Spicy Cinnamon Supports Good Health

References

Beyond its role in cooking, cinnamon may help regulate blood sugar, support the heart and fight free radicals.

The use of cinnamon for health is not new. In fact, cinnamon bark has been used for several thousand years in traditional Eastern and Western systems of medicine, for such purposes as anorexia, bloating, dyspepsia with nausea, flatulent colic, and spastic conditions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.¹ Cinnamon also has a history of traditional use in Korea, China and Russia for treating people with diabetes.² These beneficial effects have been attributed to its volatile oils (such as eugenol and cinnamaldehyde), as well as its phenolic compounds such as polyphenol type-A polymers.³

In addition to traditional use, modern research has demonstrated a number of benefits resulting from cinnamon supplementation. These include improvements in blood sugar for Type 2 diabetics, improvements in body composition (e.g., increased lean mass), improvements in cardiovascular parameters, and substantial antioxidant properties.

One of the recent studies involved subjects with Type 2 diabetes who took 1 g/d, 3 g/d or 6 g/d of cinnamon extract (as Cinnulin PF®, from Integrity Nutraceuticals).⁴ Researchers found 40 days of supplementation lowered fasting blood sugar by 18 to 29 percent. The highest dose produced the most rapid response; however, the lowest dose produced the most sustained response over the course of the study. In addition, supplementation for 60 days caused significant drops in triglycerides (23 to 30 percent), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (7 to 27 percent) and total cholesterol (12 percent to 26 percent).

A more recent placebo-controlled, double blind study was conducted on 79 patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.⁵ Subjects were given 336 mg/d of a water-soluble cinnamon extract (as Cinnulin PF), corresponding to 3 g of cinnamon powder, or a placebo for four months. Those using the cinnamon experienced a significant 10.3 percent reduction in fasting blood sugar, compared to a non-significant 3.4 percent reduction in the placebo group.

Studies in non-diabetics have also proven promising. In a placebo-controlled, double blind study involving 21 adults with metabolic syndrome (i.e., prediabetes), researchers administered 500 mg/d water-soluble cinnamon extract, or placebo for 12 weeks.⁶ Among those given the cinnamon extract, 83 percent experienced a significant decrease (about 8 percent) in fasting blood sugar; only 33 percent in the placebo group experienced a decrease.

The subjects taking the cinnamon extract also experienced a significant alteration in body composition, with body fat decreasing by 0.7 percent and muscle mass increasing by 1.1 percent, with no alterations in the subjects’ diet or physical activity. In addition, the researchers reported subjects taking cinnamon had a 3.8 percent reduction in systolic blood pressure. This finding is similar to that from a previous animal study in spontaneously hypertensive rats.⁷

Cinnamon’s polyphenols are potent antioxidants, which could help to reduce oxidative damage caused by free radicals.8 One unpublished study, supported by Integrity Nutraceuticals, provided 21 obese, prediabetic subjects with Cinnulin PF or placebo and assessed antioxidant status and oxidative damage. Those who received the cinnamon experienced a 14-percent reduction in markers of oxidative damage, as well as an increase in markers of total antioxidant capacity.

The American Herbal Products Association’s (AHPA) Botanical Safety Handbook considers cinnamon to be safe for oral supplementation when used appropriately.9 Cinnamon is GRAS (generally recognized as safe); however, AHPA suggests pregnant women not exceed dosages commonly found in foods.

References

1. Blumenthal M, Goldberg A, Brinckmann J (eds). Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E Monographs. Newton, MA: Integrative Medicine Communications; 2000.

2. Kim SH, Hyun SH, Choung SY. “Anti-diabetic effect of cinnamon extract on blood glucose in db/db mice.” J Ethnopharmacol. 104:119-123, 2006.

3. Blumenthal M, Goldberg A, Brinckmann J (eds). Op cit.

4. Khan A et al. “Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes.” Diabetes Care. 26:3215-8, 2003.

5. 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. 36:340-44, 2006.

6. Ziegenfuss TN et al. “Effects of a Water-Soluble Cinnamon Extract on Body Composition and Features of the Metabolic Syndrome in Pre-Diabetic Men and Women.” J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 3(2):45-53, 2006.

7. Preuss HG et al. “Whole Cinnamon and Aqueous Extracts Ameliorate Sucrose-Induced Blood Pressure Elevations in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.” J Am Coll Nutr. 25(2):144-150, 2006.

8. Shobana S, Naidu KA. “Antioxidant activity of selected Indian spices.” Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 62(2):107-110, 2000.

9. McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, Goldberg A (eds). American Herbal Products Association’s Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, LLC 1997.

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