Varieties of Cinnamon and Interview with Courtney Pool

Just a quick thought, and an announcement.

I just got my hands on some 'Ceylon Cinnamon.' The cinnamon that is usually sold is called 'Saigon Cinnamon' or 'Cassia Cinnamon,' where the 'cassia' is not to be confused with the legume tree that sheds pods of cassia (all over the main drag in Hilo town on the Big Island of Hawaii, for example). The latter is senna, an intense purgative - if you eat a few of the resinous, fairly pleasant-tasting pulp pieces, you will poop _a lot_ - but probably have a lot of cramping too. Cassia Cinnamon is the stereotypical American cinnamon roll cinnamon, and has more of the volatile cinnamaldehyde in it than 'Ceylon Cinnamon,' also known as 'true cinnamon.' I got some of the Ceylon variety because Phil, and his daughter Amy, love cinnamon but claim that it gives them a stomach ache, but that the 'real' kind does not. When I opened the pouch, the aroma triggered the blissfully nostalgic recognition that this was the cinnamon that I had grown up with, both in England and Israel! Whereas the Cassia/Saigon variety is 'cut to the chase/in your face CINNAMON writ large,' the other kind is a broader spectrum of aromas, more subtle, just delightful. I'm looking forward to enjoying using both of them!

I'm curious as to whether one or other variety is richer in the chromium and other compounds that recommend cinnamon for blood sugar support and insulin control. Anyone know?

Now for my announcement: please check out the 'Eighty Percent Raw' magazine blog for my interview with Courtney Pool. She very graciously agreed to give me an interview on her experiences with Liver Flushing, since that was the subject of my article for the April edition of the magazine. Enjoy!