Managing your diet can be a challenge when you have diabetes, because you constantly need to monitor your blood sugar and be aware of how the food you eat affects blood sugar levels. It's important to try to avoid foods that cause your blood sugar to spike. But two foods -- garlic and cinnamon -- may lower your blood sugar levels. One of those foods shows more promise than the other in fighting diabetes.
Garlic's Effect on Blood Sugar
Garlic may not do much to help you manage your blood sugar levels. Preliminary evidence exists that garlic may help diabetics control blood sugar, but more research must be done to verify whether garlic can help people with diabetes keep their blood sugar low enough to be within a healthy range, says Warren Clinic.com. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says that despite the fact that some scientists believe garlic may help regulate blood sugar, there isn't sufficient evidence to show that garlic has any significant effect on blood sugar levels.
Cinnamon's Effect on Blood Sugar
Cinnamon seems to exert a more powerful effect on blood sugar than garlic. The United States Department of Agriculture says chemical compounds called polyphenolic polymers inside cinnamon make fat cells 20 times more efficient in metabolizing sugar than the cells were before the cinnamon compounds interacted with them in test tubes. Cinnamon compounds can raise insulin sensitivity by activating enzymes that stimulate insulin receptors and inhibiting enzymes that deactivate the receptors, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Mayo Clinic.com reports that cinnamon may help people with Type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar by increasing insulin's action in their bodies.
Amounts
Because garlic's effect on blood sugar is still unclear, no specific amount of garlic has been set to consume to fight diabetes, says Warren Clinic.com. It recommends consuming a daily supplement with 900mg of a garlic powder extract standardized to contain 1.3 percent of garlic's active ingredient, allicin, to promote good health overall. You can lower your blood sugar if you consume about 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon every day for at least 40 days, the United States Department of Agriculture says.
Cautions
Both garlic and cinnamon are generally considered safe if you eat them in small amounts -- such as using them as spices to flavor your food -- but they may cause some side effects if you consume large quantities of them. Garlic can thin your blood, so you shouldn't consume lots of it before having surgery or if you're on blood-thinning medications such as aspirin, cautions Warren Clinic.com. Cinnamon is a fat-soluble substance that may accumulate in your body if you consume large amounts over time, the United States Department of Agriculture says.
