Love cinnamon? Here’s a reason to love it even more (and if you don’t, you might want to start)!

Researchers from the University of Michigan tested the effects of cinnamaldehyde (the essential oil that gives cinnamon its flavor) on fat cells in mice and humans. The findings are in: Cinnamaldehyde in both the mice and the humans triggered cells to start burning calories faster through a process called thermogenesis. They also found that the oil increased fat-burning, metabolism-boosting responses in several other genes, enzymes and proteins in the body!

The author of the study, Jun Wu, research assistant professor at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute, says adding cinnamon to your foods on a regular basis may be one way to make fat cells burn extra energy, rather than your body storing it in the form of unwanted weight gain!