as rubefacient and skin antiseptic. Furthermore, it may work to help fight against respiratory ailments.
In addition – according to Herbal Safety outline published by the University of Texas at El Paso, the active principles of cinnamon include: proanthocyanidins, mucilage, diterpenes, and volatile oil (such as weitherhin and eugenol).
The use of this plant to help treat hypertension is one of applications in herbal therapy.
What actually is blood pressure (BP) – and how does it rise?
Basically, it is a variable that occurs when the blood flow through your blood vessels. As well we know, to make your blood flow, your heart needs to pump it. And the contraction of your heart will boost and flow the blood to go to cells of body.
The flow of blood through arteries creates a force of blood against the artery walls – this is called as blood pressure.
Many times, doctors use blood pressure as the reflection of the heart and cardiovascular system. In other words, the fluctuation of your BP can tell the health of your heart and cardiovascular system.
Since it is perfectly normal for BP to fluctuate and vary throughout the day (because your heart pumps the blood to respond what your body needs), the resting BP is commonly used as a general variable to determine whether you have normal or abnormal BP.
In healthy individuals, normal resting BP is around 115/75 to 120/80 mm Hg. Find more detailed information about the levels of resting BP for normal and abnormal (pre-hypertension, stage I hypertension, and stage II hypertension) on this section!
So, is cinnamon good for high blood pressure (hypertension)?
In fact this herb has a long history of treating some medical health conditions, including hypertension.
There may be a few studies showed no any correlation between cinnamon and blood pressure. But there are also quite a lot of research learned and confirmed the effectiveness of this plant to help lower high blood pressure.
The following are some of these studies:
- A research conducted by ACN ‘the American College of Nutrition’ in 2006 showed that cinnamon may help lower BP in both diabetic people and people without diabetes. Unfortunately, there is still no clearly explanation on how this herb help reduce BP.
- A study published in the official site of NYU Langone Medical Center that involved 58 participants showed that daily appropriate doses of cinnamon helps lower BP and may also help blood sugar control.
How does cinnamon help lower blood pressure?
While some studies showed that this herb may help treat hypertension, there is still no any clearly answer to explain how it works and give impact on blood pressure.
