This is the spice that boosts metabolism and burns fat. It exists in all homes

This is an extremely popular spice that we usually use in sweets, red sauces and even in our coffee has the ability to "target" the body's fat cells and mobilize them to burn more fat, researchers from the University of Michigan found.

According to the findings published in the journal Metabolism, the cinnamon, thanks to cinnamaldehyde that it contains, can be an effective "weapon" for losing extra pounds.

"Scientists have seen that this ingredient affects metabolism," says Jun Wu from the Institute of Biological Sciences. "So we wanted to find out how this happens – what 'pathways' are involved, how mouse cells are affected and how human cells are affected."

The researchers' experiments indicated that cinnamaldehyde improves metabolic health by directly affecting fat cells, prompting them to start expending energy – that is, calories – through a process called thermogenesis.

Wu and her colleagues used fat cells from volunteers of various ages and nationalities and with different body mass index in their experiments. When cells were exposed to cinnamaldehyde it was observed increased activity of various genes and enzymes that facilitate fat metabolism. An increase in the levels of Ucp1 and Fgf21, two proteins that play an important role in thermogenesis, was also observed.

Under normal conditions, fat cells store energy in the form of lipids. This "reserve" of fat is used when food is not available or when temperatures are cold, by converting the stored energy into heat.

Given that in today's developed world, not only do we not have a food availability problem, but the problem of obesity is increasing more and more, scientists are looking for ways to activate the process of thermogenesis with the aim of burning the accumulated fat.

Wu believes that cinnamon and cinnamaldehyde can serve this purpose, pointing out that the spice's widespread use in the food industry and the people's love for it make the work of experts much easier, since they will not have to try very hard to convince their patients to add cinnamon to their daily routine!