If you have acid reflux you might be wondering if cinnamon helps acid reflux or even makes it worse.
Cinnamon on its own has not been proven to help acid reflux but it may have some small benefit. Also, cinnamon shouldn’t make acid reflux worse either.
It’s one of the select spices that shouldn’t irritate most people with acid reflux on its own. Though often when it’s included with sweet treats or drinks you might experience acid reflux symptoms, but this usually is not because of the cinnamon.
Below we will go into this in more details, so you know exactly what to do.
What is Cinnamon?
Before we get into if cinnamon helps or even aggravates acid reflux we should first explain what cinnamon is.
Cinnamon is a spice that is commonly used in a selection of dishes all over the world. It’s most commonly used in sweet desserts or even hot drinks.
Cinnamon has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
The most typical form of cinnamon is called cassia cinnamon. This is the form of cinnamon that has been processed and therefore contains less antioxidants that the nature version of cinnamon known as Ceylon cinnamon.
Does Cinnamon Help Acid Reflux?
The first question is does cinnamon help acid reflux. There is no evidence that suggests that cinnamon helps acid reflux. But this shouldn’t be confused with it making your acid reflux worse either.
While there is no evidence to back this up this is some thoughts that cinnamon can help with a sore throat. Perhaps due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
For people with silent reflux where there throat hurts due to acid reflux, having some cinnamon may be beneficial for easing the throat. The same can be said for anyone with acid reflux. The same anti-inflammatory properties would pass over the throat and the whole digestive tract which in theory could offer some benefit to acid reflux symptoms even if just a small amount.
Cinnamon should be fine for most people even with more severe acid reflux like LPR or GERD. For more advice on diet check out my Wipeout Diet Plan.
Does Cinnamon Aggravate Acid Reflux?
Cinnamon on its own should not aggravate acid reflux. As is recommended with all spices you should be cooking or heating them up before consuming them. If you where to have taken cinnamon that wasn’t heated or cooked it would be more likely to irritate or worsen your acid reflux symptoms.
If you have a dessert or a drink with cinnamon for example a cinnamon bun or even coffee with cinnamon you might have ended up with worsened acid reflux symptoms.
The reason for this is usually not the cinnamon but something else. For example, a cinnamon bun has other ingredients which could worsen your acid reflux such as a high amount of sugar and butter for example. Also, as for coffee the caffeine has an effect on the valve above the stomach called the LES. This can make it open more easily and relax which often can contribute or worsen acid reflux symptoms.
If you take cinnamon with something the only way to be sure if it’s the thing causing your acid reflux is to try it the next time without and see if there is any difference. Of course, if your symptoms are still the same it has nothing to do with the cinnamon.
Keep in mind that everyone has their own unique acid reflux triggers and cinnamon could be one of yours.
Just because most people are not affected does not mean it’s the same for you. For example, most people’s acid reflux is not affected by bananas but for about 5% of people bananas are a trigger food for them.
The thing to keep in mind here is that everyone is unique and can have their own unique triggers, just be aware of what you feel and stop it if it makes your symptoms worse.
Related Questions
What Spices Are Good for Acid Reflux?
When most people with acid reflux think of spices they think it’s something they should avoid but this isn’t the case.
There are quite a few spices that can be easily enjoyed. To name a few you have ginger, cumin, fennel, cinnamon, clove, star anise. For the complete list of foods check out my diet plan – Wipeout Diet Plan.
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