Study Shows that Consuming Cinnamon Can Help Stabilize Blood Sugar

Adding as little as six grams (a little over a teaspoon) of cinnamon to deserts can lower blood glucose, according to a study published in the June issues of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Previous research has demonstrated that daily doses of 1 to 6 grams of cinnamon over the course of 40 days can reduce blood glucose and cholesterol in patients with type II diabetes.  

In the new study, Joanna Hlebowicz, Gassan Derwiche, Ola Bjorgell, and Lars-Olof Almer measured the effects of cinnamon on post-meal blood sugar in 14 healthy volunteers at a hospital in Sweden. Subjects were tested twice, once after consuming rice pudding plain and once after consuming the same amount of rice pudding with 6g of cinnamon added. Their blood sugar was measured before consumption and six times over the two hours following their meals. The post-meal surge in blood sugar was lower after the volunteers consumed a dessert with cinnamon than it was after they ate the dessert without cinnamon.

Additional papers referenced by the authors of the new study suggest that cinnamon lowers blood sugar by stimulating insulin receptors on body cells. Insulin is responsible for stimulating cells in the body to take up glucose from the blood. By making cells more sensitive to insulin, cinnamon increases the amount of glucose removed from the blood. Other spices, such as oregano, nutmeg, and cloves, as well as black and green teas, have been shown to also have an insulin-like activity, but the mechanism through which they impact glucose levels is unclear, and they do not appear to be as effective as cinnamon at lowering blood glucose.

The new study is of particular interest to those affected by type II diabetes, which is either caused by an inability of body cells to properly respond to insulin, a situation known as insulin resistance, or by insufficient production of insulin. In either event, cells do not receive as much food (in the form of glucose) as they need, and the buildup of glucose (known as hyperglycemia) can lead to complications such as kidney failure, nerve damage, and blindness.