Cinnamon and Diabetes:
Is there a link after all?
The diabetic community has experienced considerable stirring around the issue of cinnamon and diabetes during the past three years after a scientific study suggested that cinnamon might help improve tye 2 diabetes.Cinnamon has been considered a spice with many healing properties that, besides its well-known and widely enjoyed advantages as a cooking ingredient, made of cinnamon a very desirable good.
Raising hopes
In 2003, an article published in the scientific journal Diabetes Care reported that daily ingestion of a water-soluble extract from cinnamon during 40 days noticeably improved the blood levels of glucose, triglycerides and both LDL and total cholesterol. A year after, a team from UC Santa Barbara, Iowa State University anf U.S. Department of Agriculture identified components that could explain the apparent insulin-like activity showed by cinnamon extracts, raising hopes about a potential pharmacological application of these components.
Although researchers and clinical doctors recommended caution before strong claims about the therapeutic effects of cinnamon were made, those studies prompted lots of enthusiasm and a plethora of cinnamon products invaded the diabetic-oriented market.
New study, new questions
In April, 2006, the Journal of Nutrition published a study carried out at The Netherlands where the effects of cinnamon supplementation on insulin sensitivity and/or glucose tolerance and blood lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes. The experiment was performed on 25 postmenopausal subjects with type 2 diabetes and lasted 6 weeks. In contrast with the previous study, no effects on insuin sensitivity or oral glucose tolerance were found. Likewise, the blood lipid profile of fasting patients did not change after cinnamon administration.
Does this mean that cinnamon has no effects on diabetes? This study does not rule out the potential insulin-like properties of cinnamon. Unless proven to have big flaws, the previous study showed indeed that there are some effects. Moreover, cell biology and biochemistry studies even found some molecular reasons to explain that. What the recent study tells is that the beneficial effects of cinnamon supplements can not be generalized. The issue is not settled at all, and more efforts are necessary to address the question and finally determine the existence of a good molecular candidate to develop a drug against type 2 diabetes.
In the meantime, it won't hurt using some more cinnamon to spice up your recipes, but be cautious and consult your doctor about taking large amounts of supplements and extracts.
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