I put a few sprinkles of cinnamon on my toddler’s oatmeal and was told that any more than 1/4 teaspoon is toxic for anyone, especially babies. I have not seen this anywhere and have only heard the benefits of cinnamon touted. Can you please comment on this?
I wouldn't worry about sprinkling cinnamon on your toddler's oatmeal. Overall, the amounts of cinnamon used in cooking and as flavoring are very safe and good to include in the diet. Just to be sure, I checked with Tieraona Low Dog, M.D., director of education at the Program in Integrative Medicine and an authority on herbal medicine.
Dr. Low Dog told me that there is some concern about ingesting large amounts of common cassia cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) due to the varying levels of coumarin, a blood-thinning phytochemical, it contains. There is little to no coumarin in "true" or Ceylon cinnamon (C. zeylanicum), but Dr. Low Dog told me that it is hard to tell the difference between the two in the marketplace. Too much coumarin in the diet can cause liver damage. However, she agrees that there's no reason to worry about sprinkling cinnamon on a child's oatmeal.
Dr. Low Dog also reminded me that some studies have shown that one to three grams of cinnamon per day (1/4 to 1 teaspoon) can lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. No significant adverse effects have been seen. Cinnamon's effect on blood sugar is believed to be due to a proanthocyanidin, an active ingredient that increases sensitivity of receptors to insulin.
There also have been suggestions that cinnamon can help with cholesterol control. However, the effects seen in studies so far haven't equaled those of better-studied statin drugs. We need more research to determine if cinnamon really can help keep cholesterol in check.
Andrew Weil, M.D.
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译文:
肉桂对刚学走路的小孩来说是有毒的么？
我在给我刚学走路的小孩做燕麦粥时洒了一些肉桂，后来有人跟我说多于四分之一茶匙的肉桂对任何人都是有毒的，对婴儿尤其如此。但到目前为止除了听说肉桂的各种好处之外，我没在任何地方看到关于这个问题的说明。请问您能对此作出一个评价么？
我并不担心你给小孩的燕麦粥上洒的肉桂。总的来说，肉桂作为调味料用在烹饪中的分量是不存在安全问题的。为了保证万无一失，我还与综合医学项目的教导主任，同时也是草药学权威的医学博士特里奥娜.罗.多格（Tieraona Low Dog）讨论了一下。
罗.多格博士告诉我，大量食用普通肉桂（一般所称的中国肉桂）时因为其所含的香豆素（一种血液稀释剂）含量改变，是有一定影响的。而食用“真”肉桂，或者说锡兰肉桂时，这种影响就几乎不存在了。而罗.多格博士告诉我，一般在市场里要区分这两种肉桂是很困难的。虽然食物中如果有太多的香豆素会导致肝脏受损，但是，她认为也不需要担心小孩子燕麦粥上洒的那么一点点肉桂。
罗.多格博士同时提醒我，一些研究证实，每日摄入三分之一克（约四分之一茶匙）的肉桂可以降低糖尿病人的血糖含量。目前也还没有什么严重的反作用被报道。人们相信肉桂对血糖的作用是由于其中含有花色素——一种提高胰岛素受体敏感性的有效成分。
还有一种意见是，肉桂有助于控制胆固醇的含量。但是，研究中观察到的效果到目前为止还不能和研究得比较透彻的他汀类药物相比。我们需要作更多的研究来确定肉桂是不是真的能够使得胆固醇含量受到控制。
医学博士，安德鲁.威尔（Andrew Well）