Eating Cinnamon May Cool Off Your Stomach

A possible unexpected benefit of cinnamon: A study in Scientific Reports suggests it can lower stomach temperature by up to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, Live Science reports. While the study used pigs, researchers say the same should hold true for humans. Eating cinnamon with meals seemed to lowered carbon dioxide levels in the pigs' stomachs after meals, which made their bodies cooler. What's more, "cinnamon protected the walls of the stomach and small intestines, basically protecting the integrity of the gut," researcher Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh tells the Huffington Post. And pigs that ate cinnamon saw a "significant improvement in their overall health," according to a press release.

Researchers believe cinnamon lowers the levels of stomach acid and pepsin in the gut, thereby helping blood flow in the stomach's walls, which in turn may improve digestion and gut health. Of course, more research is needed to see if any of that is true. Regardless, Kalantar-zadeh tells Live Science that 1 gram of cinnamon a day should produce health benefits in humans. "Our ancestors have been saying cinnamon is good for health for a long time," he tells HuffPo. But keep in mind that the US Department of Health says eating 6 grams of cinnamon or more a day for six weeks or longer can be toxic. (Cinnamon might make us better learners.)