Recently, a study has been published on what happens in the organism of persons who consume cinnamon regularly. Two groups were formed, one made up of persons who consume cinnamon on a regular basis, and another one of those who never eat cinnamon. It was found out that, on average, persons suffering from type-2 diabetes who consume cinnamon have a much lower blood sugar level than persons in the other group.
Other interesting phenomena were observed: regular cinnamon consumers had lower cholesterol, LDL (“bad cholesterol”) and triglyceride level, and a higher HDL (“good cholesterol”) level.
543 persons suffering from type-2 diabetes participated in the research, and they were divided into two groups. One group received cinnamon capsules with a cinnamon content ranging from 120 mg to 6 g; the other group received placebo for 18 weeks. The results have clearly shown that cinnamon has a beneficial effect on diabetes patients, as it lovers the blood sugar level and the amount of blood fat. However, researchers still need to find out how cinnamaldehyde, the active ingredient in cinnamon, lowers the level of blood sugar. It is supposed, however, that this ingredient affects the production of insulin and the sensitivity of cells to insulin.
In persons who took cinnamon capsules, the level of blood sugar was lower than 25 mg/dl compared to persons who didn’t consume cinnamon. This decrease was lower than the decrease caused by Metformin (58 mg/dl), but higher than the decrease caused by the newest diabetes medicine called Sitagliptin (16-21 mg/dl).
It is still unknown what dose of cinnamon would be necessary to obtain an optimal effect, but the results are encouraging so far. However, before you start using cinnamon instead of diabetes medicine, you should ask for your doctor’s advice.