Cinnamon may lessen the risk of cardiovascular damage of a high–fat diet by activating the body’s antioxidant and anti–inflammatory systems and slowing the fat–storing process, according to a preliminary animal study presented at the American Heart Association’s Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology | Peripheral Vascular Disease 2017 Scientific Sessions.

In the study, researchers fed rats cinnamon supplements for 12 weeks along with a high–fat diet. They found:

• The rats weighed less and had less belly fat and healthier levels of sugar, insulin and fat in their blood, compared to rats that did not receive cinnamon with their high–fat foods;
• Rats fed cinnamon also had fewer molecules involved in the body’s fat–storing process and more antioxidant and anti–inflammatory molecules that protect the body from the damages of stress.

The results suggest that cinnamon may reduce the effects of a high–fat diet, researchers said.