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Type 2 diabetes is a growing problem in the United States along with its relationship to cardiovascular disease. The total prevalence of diabetes has increased from 13.5% from 2005-2007. Diet is a key factor in controlling blood sugar and preventing complications associated with this disease. Spices such as cinnamon have shown potential benefits on glucose control by enhancing insulin receptor activity and increasing glucose uptake.
What Causes Type 2 Diabetes?
People who suffer from Type 2 Diabetes are unable to use the insulin their body produces efficiently. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and helps to convert glucose into energy. The result of this inadequate control leads to an increase of sugar in the blood stream, which can eventually cause damage to the body's organs.
How Does Cinnamon Help?
Cinnamon has been shown in several clinical trials to act as an insulin substitute. The active ingredient, thought to be responsible for this insulin like activity, is a chemical called hydroxychalcone. It is thought this chemical works on insulin receptors to increase insulin sensitivity and help promote glucose uptake into cells. A study published in Diabetes Care 2003 reported a dose-dependent decrease in fasting blood sugar and improvements in cholesterol.
What Products are available?
Cinnamon powder, sticks, or pills are available at your local grocery store or
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pharmacy. . Most resources recommend adding ¼ to ½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder per day to your coffee, oatmeal, smoothie, etc. Cinnamon oil is not recommended for this purpose because the active chemical thought to have beneficial effects is water soluble and is not found in cinnamon oil product.
Conclusion:
Always contact your physician before incorporating cinnamon into your diet for this purpose. Physicians may decrease the dose of diabetes medications to prevent hypoglycemia in patients interested in using cinnamon. There is currently, not enough information to confirm using cinnamon as a diabetes supplement. In fact, one of the most recent studies published in Diabetes Care disproved the previous study mentioned in this article. This study claimed there was no improvement in the HgA1c, fasting blood glucose, or lipid profile in patients taking cinnamon with diabetes. Therefore, there is still research that needs to be done on the efficacy of cinnamon on diabetes.
For additional information on this topic please ask your physician or pharmacist or visit http://care.diabetesjournals.org/.
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