I just purchased a half pound of Ceylon powdered cinnamon from Frontier Herbs in bulk. I will be encapsulating it in "00" sized capsules. I am thinking of ingesting 3 capsules daily. Any thoughts on the amount? Anyone experiencing positive results from taking cinnamon? The reports on cinnamon and parkinson's do not mention the amount to be taken, so I guess I am winging it. Would appreciate any suggestions.

I started on the NOW brand cinnamon bark 600 mg (pure Ceylon cinnamon) capsules at the label dose of 2 twice daily. We'll see...

By the way, cinnamon can lower blood sugar. Diabetics beware. Check with your doctor,

Can cinnamon be used to treat Parkinson’s disease? Probably not.

Posted on July 15, 2014 by SITNFlash

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/20...-probably-not/

A study published last month suggests that the potential value of cinnamon may go far beyond tickling our taste buds. The research group reports that cinnamon was able to substantially reverse and protect Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms in mice. Could the next groundbreaking treatment for the world’s most common neurodegenerative disease really be moonlighting as the world’s most popular baking spice? Sadly, the answer is most likely not.
Cinnamaldehyde – the chemical that gives cinnamon its famous flavor and odor – is metabolized to sodium benzoate in the liver. Sodium benzoate can enter the brain and act as an anti-oxidant. At first glance, this seems very promising! Parkinson’s disease occurs when dopamine neurons in the midbrain start to die. Scientists are not positive why the dopamine cells start dying, but a popular hypothesis is that these neurons experience high ‘oxidative stress’, which causes cells to release poisonous molecules that result in cell death. So using an anti-oxidant to reduce oxidative stress makes good sense as a potential therapy for treating Parkinson’s disease.
In fact, it makes so much sense that scientists and doctors have already been trying it for decades – unfortunately, largely to no avail. While several anti-oxidant drugs have proved tantalizingly efficacious at treating Parkinson disease-like symptoms in mice, clinical studies have found no strong evidence that they work to alleviate Parkinson’s disease in humans.
Interestingly, however, people who eat more dietary anti-oxidants (like vitamin E) throughout life may be slightly protected from developing Parkinson’s disease (although this remains an ongoing debate). It might be informative to investigate whether people or societies with especially high cinnamon intake have lower rates of Parkinson’s disease.
While this recent study presents sufficient evidence to entertain further investigation into cinnamon as a potential therapy for Parkinson’s disease, the results do not represent new or innovative insights into what is already known about anti-oxidants, oxidative stress, and Parkinson’s disease. For now (at least where Parkinson’s disease is concerned) cinnamon still belongs in the spice rack, not the medicine cabinet.
Edited by SITN Waves Editor Shay Neufeld. Special thanks to Dean Lee from the Harvard Neuroscience Program for providing expert commentary.

I am not expecting much but I always expect to be surprised.

Dr. Kalipada Pahan, PhD, professor of neurological sciences at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago published another article a few days ago on August 19, 14 in more specifics on Ceylon Cinnamon. "Unless you’re allergic to cinnamon, Dr. Pahan suggests taking one teaspoon a day", the article says.

http://www.bottomlinepublications.co...our-spice-rack

Is This Parkinson’s Disease Cure On Your Spice Rack?

The Bible makes several references to it. The ancient Egyptians used it to preserve their mummies. The ancient Greeks and Romans used it to help them digest their feasts of lamb and wine. We know it’s great for diabetes and glycemic control.
And now we find out that this substance fights Parkinson’s disease. What is it?
“Cinnamon,” said Kalipada Pahan, PhD, professor of neurologic sciences at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “Besides being a commonly used spice, cinnamon has a long history as a medicine. Medieval physicians used it to treat arthritis, coughing, hoarseness and sore throats. In fact, it was once so valuable, wars were fought over it.”
Dr. Pahan has shown that cinnamon can prevent symptoms of Parkinson’s disease that include tremors, slow, jerky movement, stiffness and loss of balance. Or at least he’s shown that cinnamon has this effect in mice acting as experimental models of Parkinson’s disease.
Mouse studies often translate to humans when further research is done—so, given how devastating Parkinson's disease can be…and how familiar and safe cinnamon is…these cinnamon studies merit our attention right now. As Dr. Pahan put it, “If these results are repeatable in Parkinson’s disease patients, it would represent a remarkable advance in the treatment of this neurodegenerative disease.”
The first thing to know is that we are not talking about just any kind of cinnamon, but a specific, authentic kind.
Two types of cinnamon are sold in the United States—Chinese cinnamon (sometimes sold as Saigon cinnamon) and Ceylon cinnamon. Chinese cinnamon, or cassia, is the more common, less expensive type of cinnamon and is what you generally find in supermarkets. You know it—the usual cinnamon powder or that hard, aromatic curl of wood that you plunk into hot apple cider or cocoa. But this is not really “true” cinnamon and does not have its health benefits. Ceylon cinnamon is true cinnamon, and its sticks are softer and flakier than those of Chinese cinnamon. The powder is also lighter and sweeter smelling. There is virtually no way of knowing whether the powdered cinnamon you buy is true cinnamon or cassia or a mix unless it is specifically marked. Ceylon cinnamon is what Dr. Pahan is referring to when he talks about the spice. So even just for general health, keep that in mind the next time you head out to the grocery store to replenish your spice rack—you may need to go to a higher-end market or even order online to get Ceylon cinnamon.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
As you may know, cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants. It may be therapeutic in Parkinson’s disease because its antioxidant effects counteract nitric oxide, a free radical that attacks proteins essential to supporting adequate levels of dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical in our brains that not only makes us feel happy and motivated but also controls many of our muscle and limb movements.
It’s known that the amount of proteins like DJ-1 and Parkin decrease in the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease. “We have found that these proteins also decrease in the brains of mice with Parkinson’s disease because of nitric oxide production,” said Dr. Pahan. He found that after the mice ate ground cinnamon, their livers turned the cinnamon into an element, or metabolite, that cinnamon breaks down into during digestion, called sodium benzoate. Once the sodium benzoate got to the brain, it decreased the production of nitric oxide, which stopped the loss of Parkin and DJ-1, protected brain cells and allowed the mice to move around more normally, with steadier legs and less need for rest and downtime. According to Dr. Pahan, it's possible that cinnamon could also prevent or lessen the symptoms of other diseases, such as types of palsy and Lewy body dementia, which are also caused by dopamine dysfunction.
HOW TO USE CINNAMON
Dr. Pahan’s findings are potentially great news for people with Parkinson’s disease and those who worry that they carry the potential for it in their genes. As it stands, Parkinson’s disease patients must rely on drugs, such as levodopa, to replace dopamine, but these drugs neither cure nor change the course of the disease. They only provide temporary relief. Over time, symptoms become increasingly harder to control, and the drugs often have a wide range of serious side effects.
“Cinnamon, however, and its metabolite sodium benzoate, could potentially be among the safest approaches to stop the progression of Parkinson’s disease once it’s diagnosed,” said Dr. Pahan.
You’ve already heard of sodium benzoate. It’s a common food preservative found in salad dressings, juices, condiments and cosmetics. The National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has concluded that sodium benzoate and true cinnamon are safe and that true cinnamon is safe even in large amounts—but this is not true for cassia (Chinese cinnamon) because it contains coumarin, which, besides being a blood thinner, can damage the liver.
Unless you’re allergic to cinnamon, Dr. Pahan suggests taking one teaspoon a day. But don’t attempt to just swallow a teaspoon of dry cinnamon powder “straight-up”! It will make you gag and could cause you to cough and inhale the powder into your lungs, which is dangerous. Instead, mix cinnamon into food or drink.
You can bet there's much more research coming on cinnamon and Parkinson's—meanwhile, generous helpings of this richly antioxidant spice could be well worth trying.

Source: Kalipada Pahan, PhD, professor of neurological sciences, Floyd A. Davis Professor of Neurology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago. His study appeared in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology.
Listing Details
Publication: Daily Health News
Original publication date: August 19, 2014