December 2012
A randomized, double-blinded clinical study published in Nutrition Research in June 2012 reports that cinnamon extract improves blood sugar control in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Currently, 25.8 million Americans have diabetes, and another 79 million have pre-diabetes and are at-risk for developing the disease.
Sixty-six Chinese subjects with type 2 diabetes received 120 mg per day of cinnamon extract, 360 mg per day of cinnamon extract or a placebo for three months. All subjects also received the oral hypoglycemic drug gliclazide daily. The investigators evaluated fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1c to assess long-term blood sugar control, lipids and liver enzymes.
The researchers determined that fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c were significantly reduced in both the high- and low-dose cinnamon groups, while no change was seen in the placebo group. The low-dose cinnamon group also demonstrated a significant decrease in serum triglycerides. No change was found in total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and liver transaminase.
The study authors stated, “In conclusion, our study indicates that cinnamon supplementation is able to significantly improve blood glucose control in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes.”
Reference:
Lu T, et al. Nutr Res. 2012;6:408-12.
Source: Cinnamon Enhanced Blood Sugar Control in Type 2 Diabetes
