Over the last 15 years there hav

Cinnamon May Help Treat Diabetes

Over the last 15 years there have been several studies that seem to support claims that supplementing the diet with cinnamon can help control Type 2 diabetes. The report below summarizes recent research into the mechanisms of cinnamon's effects which appear to decrease insulin resistance by enhancing the response of cell-membrane based insulin receptors.

Researchers from the US Agricultural Research Service, have shown that less than half a teaspoon per day of cinnamon reduces blood sugar levels in persons with type 2 diabetes. Their study included 60 Pakistani volunteers with type 2 diabetes who were not taking insulin. Subjects were divided into six groups. For 40 days, groups 1, 2 and 3 were given 1, 3, or 6 grams per day of cinnamon while groups 4, 5 and 6 received placebo capsules. Even the lowest amount of cinnamon, 1 gram per day (approximately ¼ to ½ teaspoon), produced an approximately 20% drop in blood sugar; cholesterol and triglycerides were lowered as well. When daily cinnamon was stopped, blood sugar levels began to increase. (December 30, 2003) http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/reprint/26/12/3215.pdf.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=68;

On the other hand, a 2006 study reported that supplementation with cinnamon (1.5 g/day) does not improve glucose tolerance or blood lipid profiles in post-menopausal Type 2 diabetic patients http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/136/4/977, This may suggest a hormonal influence on blood glucose levels in addition to or synergistic with insulin.

John W. Cartmell, MS
www.dietadvisor.com

Cinnamon May Help Treat Diabetes

Spice's Ingredients Might Control Blood Sugar; No Food 'Prescription' Yet

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/04/health/webmd/main1471890.shtml
April 4, 2006

Cinnamon has jumped from the kitchen to the science lab as scientists study the common spice’s potential effects on diabetes.

Cinnamon appears to fight inflammation and help insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar. That news comes from researchers including Richard Anderson, PhD, CNS, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Md.

Anderson and colleagues presented two papers on cinnamon at the Experimental Biology 2006 meeting, held in San Francisco. In both studies, researchers did lab tests in an effort to find cinnamon’s active ingredient that might affect diabetes. They didn’t test cinnamon on people or animals in either study.

Cinnamon in the Lab

One of Anderson’s studies focused on cinnamon’s insulin-like effects. In lab tests, Anderson’s team found that cinnamon contains antioxidants called polyphenols that boost levels of three key proteins.

Those proteins are important in insulin signaling, glucose (blood sugar) transport, and inflammatory response. That study was partially funded by PhytoMedical Technologies, a company involved in pharmaceutical research on plant-based products, including cinnamon.

The second study probed cinnamon’s chemistry. The researchers found and extracted a natural compound in cinnamon that they think may have insulin-like properties. The compound is a proanthocyanidin, which is a type of polyphenol.

Previous Work

Previously, Anderson tested cinnamon on people with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes patients took varying daily doses of cinnamon for 40 days. The doses were larger than levels typically used in food (see link to study in introduction statement at top of page).

The patients’ insulin sensitivity improved during the study. No differences were seen among the three doses of cinnamon.

Twenty days after the patients stopped taking cinnamon, those effects were fading but were still significant, meaning that they didn’t seem to be due to chance, according to the study. Those findings were presented at the fourth International Congress Dietary Antioxidants and Trace Elements, held in Monastir, Tunisia, in April 2005.

SOURCES: Experimental Biology 2006, San Francisco, April 1-5, 2006. Agriculture Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: “Research Project: Chromium and Polyphenols from Cinnamon in the Prevention and Alleviation of Glucose Intolerance.” News release, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D.
© 2005, WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.