Cinnamon Helps Fight Type 2 Diabetes

Contrary to US Food and Drug Administration’s requirement that only a drug can treat disease; a recent study revealed a spice may help treat diabetes. A study in the International Journal of Preventative Medicine suggests that Cinnamon may treat type 2 diabetes and may even help prevent the disease.

The study was conducted by M. Vafa of Department of Nutrition, Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran. Researchers selected a group of 44 people with type 2 diabetes and recorded their baseline hemoglobin A1C, fasting glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and lipoprotein A and B levels. Their height, weight, BMI, and blood pressure were also recorded as a baseline for analysis. It was also noted that the test subjects had similar lifestyle and eating patterns. Twenty-two of the subjects were then given 3 grams of cinnamon per day for 8 weeks. The other half were given a placebo for the same 8 week duration.

Difference Described as “Drastic”

According to the report about the study on the National Institutes of Health’s website “Pubmed.gov,” the results were “significant” Other sources call them “drastic.” The NIH website says”

“In the treatment group, the levels of fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, triglyceride, weight, BMI and body fat mass decreased significantly compared to baseline, but not in placebo group.”

These results are in line with other studies conducted on the herb. The abstract referrers to studies that show cinnamon as an “insulin sensitizer”. It further states:

”…Cinnamon extract stimulates glucose uptake, glycogen synthesis and activated glycogen synthase. In rats cinnamon enhanced glucose uptake by enhancing insulin stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of insulin receptor β, insulin receptor substrate 1, and phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase in a dose dependent fashion.”

Historically, some studies have shown anywhere between a 10 to 29 percent reduction in fasting blood glucose levels when supplementing with cinnamon. In this study, although no change in lipids and insulin were observed, along with the positive change in FGL, fat body mass, BMI and body weight all were shown to improve.

Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22973482
http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Nutrition/Supplements/herbs/cinnamon...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3429799/