Cinnamon to thwart diabetes and heart disease
From Eating Well Magazine
Cinnamon to thwart diabetes and heart disease
On the Spice Trail
Once traded like gold, cinnamon is proving its worth all over again
in the world of medicine and prevention. A new study has linked the
spice to health benefits for people with type 2 diabetes and anyone
vulnerable to heart disease.
Researchers at the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in
Maryland found that when people with type 2 diabetes consumed
between 1/2 teaspoon and 3 teaspoons of cinnamon a day, they
experienced significant improvements in blood glucose (sugar),
triglycerides (fats) and cholesterol after only 40 days.
"When you get diabetes, your risk of cardiovascular disease goes
up two- to fivefold," says Richard Anderson, lead scientist at
the Center. Blood glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol, risk
factors for heart disease, are all controlled by insulin, the
hormone that is jeopardized by diabetes. "Because cinnamon can
improve the functioning of insulin, it works to improve these
three risk factors," Anderson concludes.
"We think it is the polyphenols in the cinnamon that are at work.
Polyphenols are natural products in plants that are used for
protection," Anderson says. In humans they also act as protective
agents.
Even people without diabetes can benefit from the spice. "Typically,
the older we get, the worse our blood glucose profile becomes—but
it doesn’t have to," says Anderson. "If you fortify your body’s
ability to produce and regulate insulin, you decrease your risk
of long-term chronic disease like diabetes and cardiovascular disease."
Anderson himself shakes cinnamon on his morning orange juice every
day. "A lot of people like to brew it with their coffee. And you
can shake it on salads or meats, or on oatmeal, which is already
good for you.
"But you have to think of your whole diet," Anderson warns. "Some
people hear this news and think, `Great! I can eat more apple pie
because of the cinnamon in it.’ But apple pie has a lot of other
ingredients that can be detrimental to your health."
—Allison J. Cleary