What Diabetics Should Know About Cinnamon

Everyone knows that cinnamon is a tasty spice that can be added to many dishes that come out of your kitchen, but how many people know that cinnamon has been proven to lower blood sugar?

The discovery of cinnamon's blood sugar benefits was made by accident, and stemmed from an unexpected result in tests on a different food, apple pie. Richard Anderson of the Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center made the discovery. Richard and his team were testing common foods to research the foods effect on blood sugar, and when they tested apple pie, expecting it to have a bad result on blood sugar, it actually helped. The apple pie, as many apple pies are, was spiced with a healthy dose of cinnamon. With further testing, the researchers discovered MHCP as cinnamon's active ingredient. MHCP is a water-soluble polyphenol compound that imitates insulin within the human body.

The next step was to test the theory on human subjects. People with Type 2 Diabetes who volunteered for the study were given cinnamon capsules of one, three or six grams after meals daily. Within weeks, all of the subjects receiving the cinnamon doses saw their blood sugar levels drop to twenty percent lower than that of the control group which was not given cinnamon. When the diabetic subjects stopped taking the cinnamon capsules, their blood sugar levels began to climb.

This discovery is not just good for diabetics though. Keeping blood sugar in check is a wise thing for everyone to do. Millions of people all over the world are affected by blood sugar problems and have no idea. With the obesity levels in the United States, there are millions of diabetics in waiting. Helping regulate blood sugar now can serve as a preventative measure to keep diabetes away.

It doesn't take much. A half a teaspoon of powdered cinnamon daily is all that it takes, and cinnamon can be added to many common foods. Cinnamon toast for breakfast, or putting a shake of cinnamon on your coffee grounds before brewing is an excellent and simple way to get the recommended dosage each day. Cinnamon oils won't do the trick. In studies, oil had no effect on blood sugar.

After the publishing of the study on cinnamon last year, Anderson's team has been busy testing cinnamon doses in the United States, to find out if lower doses of the spice have the same effect. When the experiment ends, the group of researchers will turn to the use of cinnamon in long-term blood sugar management. It's possible that diabetics will soon have another choice in handling their blood sugar besides insulin.