Off-Topic: Cinnamon Helps Treat Diabetes

[Guest guest]

(Also, this is another example of research into a substance that

can't make big companies a lot of money...Yet this research DID take

place! What happened to the 'medical/pharmaceutical conspiracy'?)

A Spoonful of Cinnamon Helps Treat Diabetes

Thu Dec 11, 4:22 PM ET Add Health - Reuters to My

By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with diabetes can help keep their

bodies healthy by simply adding a dash of spice to their diet, new

research reports.

In a study, diabetics (news - web sites) who incorporated one gram --

equivalent to less than one-quarter teaspoon -- of cinnamon per day

for 40 days into their normal diets experienced a decrease in levels

of blood sugar, cholesterol and blood fats.

And for people with diabetes, the less of those substances in the

body, the better.

Type 2 diabetes arises when the body loses sensitivity to insulin, a

hormone that shuttles the sugars from food into body cells to be used

for energy. As a result, the amount of sugar, or glucose, in the

blood remains high, leading to fatigue and blurred vision. Over the

long term, excess blood glucose can increase the risk of heart

disease, kidney failure and blindness.

The current findings suggest that a small amount of cinnamon can help

protect diabetics from these and other potential complications of

their condition, study author Dr. A. of the

Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in land told Reuters

Health.

Diabetics could add a dash of cinnamon to their morning servings of

coffee, orange juice or cereal, noted. " You can also make a

cinnamon tea by simply boiling water with stick cinnamon, " he

suggested.

noted that cinnamon may also help stave off the onset of

type 2 diabetes in people at risk of the condition.

He added that cinnamon contains some substances that can be toxic in

high amounts, so people should be sure not to get too much of a good

thing. " Certainly, a gram per day is not a high amount, " he

reassured.

During the study, and his colleagues asked 60 people with

type 2 diabetes to consume 1, 3, or 6 grams of cinnamon each day for

40 days, or the equivalent amount of wheat flour, as a placebo. Both

the cinnamon and wheat flour were administered in capsule form.

Reporting in the journal Diabetes Care, and his team found

that all cinnamon-takers experienced a drop in blood levels of

glucose, fats and cholesterol by up to 30 percent. No change was seen

in the people taking placebo capsules.

explained that cinnamon contains compounds that help make

insulin more efficient, improving the hormone's ability to bring

glucose to the cells that need it.

As an added bonus, cinnamon contains virtually no calories,

said, allowing diabetics to add zest to their meals without adding to

their waistlines.

Cinnamon contains less than 3 calories per gram, " negligible in the

total dietary intake, " said.

Previous research has shown that cinnamon appears to help fat cells

recognize and respond to insulin. In test tube and in animal studies,

the spice increased glucose metabolism by about 20 times.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, December 2003.