Why Cinnamon for Diabetes Treatment is Among Most Simple, Effective Solutions

Anthony Gucciardi
Natural Society

Elizabeth Renter
NaturalSociety
August 5, 2012

Cinnamon is indeed a powerful, health-boosting food. It’s been used for centuries in holistic medicines—for everything from the common cold to stomach disturbances. But more recent research shows that cinnamon health benefits aren’t merely restricted to protecting against the cold – cinnamon for diabetes treatment may actually be one of the most simple and effective of diabetes solutions.

Why Everyone Should Consider Using Cinnamon for Protection Against Diabetes

For a study, which was published in the Journal of Diabetic Medicine, a group of adults diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes were split into two different groups. The first group was given your run-of-the-mill insulin controlling pharmaceuticals, while the other group was given two grams of cinnamon every day. What the researchers found 12 weeks later was remarkable, to say the least.

The group who was given drugs from Big Pharma didn’t measure up to the cinnamon group. Those on the daily regimen of cinnamon experienced lower fasting glucose (blood sugar) levels than the other group and showed reduced body fat overall.

A British review of eight different studies also showed why everyone should be using cinnamon for diabetes, finding that every study agreed on cinnamon’s effectiveness in reducing fasting blood sugar levels and reducing blood sugar after a meal.

Another study, this one from the United States, found that 22 subjects monitored for blood sugar and body fat experienced positive results in both areas when supplementing with cinnamon. Cinnamon actually showed benefits in reducing overall body fat and increasing lean muscle mass.

How Cinnamon for Diabetes Treatment Works

Here is how cinnamon can positively affect your metabolism and help with diabetes:

• Cinnamon improves the sensitivity of insulin by slowing the emptying of your stomach following meals.

• Cinnamon enhances your antioxidant defenses. According to a study published in 2009, “Polyphenols from cinnamon could be of special interest in people who are overweight with impaired fasting glucose since they might act as both insulin sensitizers and antioxidants.”

• Glucose metabolism can be increased nearly 20-fold thanks to cinnamon. This increase greatly improves blood sugar regulation.

• Cinnamon acts as an insulin substitute and possesses “insulin-like effects” due to a bioactive compound.

• Proanthocyanidin, a bioflavonoid in cinnamon, could alter insulin-signaling activity in your fat cells.

As reported by us in the past, cinnamon has a wealth of other health benefits. Other benefits of cinnamon include:

• Reducing bad cholesterol
• Promoting cardiovascular health
• Preventing heart disease
• Treating arthritis
• Alleviating menstrual pain
• Reducing inflammation

Add a stick to your tea or sprinkle some ground cinnamon on your toast, oatmeal, or sweet potatoes. It’s a versatile spice with a variety of worthwhile benefits.

Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle disease; it is something you are diagnosed with after failing to take care of yourself. Time and time again, however, people have shown that this disease is treatable and even reversible through proper diet and fitness, as studies have shown that simple spices like cinnamon for diabetes control can be used. While cinnamon is just another valuable tool to help control diabetes, there has also been a connection made between turmeric and diabetes, as well as magnesium, foods rich in vitamin K, and oil from wild almond trees known as sterculia foetida.

Additional Sources:

Mercola