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Cinnamon: The Anti-Diabetic Spice
Healthy Living Article by Melissa Lynn Block
Some tastes just go together naturally. Tomatoes and olive oil. Curry
powder and cauliflower. Pickled ginger and sushi. Tofu and sea
vegetables. Apples and cinnamon.
According to modern nutritional research, most of these food “teams”
taste good together for good reason: Our instinctive ways of pairing
foods in our culinary creations turns out to create nutritional
synergies that can promote better health.
In the case of tomatoes and olive oil, the act of heating the former
in a pan slicked with the latter makes the lycopene and other
antioxidants in the tomato more bioavailable, and the potent
antioxidants in the olive oil make this food combination a one-two
punch against free radical damage in the body. The turmeric that is a
main ingredient in curry powder pairs with the nutrients in
cauliflower to promote better prostate health and resistance against
prostate cancer.
Ginger helps to kill food-borne organisms, making raw fish safer to
eat. Sea vegetables are packed with readily bioavailable minerals that
help counteract the phytates (enzyme inhibitors) in soy that can
reduce mineral absorption. And finally, cinnamon contains compounds
that aid in the fast, efficient metabolism of sugars, helping to
maintain balanced blood sugar and insulin levels.
In other words, cinnamon helps us to eat sweet foods without suffering
the ill effects of blood sugar pinnacles and carb crave-causing blood
sugar crashes. Indeed, if we were to truly make a case for the pairing
of cinnamon with a specific kind of food, we would have to go beyond
the apple and include any food that is rich in natural
sugars—including that nutritional bugaboo, refined white sugar
(sucrose).
The hypoglycemic (blood sugar-lowering) effects of cinnamon were
discovered by accident when food scientists at the USDA (United States
Department of Agriculture) found that eating apple pie had distinctly
undramatic effects on subjects’ blood sugars. Further study revealed
that the cinnamon in the pie was to thank. This modern discovery
brought new attention to a spice that has been celebrated for its
aroma, taste and health benefits for thousands of years.
Traditional Medicinal, Ancient Spice
Cinnamon is the inner bark of an evergreen tree that grows in tropical
climates. More than 50 varieties of cinnamon are cultivated and grow
in the wild. The flavorful bark of the cinnamon tree has historically
been used as an aphrodisiac, circulatory stimulant, carminative
(meaning that it reduces gassiness and bloating), diuretic and
digestive tonic. Today, cinnamon is listed as an herbal medicine for
nausea, indigestion and lack of appetite in its German Commission E
monograph. Herbalists worldwide use it as a treatment for flatulence,
dyspepsia (upset stomach), and intestinal colic (pain), as well as a
remedy for cold hands and feet or cough.
Cinnamon’s active medicinal constituents, found mostly in its oils,
include tannins, coumarins, eugenol, and cinnamaldehyde. Modern
research has focused on its potential uses as an antioxidant,
anti-inflammatory and cancer preventive. Much research has supported
cinnamon’s antimicrobial potential; it slows the growth of fungi,
including candida yeast, and bacteria, including some strains of E.
coli and salmonella.
Cinnamon has garnered the most press, however, with its remarkable
effects on blood sugar and insulin action—effects that highlight the
significant potential of this spice as an aid against type 2 diabetes
and its precursor, metabolic syndrome.
Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome
In 1986, about 30 million people worldwide had diabetes. As of 2006,
that number has ballooned to 230 million. And many millions more have
metabolic syndrome, a conglomeration of symptoms that include insulin
resistance and three or more of the following factors: abdominal
obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL (“good”) cholesterol, high blood
pressure, and high blood sugars.
Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas. It ushers sugars
circulating in the bloodstream into the cells, where they can be
burned for energy. In people who develop type 2 diabetes, the message
of insulin becomes less and less audible to the cells. Insulin knocks,
but the cells do not open the doors to let sugars in. The result is
high blood sugar, which is damaging to the circulatory system. The
pancreas tries to overcome this resistance by pumping out more
insulin. High blood insulin levels are also destructive to the
circulatory system.
If not remedied early on through healthful diet (and hypoglycemic
herbs, such as cinnamon), this chain of events can culminate in type 2
diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, in turn, sets the stage for damage to the
kidneys, eyes and nervous system, as well as raising risk of heart
attack by two to four times over that of a non-diabetic.
It’s uncertain whether high blood pressure, obesity and out-of-balance
blood fats are causes or consequences of insulin resistance and type 2
diabetes. It is well understood, however, that losing weight, eating
more healthfully (less sugar and saturated fat, more fresh, whole
foods and lean protein), and exercising can help move insulin
sensitivity and blood sugar levels back within normal ranges. And
adding plenty of cinnamon to your diet—or taking it in supplement
form—can help a great deal as well.
Cinnamon Attacks Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes on Several Fronts
The evidence in favor of cinnamon as a natural aid to balance blood
sugars and enhance insulin action is strong indeed. The U.S.
government’s research machine is on the aromatic trail of cinnamon,
hoping that this inexpensive and abundant spice will help to combat
the serious worldwide issue of diabetes.
In a study on human subjects with type 2 diabetes, investigators
administered one, three, or six grams per day of cinnamon or a
placebo. (One gram of cinnamon equals about a half a teaspoon.) After
40 days, all of the cinnamon groups showed an 18 to 29 percent
decrease in blood sugars; a 20 to 30 percent decrease in
triglycerides; and a 12 to 26 percent decrease in cholesterol.
A water-soluble polyphenol called MCHP (methylhydroxy chalcone
polymer) has been found to increase the metabolism of glucose 20-fold
in a test tube experiment. Of the approximately 50 plant extracts
tested, no others came close to affecting the metabolism of sugars in
fat cells the way MCHP did. In rats, a water extract of cinnamon
containing MCHP lowered blood pressure. MCHP may actually mimic the
action of insulin in the body.
A study on hypertensive rats divided the animals into two groups. One
group ate a diet supplemented with sucrose (white sugar) and the other
a control diet without added sugar. The animals were given cinnamon,
cinnamon extract, or the mineral chromium. After about four weeks,
animals on either form of cinnamon had significant decreases in
systolic blood pressure (that’s the top number).
Individuals with metabolic syndrome have enhanced inflammation in
their bodies, which is linked with enhanced clotting and increased
risk of heart attack and stroke. Research on cinnamon has found that
one phytochemical found there, cinnamaldehyde, has anti-clotting
effects in the bloodstream, as well as anti-inflammatory actions.
If you are interested in natural ways to control blood sugars, or in
maintaining healthy blood pressure and cholesterol counts, cinnamon is
worth adding to your diet and to your daily supplement plan.
Bringing Out the Best in Cinnamon
New Chapter has created some of the world’s most respected and widely
researched herbal supplements, using organic, pure ginger, saw
palmetto, turmeric, and other herbs that have substantial support in
scientific literature for their health-promoting, healing qualities.
They have perfected supercritical extraction techniques that enable
them to concentrate and standardize herbs’ active constituents without
losing the natural balance that has made most of those herbs trusted
remedies over millennia. Their cinnamon extract,
Cinnamonforce, like
their other products, preserves the nuances and complexity of the
original herb, while ensuring that you receive the full spectrum of
active constituents found to have beneficial effects on your health.
Cinnamonforce is a dual extract, meaning that New Chapter utilizes two
forms of the herb to ensure a full complement of cinnamaldehyde,
antioxidant phenols, and other oil- and water-soluble constituents.
Their products are always additive- and solvent-free.
For more information on Cinnamonforce click here.
REFERENCES
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essential oils from leaves of different provenances of indigenous
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Forrelli, Taryn, “Cinnamon for Spice; Cinnamon for Life.” Forrelli,
Taryn, “Spicing Up Could Lower Blood Pressure,” Decision News Media
SAS, 2006.
Jayaprakasha GK, et al, “Phenolic constituents in the fruits of
Cinnamomum zeylanicum and their antioxidant activity,” J Agric Food
Chem 2006 Mar 8;54(5):1672-9.
Mang B, et al, “Effects of a cinnamon extract on plasma glucose, HbA,
and serum lipids in diabetes mellitus type 2,” Eur J Clin Invest 2006
May;36(5):340-4.
No authors listed, “Cinnamon,” http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/cinnamon.html,
accessed 7/12/06.
Oussalah M, Caillet S, Lacroix M, “Mechanism of action of Spanish
oregano, Chinese cinnamon, and savory essential oils against cell
membranes and walls of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria
monocytogenes,” J Food Prot 2006 May;69(5):1046-55.
Ooi LS, et al, “Antimicrobial Activities of Cinnamon Oil and
Cinnamaldehyde from the Chinese Medicinal Herb Cinnamomum cassia Blume,”
Am J Chin Med 2006;34(3):511-22.
Preuss HG, et al, “Whole cinnamon and aqueous extracts ameliorate
sucrose-induced blood pressure elevations in spontaneously
hypertensive rats,” J Am Coll Nutr. 2006 Apr;25(2):144-50.
Verspohl EJ, Bauer K, Neddermann E, “Antidiabetic effect of Cinnamomum
cassia and Cinnamomum zeylanicum in vivo and in vitro,” Phytother Res
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