Are cinnamon stars harmful to health?

Cinnamon stars in the review? rightly?

When at Christmas time the liver values ​​of many people reach their high for the year, this does not always have to be linked to fatty food or too much mulled wine. For some time, cinnamon stars have been targeted by health experts. The eponymous spice contained in them should be harmful to the liver if consumed excessively. But is that true? And if so, why?

The reason for this assumption is not the cinnamon itself, but the coumarin contained in it.

Coumarin? What's this?

It is a natural flavor and fragrance found in many plants. While coumarin is found only in slight traces in stone clover, woodruff or Tonka beans, the amount contained in cinnamon is very high. In medicine, synthetically produced coumarin is used as a drug for edema treatment. In addition, it comes because of its pleasant fragrance of fresh hay in numerous cosmetic products used.


Coumarin is suspected of harming the human liver. During a drug study of coumarin-containing drugs, a small group of subjects experienced liver damage. In mild cases, the phenomenon was expressed only in an increase in liver enzymes, while in the severe cases liver inflammation (jaundice) was diagnosed. The underlying mechanism of action is still unknown. However, there are no documented cases in the scientific literature in which liver damage was caused by the consumption of coumarin-containing foods.

First coumarin alert

As early as 2006, the BfR (Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) warned against too high a coumarin content in cinnamon stars and other Christmas cakes containing cinnamon. Examinations of the food inspection at that time showed a clear violation of the maximum permissible level of coumarin. This was set in 1988 in the European flavor law to 2 milligrams per kilogram of food. However, not because of the suspected liver damaging effect, but on suspicion that coumarin could be carcinogenic. However, this assumption could be refuted by recent studies.

New limits

In January 2011, the new European Flavorings Regulation set the maximum levels of coumarin in cinnamon-containing foods. Thus, the maximum quantity for "traditional and / or seasonal bakery products with cinnamon indicated in the label" (for example, cinnamon stars) is 50 milligrams per kilogram of food. Milk or dessert dishes (such as rice pudding with cinnamon) are 5 milligrams per kilogram of food.


What do these numbers mean?

According to Dr. Klaus Abraham, food toxicologist at the BfR, apply daily 0.1 milligram of coumarin per kilogram of body weight, even in sensitive individuals as safe for health. This corresponds to an adult with 60 kilograms of body weight of a coumarin amount of 6 milligrams. Expressed in cinnamon stars: After a maximum of 24 small cinnamon stars (120 g) should be over! Especially in children, these limits are reached quickly. A child weighing 15 kg should not eat more than 6 small cinnamon stars (30 g).

However, the flavor regulation does not prescribe a maximum coumarin content for the spice cinnamon. If cinnamon is used for baking, it is important to know that cinnamon is not the same as cinnamon!

A small merchandise

Cinnamon (Latin cinnamum) is obtained from the dried bark of the cinnamon tree. You can roughly divide it into two groups: Ceylon cinnamon with low coumarin content and Cassia cinnamon with high coumarin content, Since cassia cinnamon is much cheaper, it is used in the industrial production of baked goods far more frequently than the low-coarse, but more expensive Ceylon cinnamon. If the cinnamon is ground to powder, a distinction between the two varieties is practically no longer possible. Here one must rely on the manufacturer's information. Unlike the natural cinnamon sticks: they differ significantly in appearance. Cassia cinnamon consists of a relatively thick layer of bark, which is made into a roll form. Ceylon cinnamon, in contrast, resembles the inside of a cigar in cross-section? several thin bark layers are rolled into a compact bar.

And what's next?

N / A? Do you still have an appetite for cinnamon stars after all the facts and figures? They smell so good, despite coumarin. So if you do not want to do without delicious fragrant cinnamon biscuits at Christmas (and elsewhere), you should consider the consumption recommendations for purchased products. But hand on heart: After 24 cinnamon stars (daily!) It is not really hard to say "No" at number 25, right? And for the children, they are simply rationed. Maybe someone of you still knows a particularly delicious recipe for Zimtsterne ?? If you use the "better" Ceylon cinnamon while baking your own, you are on the safe side.

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