Cinnamon
In other countries, cinnamon is more used throughout the entire year, and maybe that is the right way to go about. A new study shows that cinnamon has a peculiar effect on our body – it can improve our ability to learn. In this time, little is known about why some people are good at learning, and why some people are struggling with it. By uncovering the cause of why some brain mechanisms cause poor learning ability, we will be able to develop strategies for improving the learning ability and enhance the memory.
Researchers have located certain proteins in the hippocampus – the part of the brain that is involved in the formation, organisation and storage of memory – which is present in people with poor learning ability. This protein is called ‘CREB-protein’, and plays a significant role in terms of memory and learning ability. For this reason, it is suspected that the protein is reduced in the hippocampus among people with poor learning ability. Apart from this, researchers also observed more of the ‘alpha5-subunit of ‘GABA-A receptor’, or GABRA5 proteins in people with poor learning ability, and these proteins are known for generating an increased restrictive conductivity in the brain.
New study
The new study observed that mice that were deemed to have poor learning ability, became better at learning after ingesting cinnamon. To this, the researcher in charge of the study commented that this spice could become one of the most safe and easy methods for improving poor learning abilities.
After the mice had been fed with cinnamon for a month, those with poor learning ability showed improved memory, and learning ability. This is due to the cinnamon changing the proteins, which are associated with poor learning. The mouse, which initially had possessed good learning abilities, showed no signs of improvements.
In the mice, cinnamon was metabolised into sodium benzoate, which can be used for treating brain damage. Sodium benzoate affected the brains of the mice so that their levels of CREB-protein increased and GABRA5 reduced – simultaneously, the neurons in the hippocampus improved at their function. These changes caused the mice to improve learning ability and memory.
The research team have also proven that it is not irrelevant what type of cinnamon you eat. They analysed Chinese cinnamon and Ceylon cinnamon, where the Ceylon is purer, and the Chinese variant contains a molecule associated with liver damage. You cannot teach an old dog new tricks – or can you? Perhaps you just need to feed it some more cinnamon, and then it might be able to learn more than you both may think.
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