Cinnamonforce for Healthy Blood
Sugar and Weight Loss
by Ken Babal
C.N. - Healthy Living Article
 The
appeal of cinnamon can’t be denied. Its aroma evokes pleasant thoughts
of oatmeal, apple pie and other comfort foods spiced with cinnamon.
And that’s not all it spices. A study to determine which scents caused
sexual arousal in men found that the smell of cinnamon buns had more
of an effect than any other odor!
Cinnamon has numerous beneficial properties. It’s
warming and stimulating; it increases vitality, promotes metabolism
and circulation, and supports digestive function.
Before it was used in the kitchen, cinnamon was a
medicine, and references to the spice can be found in Chinese medical
texts dating back nearly 5,000 years. Eastern and Western cultures
consider it a remedy for appetite loss, bronchitis, colds, cough,
fever, indigestion, sore throat and tendency to infection. In Germany,
where herbal medicines are officially reviewed and authorized,
cinnamon is approved for loss of appetite and digestive disturbances,
such as mild gastrointestinal spasms, bloating and gas. More
important, recent scientific studies have found that cinnamon
decreases high blood sugar levels and may reduce the risk of diabetes
and obesity.
Diabetes and Syndrome X
It may be no coincidence that cinnamon pairs so
nicely with sugar in recipes. Laboratory experiments indicate that
cinnamon’s potency helps the body make better use of insulin, the
hormone that lowers blood sugar, by facilitating its entry into muscle
cells for energy use. A constituent of the spice, called methyl
hydroxy chalcone polymer (MHCP, and contained in
Cinnamonforce from New Chapter), mimics insulin by activating
insulin receptors on cells, increasing glucose metabolism by
approximately 20 times. Cinnamon’s insulin-like properties were
discovered by United States Department of Agriculture scientists
completely by accident. Investigators were looking at the effects of
common foods on blood sugar. One was apple pie spiced with cinnamon.
They expected the pie to be bad, but it helped! Fortunately,
cinnamon’s insulin action is quite effective for diabetes.
In the U.S., there are over 20 million people with
diabetes, equal to 7 percent of the population. An additional 60
million, or about 1 in 4 Americans, are said to have a pre-diabetic
condition called metabolic syndrome or syndrome X.
Syndrome X is a cluster of symptoms including high
triglycerides, low HDLs, high blood pressure and abdominal obesity
that increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and other
life-threatening diseases. Some doctors make the diagnosis if the
patient has two or more of the symptoms.
The chief underlying cause of syndrome X is insulin
resistance, a condition in which cells lose their sensitivity to
insulin. It develops gradually over years due to excessive sugar
intake and constant stimulation of insulin. As it worsens, both
insulin and glucose levels rise and remain high.
Cinnamon to the Rescue
Studies suggest that cinnamon may be the herb of
choice for improving insulin resistance and managing type 2 diabetes.
In one study, diabetic patients were given one, three or six grams of
cinnamon. After 40 days, no matter which amount they got, their
fasting blood sugar levels were 25 percent lower than those of a
similar placebo group. In addition, their triglyceride, total
cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels came down. No such changes were
seen in those who received the placebo. Study authors concluded that
compounds present in cinnamon may have beneficial effects on glucose,
insulin and blood lipids, and may be beneficial for the prevention and
treatment of diabetes.
In a recent German study, cinnamon improved blood
glucose levels in type 2 diabetics, adding to the growing body of
science linking the spice to improvements in diabetics. In the new
study, 79 overweight diabetic patients (average age 63) were randomly
assigned to receive either cinnamon capsules or an identical-looking
placebo. The subjects were not receiving insulin therapy but were
controlling their disease by oral medication or diet.
After four months, researchers found that fasting
glucose levels improved by over 10 percent for the group supplementing
with cinnamon. No significant difference was observed in the placebo
group. The lead author of the study concluded, “The positive
correlation between baseline plasma glucose and the decrease of plasma
glucose in our study…suggest that subjects with poor glycemic control
may benefit more from cinnamon intake.”
Cinnamon for Weight Loss
Obesity is a common result of insulin resistance,
and an obese person with an elevated insulin level has a hard time
losing weight. The hormone sends a message to fat cells to store
incoming fat and sugar. Thus, blood sugar control is a critical factor
for achieving a healthy weight.
A placebo-controlled, double-blind study of
pre-diabetic men and women found that cinnamon supplementation
produced statistically significant increases in lean body mass and a
reduction in overall body fat. Moreover, participants didn’t change
their usual levels of physical activity or dietary patterns throughout
the course of the study.
More Benefits
Cinnamon has been used as a food preservative since
ancient times, and research does confirm that it has powerful
antimicrobial properties. The spice even proved effective against E.
coli, killing 99.5 percent of the bacteria in a sample of apple juice
in three days. If it can knock out one of the most virulent food-borne
microorganisms, it probably will kill other common bacteria such as
salmonella. Cinnamon is also antifungal and is found in preparations
that treat athlete’s foot.
Cinnamon is a powerful antioxidant and more
effective in scavenging free radicals than most any other analyzed
spices and is comparable or superior in activity to synthetic
antioxidants. Animal studies with antioxidant-rich foods have
demonstrated a protective effect against age-related diseases,
suggesting they may reduce the risk of cancer, atherosclerosis and
Alzheimer’s disease. A Japanese study found that chromosome damage was
suppressed when cinnamaldehyde, a fat-soluble antioxidant in the
spice, was given orally after X-ray irradiation. Also, a cinnamon
extract significantly enhanced the rate of wound healing of punctures
and incisions of the skin. The combinations of active principles in
the spice exert a synergistic effect of inhibiting inflammatory
compounds.
Choosing a Cinnamon Supplement
 Along
with a healthy diet and lifestyle, supplementing with cinnamon
supports normal blood sugar metabolism. Since there are no optimal
drug treatments for diabetes, dietary measures are all the more
important. Also, by maintaining proper blood sugar and insulin levels,
cellular energy is improved, blood lipids are controlled, and weight
is much easier to manage.
Cinnamonforce by New Chapter is the world’s only dual extract of
cinnamon available in a capsule—and this is important to impart the
full phytochemical force of cinnamon, including both the water- and
fat-soluble portions. (New Chapter is also a Green Patriot™ Green 100™
company whose mission is to build a safe and secure future through
environmental actions.)
The New Chapter company is always a leader.
Cinnamonforce combines the full spectrum or complements of two
species of organic cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum and Cinnamomum
aromaticum); importantly, each has slightly different phytochemical
profiles and work synergistically.
Their advanced supercritical extraction process,
which does not use chemical solvents and only carbon dioxide, yields a
superior product that is highly concentrated. What you wind up with is
an extremely broad, bold representation of the herb’s precious
phytochemical complexity. What we don’t want is a “drug.” New Chapter
does not isolate out single ingredients or spike their extracts with
synthesized additives.
The supercritical extraction process provides both
water- and fat-soluble components. The fat-soluble portion of cinnamon
delivers cinnamaldehyde, a phytochemical that possesses antioxidant
and anti-inflammatory properties. The water portion provides
antioxidant phenolics. A serving of
Cinnamonforce (two capsules) is the equivalent of one gram or
about a half-teaspoon of whole cinnamon. Cinnamonforce, you might say,
is the whole spice and nothing but the whole spice. So with one
purchase of powerful, potent Cinnamonforce, you can do something great
for your waistline, blood sugar—and also for your country
The statements contained in this article have not
been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information
contained here is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent
any disease. Suggestions and ideas presented in this article are for
information only and should not be interpreted as medical advice,
meant for diagnosing illness, or for prescriptive purposes. Readers
are encouraged to consult their health care provider before beginning
any cleanse, diet, detoxification program, or any supplement regimen.
The information in this document is not to be used to replace the
services or instructions of a physician or qualified health care
practitioner.
Biography:
Ken Babal has a nutrition counseling practice in Los Angeles and is
author of Good Digestion: Your Key to Vibrant Health (Alive Books,
2000) and Syndrome X and SX-Fraction (Woodland Publishing, 2003). |
