Cinnamon is a spice that has been used for centuries in various alternative medicine systems. Cinnamon might provide health benefits, especially with regards to diabetes treatment, but consult your doctor before trying to prevent, treat or cure diabetes with cinnamon.
Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome refers to a variety of symptoms such as obesity and high blood pressure that place the diabetic at a greater risk for heart disease. Cinnamon might help protect against these symptoms. Participants who took cinnamon dissolved in water had improvements in systolic pressure and a reduction in body fat, according to a study published in 2008 in the "Proceedings of the Nutrition Society." Participants took 1 to 6 g of cinnamon for 40 days.
Fasting Glucose
Cinnamon might be a good treatment for reducing fasting blood glucose levels. Fasting blood glucose refers to glucose levels after at least eight hours post-meal. In the same study as noted above, 1 to 6 g of cinnamon for 40 days reduced fasting blood glucose levels in a sample of participants with type 2 diabetes.
Triglycerides
Tryglycerides are the fats that the body stores in reserve, but when too many triglycerides accumulate, they can build up and stick to the walls of the arteries and contribute to heart disease. Cinnamon might help lower triglyceride levels. A study published in 2010 in the "Pakistan Journal of Nutrition" found that 1.5 g of cholesterol lowered triglyceride levels in a group of diabetic men and women over 40 years old.
Hemoglobin A1C
Cinnamon was found to improve symptoms in patients with type 2 diabetes. Cinnamon treatment led to reductions in hemoglobin A1C, meaning that blood sugar was reduced in a study published in 2009 in the "Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine." Hemoglobin A1C tests are administered to determine how long sugar molecules remain in the blood, so cinnamon might slow the progression of blood sugar over time.
References
- "Cambridge Journals"; Chromium and Polyphenols from Cinnamon Improve Insulin Sensitivity; Richard A. Anderson; 2008
- "Pakistan Journal of Nutrition"; Cinnamon May Reduce Glucose, Lipid and Cholesterol Level in Type 2 Diabetic Individuals; Radhia Khan, Zakkia Khan, & Safdar Hussain Shah; 2010
- "JABFM"; Effectiveness of Cinnamon for Lowering Hemoglobin A1C in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized, Controlled Trial; Paul Crawford, M.D.; 2009
