Cinnamon For Diabetes – What Does The Research Report?

In one of the latest studies compiling data of several studies on cinnamon for diabetes, Western University of Health Sciences researchers at their College of Pharmacy in Pomona, California are reporting a positive relationship.

The dosage of cinnamon was 120 mg/day all the way up to 6 grams per day in 543 patients, and they continued taking the spice for anywhere between four and 18 weeks.

Fasting blood sugar levels fell 25 mg/dl with a range of 9 mg/dl up to 40 mg/dl with the cinnamon for diabetes. Total cholesterol fell only about 16 mg/dl although LDL-cholesterol fell about 9 mg/dl. And triglycerides fell about 30 mg/dl.

It’s always important to monitor what happens with the HDL-cholesterol, too, especially for diabetics. That’s because the lipid levels may be related to the presence or absence of heart disease and risk of suffering from a heart attack. The cinnamon consumption increased the HDL-cholesterol levels, but not by much – only 1 mg/dl. This is equivalent to really no increase at all. There was no effect on Hemoglobin A1c at all.

How Much Cinnamon to Take Daily

The dosage of different cinnamon extracts is always printed on the back label of the bottle. It’s a good idea to follow the labels, as cinnamon may contain a compound that can be toxic if consumed at high doses. So don’t get overexcited about results, thinking that if a little is good, more is better. It’s not.

If you’re using cinnamon as an aide to lower your blood sugar levels, do consider other herbs to use simultaneously. For example, you can use any of the following herbs, which have been known to have blood sugar lowering properties:

* alfalfa (also good to increase mineral content and bone density)

* banaba (that’s not banana; it’s banaba, a South American herb)

* bitter melon (quite effective at lowering blood sugar and providing anti-cancer properties as well)

* Gymnema sylvestris (this one stops cravings for sweets)

* Stevia rebaudiana (another South American rainforest herb that’s very effective)

Cinnamon for diabetes does work but think outside the box and strive for a larger response. If you get a 25 mg/dl decrease in your blood sugar from cinnamon, and a 40 mg/dl decrease from Stevia, bitter melon or banaba, then you can take your blood sugar level down to normal levels in a short period of time. The sooner your blood sugar level is in normal, the sooner you will have intervened with the progression of diabetic symptoms.

Cinnamon for Diabetic Complications Too

Chinese scientists are excited about the possibility of using cinnamon for treating peripheral neuropathy. They found that there were compounds in the Cinnamomum cassia barks called cinnacassosides A, B and C along with 15 other water-soluble compounds.

They kept looking and found eleven new compounds never identified previously, and then tested them for the ability to inhibit the production of interleukin-6, collagen IV and fibronectin. If the compounds showed an ability to do these actions, they would hold promise to possibly interfere with or reverse the situation of diabetic neuropathy. Five of the eleven compounds proved the ability to perform these actions.

Cinnamon for diabetes, anyone? Sure.

Resources

Ann Fam Med. 2013 Sep-Oct;11(5):452-9. doi: 10.1370/afm.1517.
Molecules. 2013 Sep 5;18(9):10930-43. doi: 10.3390/molecules180910930.

Author

This article was written for Insights-on-Health.com in Oct 2013 by Dr Donna Schwontkowski. Reversing health disorders is easier when principles of natural healing are used. Dr Donna is a retired chiropractor with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nutrition and a master’s in herbology. She has over 25 years experience working with thousands of patients to reverse their health conditions. Read more about her here.