The use of cinnamon dates back as far as 2800 B.C., according to InDepthInfo.com. Cinnamon was recognized for its medicinal and culinary uses, and was employed as a remedy for colds, flu and digestive disorders. Current research is uncovering important benefits of cinnamon for controlling some of the detrimental health conditions increasingly associated with certain modern diets and lifestyles.
Control Blood Sugar
Cinnamon bark was found to reverse the adverse effects of fructose on blood glucose in a study published in the 2006 "Singapore Medical Journal." In the study, rats were fed a high-fructose diet for 60 days, with cinnamon bark extract administered twice daily. Glucose tolerance tests performed at the end of the study period revealed that the cinnamon bark extract brought blood glucose levels back to near normal. The researchers noted that blood sugar modulating effects were observed at high dose levels of cinnamon bark, while low dose levels did not produce any significant effects.
Blood Pressure Regulation
The "Journal of the American College of Nutrition" reported that cinnamon has the ability to reduce elevated blood pressure as a function of its insulin modulating effects. Rats were fed a variety of sucrose and non-sucrose diets, along with various dosages of cinnamon, cinnamon extract and chromium. They were monitored for changes in body weight, blood sugar and blood pressure over four weeks' time. Those on sucrose containing diets with 8 percent added cinnamon showed a reduction of blood pressure to the same levels as non-sucrose containing diets. The group consuming non-sucrose diets with added cinnamon also showed a reduction in blood pressure, leading the researchers to conclude that cinnamon's effect may go beyond insulin regulation and may have a genetic basis. Other findings included a dose-dependent effect, whereby higher doses yielded increasing results, and a glucose sparing effect, whereby cinnamon failed to reduce blood glucose but did lower blood insulin levels.
Weight Control
The effects of cinnamon's insulin and glucose modulating effects as they relate to body fat composition were reported in a study in the 2010 "Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics." Researchers fed polyphenol extracts of cinnamon
to groups of rats with metabolic syndrome -- a group of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including abdominal fat and insulin resistance. Along with a significant decrease in glucose infusion rates and preservation of pancreas weight, the groups fed cinnamon did not show an increase in abdominal fat. The researchers concluded that cinnamon extract improves body composition by reducing fat accumulation in conjunction with its insulin and glucose controlling effects.
References
- PubMed: Cinnamon improves insulin sensitivity and alters the body composition in an animal model of the metabolic syndrome
- PubMed: Cinnamon bark extract improves glucose metabolism and lipid profile in the fructose-fed rat
- PubMed: Whole cinnamon and aqueous extracts ameliorate sucrose-induced blood pressure elevations in spontaneously hypertensive rats
- Indepth Info: The History of Cinnamon
Member Comments