High blood sugar isn't healthy. If you're diabetic, your blood sugar can get very high after a meal, and lead to a number of negative health effects. If you're not diabetic, your body stores more fat as blood sugar climbs. Cinnamon may help you to control your blood sugar.
Blood Sugar
"Blood sugar" is the medical term for glucose -- a type of sugar -- in the blood. When you consume sugars or starch, your body breaks them down into building block molecules that are absorbed into the bloodstream. This increases your blood sugar. Normally, your body carefully maintains blood sugar within healthy parameters; as blood sugar rises, your pancreas releases insulin, which causes the cells to take up sugar to make energy. If you're healthy, your blood sugar can't really get "too high" for health, since you'll release insulin as it starts to rise to control the level. However, if blood sugar rises rapidly, it results in a series of chemical signals that cause you to store excess sugar as fat to a greater extent than you might otherwise.
Cinnamon
Incorporating cinnamon into your diet may help lower your blood sugar. A 2007 article by J. Hlebowicz and colleagues in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" notes that cinnamon helps slow stomach emptying and keeps blood sugar levels more stable in healthy subjects. A 2003 article by Dr. A. Khan and colleagues in "Diabetes Care" suggests the same effect in subjects with type 2 diabetes.
Using Cinnamon
Researchers haven't yet determined exactly how much cinnamon you should be consuming, and how often. In the study by Hlebowicz and colleagues, participants who ate 6 grams of cinnamon in 300 grams of rice pudding had slower rates of stomach emptying than those who ate 300 grams of rice pudding without the cinnamon. The study didn't examine the effect of different quantities of cinnamon, however. The study by Khan and colleagues determined that more cinnamon results in a greater effect on blood sugar, but didn't establish limits for minimum and maximum cinnamon consumption.
Guidelines
If you're concerned about your blood sugar -- particularly if you have or are at risk for diabetes -- you should talk to your physician before making dietary changes. Even if you don't have diabetes, it's a good idea to talk to your doctor before using a food-grade herb in medicinal quantities; herbs that have a positive effect on the body might also have a negative effect, so consult with your physician prior to incorporating large amounts of cinnamon into your diet.
References
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Effect of Cinnamon on Postprandial Blood Glucose, Gastric Emptying, and Satiety in Healthy Subjects; J. Hlebowicza, et al; 2007
- "Diabetes Care"; Cinnamon Improves Glucose and Lipids of People With Type 2 Diabetes; A. Khan, et al; 2003
