Honey and Cinnamon: What the Claims Get Right and Wrong

Honey and cinnamon are a perfect match on toast or in a mug of tea. Somewhere along the way, though, the pair picked up a reputation as a cure-all. A list of their supposed powers, covering arthritis, colds, cholesterol, bladder infections, heart disease and even hearing loss, has been forwarded, pinned and reposted for three decades. Most of it comes from a single tabloid story.

Quick answer: Honey and cinnamon don’t cure diseases. The popular list of cures traces to a 1995 Weekly World News tabloid article, and no study has tested the mixture for those claims. On their own, honey has good evidence for easing children’s coughs, and cinnamon may modestly lower fasting blood sugar, though reviews disagree. Common cassia cinnamon contains coumarin, so keep large daily doses in check, and never give honey to babies under 1.

Where did the honey and cinnamon cure list come from?

From a supermarket tabloid. Snopes traced the list to an article in the Weekly World News dated January 17, 1995. The Weekly World News was known for invented stories. The article recommended mixtures of honey and cinnamon for a long list of ailments and cited a study by “Copenhagen University” that no one has ever been able to find. Since then the list has been copied across websites, emails and social media in many languages, often with new claims added.

What does research say about honey?

Honey has real evidence behind a few uses, none of them miracle cures:

• Coughs: a 2018 Cochrane review by Oduwole and colleagues found honey probably eases cough symptoms in children better than no treatment. Our post on honey for colds and flu covers how to use it.
• Wounds: medical-grade honey is used in some wound dressings. See honey for wound care.
• Antibacterial activity: honey’s low water content, acidity and hydrogen peroxide slow bacterial growth in the lab. Our post on how raw honey fights bacteria explains how.

Honey is still sugar, about 17 grams in a tablespoon, so it isn’t a health food in large amounts.

Does cinnamon lower blood sugar?

Maybe a little, but the evidence is mixed:

• For: a 2013 meta-analysis in the Annals of Family Medicine by Allen and colleagues pooled 10 trials with 543 people with type 2 diabetes. Cinnamon was linked to a drop in fasting blood glucose of about 24.6 mg/dL, but no significant change in HbA1c, the long-term blood sugar measure. The trials varied widely in dose and design.
• Against: a 2012 Cochrane review by Leach and Kumar, also of 10 trials (577 people), found insufficient evidence that cinnamon helps type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
• Today: the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says it’s unclear whether cinnamon supplements help with diabetes.

Cinnamon is not a substitute for diabetes medication. Adding honey to it adds sugar, which works against any blood sugar benefit. Our post on honey and blood sugar explains how honey affects glucose.

Do honey and cinnamon together cure anything?

There’s no evidence they do. No published clinical trial has tested the honey and cinnamon mixture for arthritis, cholesterol, heart disease, infections, hearing loss or the other conditions on the viral list. Each ingredient has been studied a little on its own, and those results don’t support the bigger claims.

How much cinnamon is safe to eat?

A sprinkle is fine. Large daily amounts of the most common kind deserve some care. Most cinnamon sold in North America is cassia, which contains a natural compound called coumarin that can harm the liver in sensitive people at high doses. Ceylon cinnamon, sometimes called “true” cinnamon, contains only traces.

Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the European Food Safety Authority set a tolerable daily intake for coumarin of 0.1 mg per kilogram of body weight. Using average coumarin levels in cassia, the BfR estimates that:

• a 60 kg (132 lb) adult reaches that limit at about 2 grams of cassia a day, a little under a teaspoon;
• a 15 kg (33 lb) child reaches it at about 0.5 grams, a few pinches.

If you take cinnamon every day in larger amounts, choose Ceylon cinnamon. People with liver disease should talk to their doctor before using cinnamon supplements.

How should you enjoy honey and cinnamon?

As food, which is what they’re best at. Stir both into oatmeal or yogurt, drizzle them over baked apples or squash, whisk them into tea, or blend cinnamon into creamed honey for a spread that tastes like a cinnamon roll. Raw honey keeps its best flavor when added after cooking or to drinks that have cooled a little.

Never give honey to children under 1 year of age. Honey can carry spores that cause infant botulism.

Frequently asked questions

Is honey and cinnamon good for you?

In normal food amounts, both are fine for most people, and they taste great together. But the popular claims that the mixture cures arthritis, heart disease or infections trace back to a 1995 tabloid article and aren’t supported by research.

Does honey and cinnamon help you lose weight?

There’s no good evidence it does. Honey adds calories and sugar, and the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says it’s unclear whether cinnamon helps with weight loss.

Can honey and cinnamon help a cold?

Honey can ease a cough, especially in children over 1, according to a 2018 Cochrane review. There’s no evidence that adding cinnamon makes it work better or that the mixture cures a cold.

Is it safe to eat cinnamon every day?

Small amounts, yes. Cassia cinnamon, the common kind, contains coumarin; Germany’s BfR estimates a 60 kg adult reaches the tolerable daily limit at about 2 grams of cassia a day. If you eat a lot of cinnamon daily, switch to Ceylon cinnamon.

Is honey with cinnamon safe for diabetics?

Talk to your doctor. Honey raises blood sugar much like table sugar, and cinnamon’s effect on blood sugar is small and uncertain. Neither replaces diabetes treatment.

Sources

• Snopes, honey and cinnamon claim, citing the Weekly World News, January 17, 1995.
• Oduwole O et al. “Honey for acute cough in children.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018. PubMed
• Allen RW, Schwartzman E, Baker WL, Coleman CI, Phung OJ. “Cinnamon use in type 2 diabetes: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.” Annals of Family Medicine, 2013. DOI
• Leach MJ, Kumar S. “Cinnamon for diabetes mellitus.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2012. DOI
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Cinnamon,” updated November 2024.
• German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), FAQ on coumarin in cinnamon and other foods.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Honey and cinnamon don’t need to be medicine to be worth keeping in the kitchen. Enjoy them for what they are: a very good pairing.