0

Does Cinnamon Affect Type 2 Diabetes- Potential Game Changer

Cinnamon reduces blood sugar- both fasting and after food, BMI, the HbA1c, positively impacts body cholesterol, improves lipid profile. These are laboratory results that the physician looks for to determine your intensity of diabetes mellitus. So does cinnamon affect type 2 diabetes? Can this well known spice be a game changer as an alternate or complement the current known treatment.

The world has been the victim of higher blood sugar (BS) conditions. Food liberates sugar on digestion. Insulin, a hormone directs sugar to the cells. The cells absorb sugar to get energy. The inability of cells to take up the sugar leaves the sugar in the blood. This happens due to poor availability of insulin and/or cells being resistant to insulin

Thus, the continued higher BS marinates the entire body and major organs depleting their functional ability. More and more people are looking to stay away from daily prescribed medications. They get tired and frustrated using medications daily on a routine basis. and looking for natural and alternative remedies. Can the century old spice cinnamon meet the expectations of being an alternate therapy?

Let’s get into all of that.Does-Cinnamon-Affect-Type-2-Diabetes-Potential-Game-Changer-Find-out-HOW?

Highlights

  • Cinnamon consumption reduces blood glucose both fasting and after food.
  • It acts as an insulin mimetic, reduces insulin resistance by transporting blood from the bloodstream (reduces blood sugar concentration) to the muscles.  
  • Cinnamon is a great antioxidant capable of quenching reactive oxygen species and free radicals. 
  • The consumption of this spice widened the blood vessels allowing more oxygen flow that increases hemoglobin.

Cinnamon of all kinds respond to higher sugar conditions in the body. However these results are not always consistent. The reasons behind the inconsistency might be types of cinnamon used, dose amounts, concoction used. The variability can be  either due to the amount and type of active components present in the species of cinnamon used or the mechanism of action. It may be both. Another important factor is the severity of diabetes with possible chronic implications due to longtime illness among the patient population.

The Multifaceted Capability of Cinnamon to Influence Type 2 Diabetes 

Cinnamon Reduces Higer Blood Glucose Level, cholesterol and Insulin Resistance and Increases Insulin Setivity

It does so for fasting glucose and blood glucose after meal. While the results are more consistent with animals like mice and rats with aqueous extract of cinnamon, in human, it is dose and duration dependent. However, there are instances, the results are ambiguous.

Cinnamon Reduces High Blood Glucose Level, Cholesterol and Insulin Resistance and Increases Insulin Sensitivity

It does so for fasting glucose and blood glucose after meals. While the results are more consistent with animals like mice and rats with aqueous extract of cinnamon, in humans, it is dose and duration dependent. However, there are instances, the results are ambiguous.

Let’s look at this particular experimental conclusion.

Supplementation with 500 mg of water-extract of cinnamon for two months with 250 mg/dose, twice a day in subjects with elevated levels of BG did the following.

  • Reduced fasting insulin (Higher insulin levels are linked to insulin resistance and may increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s)
  • Lower glucose level
  • Reduced total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol – A better heart health
  • Enhanced Insulin sensitivity (IR) – Better management of high blood sugar

Although this experiment was with a smaller population of patients (173 were enrolled and 137 completed the study), the cinnamon variability was not there. Some patients also showed ambiguity in this situation. It may need more understanding of the patient population..

Cinnamon Is an Impressive Antioxidant

Cinnamon scavenge free radical and reactive oxygen species in the body.

  • It reduces the Cardiovascular damage and T2DM-induced long-term complications.
  • Oxidative stress also has an important role in the development of  This can   also contribute to beta cell destruction  in t2DM patients. Beta cells in pancreas are responsible for insulin generation that manages blood sugar.
  • Cinnamon appears to help dilate and relax the blood vessels (wider opening)-which may help lower blood pressure. High bp is part of metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetes.

Bottom line

Numerous human studies have demonstrated cinnamon as effective towards lowering the fasting blood sugar, and improved HbA1c-a marker of  long term blood sugar, and several other health parameters. The obesity, high cholesterol, heart are a few to benefit from this aromatic spice containing several anti-diabetic compounds.

The caveat can be unreliability with some people or some cinnamon species and may be there are underlying unknown reasons. The experts need well designed clinical trials with placebo control with a large population with well characterized cinnamon to arrive at a reliable conclusion.

Disclaimer! Talk to your diabetes team and experts to align them with your plan of taking cinnamon and supplements and follow their advice.

Anusuya Choudhury

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *