Cinnamon and Diabetes - What's the Story?

Cinnamon and diabetes? What do people say here? After all, cinnamon is a delicious spice we add to apple pie, cinnamon bread, cider and other treats, but what does it have to do with lowering blood sugar?

It turns out that cinnamon (minus the many sugars called dessert recipes) can have a pretty good effect on your blood sugar and blood lipids. "Bad" blood fat is a dangerous fat that many people with type 2 diabetes also need to watch, like triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, which is part of your total cholesterol level.

Let's dig into some specifics. A study published in a leading journal of diabetes reports that consuming 1, 3, or 6 grams of cinnamon daily (of which 3 grams is about ½ teaspoon) can help improve laboratory tests for type 2 diabetes patients. effects by causing cells to take glucose from the blood and have an effect on insulin receptors as well.

Of course to benefit from this spice, you need to find a way to use it without adding sugar. One way is to sprinkle it into the traditional oats you make at home. Regular oatmeal cereals can take a while to prepare more than instant oats, but they have a better glycemic index and nutritional value for you. You can also get it in a capsule to take, though it really tastes good enough to enjoy the food. If you must use sweeteners to make something like wheat cinnamon toast, use a granulated stevia product with cinnamon for example.

There is another good news about the benefits of cinnamon on blood sugar. The effect can last up to 20 days after stopping the spice, indicating that you may be able to skip the day without losing the desired effect on your system. At relatively low doses used in research studies, most people seem to tolerate cinnamon very well, with no significant side effects. Like most natural food-based products, the major risk is allergic reactions. So you only need to know in your specific situation if you are tolerant of cinnamon and can take it regularly.

Like most natural supplements and medications for diabetes, no one is likely to take you back to normal health. In fact, the combination of drugs and strategies, along with the low carb diet discussed elsewhere, can make a big difference in how you do it.

This point translates into the usual important advice to talk to your doctor or healthcare provider before trying this or any other natural supplement. Never stop prescription drugs. However, if it helps, cinnamon can finally make it work, working with your doctor, to lower the amount of medication you need to get blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol levels appropriate for your health. Anything you can do to reduce your medication needs will help you reduce the risk of side effects over time.

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