Can dogs have cinnamon?

You love nibbling on your freshly baked cinnamon scones and sipping the piping hot coffee while scanning the newspaper headlines. As always the loyal and devoted dog would be at your side and silently waiting for a piece of the delicious cinnamon scone. You are about to give the dog a piece when you remembered that some human food can have dangerous effects on the dog. Sure, you know about the health benefits humans can gain from cinnamons but not much information about the spice’s effect on canines can be found. Would it be okay to give the dog cinnamon? Given that a lot of doggie treats have cinnamon ingredients, it is presumed that this very ancient spice would not be hazardous to the health of the dog. So go ahead. Give the pooch a cinnamon treat. For sure the dog will derive health benefits from this spice too.

Cinnamon is a spice commonly used to perk up the taste of everyday dishes. However, cinnamon is more than just an ordinary spice. This spice that is derived from the Cinnamomum Zeylanicum tree was one of the ancient spices used thousands of years ago. Cinnamon is used to preserve meat. This spice that you usually reach for when you are baking a cinnamon apple pie is the same spice that was used by the Egyptians in embalming. Then and now cinnamon is used as a medicine for the treatment of cough, sore throat and stomach upsets.

Cinnamon has antifungal, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Recent studies have proven the ability of cinnamon to help regulate blood sugar levels of canines suffering from diabetes. Cinnamon is a natural treatment for diabetes as its insulin-like properties lowers the triglyceride and cholesterol level. Cinnamon has a blood thinning compound and anti-inflammatory properties that allows the proper circulation of blood to all the cells of the body thereby significantly reducing the pain of arthritic dogs. Cinnamon has a carminative agent that relieves indigestion, bloat and stomach upset. This aromatic spice cleanses the parasites, the fungus, bacteria and other microorganisms from the stomach and intestines. This is very beneficial to the dog as after the cleansing, the body can better process and absorb the nutrients. As digestion is improved, intestinal gas will be broken up and occurrence of bloat will be prevented. Using cinnamon as an ingredient to doggie treat will make the treat last longer as this spice is a natural preservative.

Does ingestion of cinnamon result to hazardous effects on the health of the dog? The plethora of benefits a dog can get from cinnamon may make a dog owner wonder at the possibility of the existence of side effects. Unfortunately, some dogs, especially those with an existing medical condition can have an adverse reaction to cinnamon. Excessive bleeding can be the result of this spice’s blood thinning properties. Skin itching and skin irritation can develop. These side effects do not last very long. Adverse reaction can be prevented as long as ingestion of cinnamon will not be more than the quantities needed if cinnamon is used as spice.