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Cinnamon for Diabetes Prevention

Worldwide, 170 million people have diabetes and every 10 seconds, a person dies from diabetes-related complications. While maintaining health with diabetes requires a lifelong commitment to healthy living and blood sugar maintenance, advances are being made in natural supplements that can be used to help ensure steadier levels of blood sugar. Among those being researched is cinnamon extract.

  1. The Study

    • A study released by the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center found that patients given large amounts of cinnamon extract had improved blood sugar, triglyceride and cholesterol levels. The study was conducted on 60 people with type 2 diabetes who were divided into groups, and each given either a placebo, 1g, 3g, and 6g of cinnamon extract. The volunteers took the supplements for 40 days and then had a 20-day "washout" period. The study concluded that those in the cinnamon groups showed notable improvement in their overall blood sugar, triglyceride and cholesterol levels, whereas those in the placebo group had no change whatsoever.

    Conclusions

    • The final published conclusion states that adding cinnamon to one's daily diet will assist in the prevention of type 2 diabetes. For those currently with the disease, it can help lower overall blood sugar levels allowing the patients to suffer less sugar imbalances.

    Opinions

    • Since the release of the study, many medical experts have raised responses questioning the credibility of the findings. Dr. Maria Collazo-Clavell, an endocrine specialist with Mayo Clinic has written, "In one preliminary 2006 study, cinnamon extract seemed to lower blood sugar in people who have type 2 diabetes. However, other studies haven't confirmed these results. Likewise, cinnamon doesn't appear to improve hemoglobin A1C levels --- a reflection of average blood sugar level for the past two to three months --- or cholesterol levels. At this point, it seems unlikely that cinnamon could play any role in diabetes treatment." Her advice to those suffering from type 2 diabetes is to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle and carefully monitor blood sugar levels regularly.

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