Cinnamon Herbs for Dogs and Cats

Safe to use as a dietary supplement, alternative medicine
for most dogs and cats

In this article...

1. Cinnamon
2. Health Benefits
3. Cautions
4. Side Effects
5. Drug Interactions
6. General Guideline for Daily Herbal Intake

1.0 Cinnamon

Cinnamon has been used for many centuries as a spice and as a medicine. Cinnamon is actually the brown bark of the cinnamon tree. There are two varieties of cinnamon tree:

• Ceylon Cinnamon Tree - the bark is used to make Ceylon Cinnamon;
• Chinese Cinnamon Tree - the bark is used to make Cassia Cinnamon.

Which Type of Cinnamon is Safe for Your Dog and Cat?

Ceylon cinnamon does not contain measurable amounts of courmarin;
Cassia cinnamon does contain levels of courmarin that may pose a health risk;

• Courmarin is a naturally occurring organic chemical compound that is present in many plants;
•  However some plants contain a much higher level of courmarin (i.e. cassia cinnamon, sweet clover, sweet grass and sweet woodruff);
• Courmarin has a bitter taste as it is meant to help the plant defend itself against threat of consumption;
• This explains why Ceylon cinnamon has a sweeter taste than cassia cinnamon;
• When high levels of courmarin are consumed on a daily basis in combination with other substances that may contain a naturally occurring mold - a powerful anticoagulant is formed within the body which may lead to bleeding disorders.

For this reason it is best to use Ceylon Cinnamon, not Cassia Cinnamon for your dog and cat.


Medicinal Properties in Cinnamon
The healing properties of cinnamon come primarily from three essential oils (listed just below) and from a number of volatile substances. The essential oils are:

• Cinnamaldehyde
• Cinnamyl acetate;
• Cinnamyl alcohol.

Cinnamon can be used in various forms:

• Dry powder;
• Dry tubular form (also known as quills);
• Oil;
• Tea - infusion;
• Tincture - use alcohol-free only;
• Supplement - capsule, pill.

 

2.0 Health Benefits
      Ceylon Cinnamon

A partial list...

• Anti-Clotting;
• Anti-inflammatory;
• Anti-Microbial;
• Cinnamon is known to stop the growth of:
• Bad bacteria;
• Fungi, and;
• Yeast - candida
• Cinnamon has been shown to mitigate and often stop yeast Candida that were resistant to the commonly prescribed drug fluconazole. 

• Atherosclerosis and heart disease prevention - see Cholesterol below.
• Appetite stimulation;
• Blood Sugar Control;
• Adding cinnamon to high carbohydrate food lowers the gastric emptying rate and significantly lessen a rise in blood sugar levels;
• For type two diabetes, cinnamon improves the bodies ability to respond to insulin - thus lowering blood sugar levels.
• Diabetes - see Blood Sugar Control above
• 

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