Could the flavor-forward, easily identifiable, delicious taste of cinnamon help you on your acne journey? In my experience, I have come to find, yes, it actually can. Although a very small piece to the bigger, freaking complex puzzle of anyone’s acne journey, what I’ve found is, mornings are CRUCIAL when it comes to hormones. From my understanding of what I have found online, Cinnamon has been shown to significantly increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin, which helps control blood sugar levels. Why is blood sugar important? Let me paint you a picture… know those deep hormonal pimples you get that look like Mt.Vesuvius and are painful to the touch? Those are hormonal ~blemishes~ that are created due to a disruption internally, oftentimes, the hormones. Hormone imbalances and excess hormones in the bloodstream require our liver to work overtime and can often trigger hormonal acne. Once again, I am no scientist or healthcare expert, but understanding this piece has personally helped me on my acne journey. 

I guess the appropriate dose for someone using cinnamon to help with blood sugar is approximately 3/4ths of a teaspoon of cinnamon per day to support better blood sugar control. 

Now let’s talk about cinnamon, because I actually didn’t know this myself: There are two different types of cinnamon – Cassia variety, and Ceylon variety. Ceylon is considered the ‘true’ form of cinnamon. It is recommended you stray away from Cassia Cinnamon due to its high levels of coumarin. Coumarin is a flavoring substance that helps with the aromatics and ‘sweetness’ of cinnamon commonly found in stores. If we are looking at European Standards, the EU Food Safety Authority has set a maximum daily intake of 0.1 mg/kg body weight for coumarin. Long story short, if you can get your hands on it, get the Ceylon Cinnamon. 

Given its effects on moderating blood sugar levels, cinnamon can be a great additive to coffee, fruit, yogurt bowls, you name it, basically anything you may consume first thing in the morning. When we eat sugar first thing in the morning, our blood sugar levels spike. Through my journey, I have found that pairing cinnamon with my morning coffee and any sugar content (please only try to have natural sugar-i.e. fruits, carbohydrates, and yogurts) with at least 20-30g of protein, my hormonal acne has been more manageable. 

So my tip for you: IF you are going to be having a sweet breakfast (although I don’t recommend a sweet breakfast every day), try adding some cinnamon. I mean why not? At the very least, it will add a little pizazz to whatever you are eating! 

Blemish Babe Tip:

My Coffee Recipe: 

1 double shot of espresso

1/4th teaspoon of Cinnamon

Pinch of flaky sea-salt

A small squeeze of honey (I get mind from the farmers market to help with seasonal allergies)

Steamed Cashew MALK (LOVE LOVE LOVE! this brand)