So yes, cinnamon is the real deal when it comes to improving your health.

Unfortunately, the kind of cinnamon in your pantry is probably not the best kind. If you’re looking to cash in on the fantastic health benefits delivered by this tasty, versatile spice, I want to share a few tips with you to make sure you’re getting the best kind of cinnamon available and at the best price…

Subjects who took these two herbs elevated a specific hormone called adiponectin — which many experts now believe could be the #1 hormone for weight loss. Subjects with higher adiponectin levels lost twice as much weight during the 8-week study, with no other changes.

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Ceylon is sometimes referred to as true cinnamon. The bark is thinner and has a mellower flavor. Cassia cinnamon comes from a thicker bark and has more of a bite to it. Most of the cinnamon you can buy at the store is cassia cinnamon. Ceylon is more expensive and more difficult to find. It’s worth the effort, though.

Both types of cinnamon have similar compounds. And in studies, both have shown the potential to lower cholesterol, control blood sugar, and deliver the other health benefits that I listed above.

The problem is that cassia cinnamon contains a much higher level of coumarin, a compound that has the potential to damage your liver if you take it in large amounts. Getting the full health benefits from cinnamon is safer when you use the ceylon variety – especially if you plan to use it on a daily basis – and most people like the taste of ceylon cinnamon better.

So how do you know which kind of cinnamon you’re getting?

Unfortunately, most spice manufacturers just list cinnamon as the ingredient of their cinnamon products &#8211 they don’t clarify the source. So while reading labels is something I encourage, it won’t do you much good here. Most store-bought brands of cinnamon do come from cassia.

If you want to switch to ceylon, you have three options…

You can switch to a brand that you know uses ceylon cinnamon. The most common national brand of ceylon comes from Frontier Natural Products. Not every grocery store carries this brand (Whole Foods does), so you may have to call around to the grocery stores in your area to find if they have it.

Or, you can buy your ceylon cinnamon online. Amazon, Vitacost, and other online retail outlets carry brands of cinnamon that are guaranteed to be ceylon.

A third option – and probably the most affordable – is to buy whole cinnamon rather than ground cinnamon. Whole cinnamon is often cassia, too, but you can visually tell what you’re getting and shop for a brand that you can recognize as ceylon on sight.

Cassia cinnamon sticks come from thicker bark. When you look down at the end of the stick, you’ll see a single layer of thick bark rolled up on itself – in the image shown here, the stick on the right is cassia cinnamon. Ceylon sticks come from a thin, flakier bark, like the stick on the left. When you look down on the end of the stick you’ll see lots of layers folded on top of each other. Ceylon sticks are also a lighter brown color than cassia sticks.

To use cinnamon sticks like you would ground cinnamon, just break them up with a tenderizing hammer and then grind them to a fine powder using a coffee grinder.

In large amounts, common cassia cinnamon can irritate and even harm your liver. The milder ceylon version offers you all the health benefits without introducing any new risks.

When you make the switch to ceylon cinnamon, you’ll be taking an easy, affordable step to protect yourself from heart disease, diabetes, and dementia. You’ll also help reduce the pain associated with arthritis, chronic headaches, and migraines. That’s like finding gold in your kitchen pantry!