Cinnamon could boost weight loss, recent study finds

The “cinnamon challenge” could be the next dangerous diet people try to attempt weight loss. Don’t try the cinnamon challenge unless you hate yourself - you’ve been warned. But cinnamon (even in smaller, more reasonable doses) could have the potential to trigger calorie burn in your body.

There are billions of factors that affect how fast and when your body burns fat and calories. But a recent study confirmed that whether or not you’ve eaten cinnamon is one of them.

Historically, humans have experienced food scarcity and evolved to survive through famine. That means that our bodies are primed to put on weight more than they are to keep it off - resulting in weight loss resistance and other survival mechanisms that cause the body to put on extra pounds. The research is dodgy regarding whether or not these pounds are really the health problem people say they are. But one thing is for sure: As one of the researchers explained, “any energy-consuming process usually turns off the moment the body doesn’t need it.”

These researchers’ study found that cinnamon turns that process back on.

“Cinnamon has been part of our diets for thousands of years, and people generally enjoy it,” explained Jun Wu, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute and one of the study’s authors. She suggests that cinnamon could be a more manageable natural supplement for patients trying to lose weight.

Of course, just because cinnamon boosts your fat-burning process doesn’t mean your body’s other functions won’t slow it down. Find out some of the other surprising reasons you’re not losing weight here.