Dietary cinnamon intakes

Dietary cinnamon for people with type 2 diabetes

There are a lot of people who are not aware that cinnamon supplementation is studied in patients who suffer from type 2 diabetes. On this topic, three clinical trials were identified. The first two were prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, peer-reviewed trial. The third one was a prospective, placebo-controlled and peer-reviewed trial.

The first study

In the first study, which was published in 2003, the goal was to see what effects Cinnamomum cassia powder has on fasting blood glucose, triglyceride and total cholesterol levels in people who suffer from type 2 diabetes. 30 men and 30 women were split into 6 groups. The first group received cinnamon 1 g per day, which is a capsule of 500 mg for either dinner or lunch. The second group received 3 g of cinnamon every day and the third group received 6 g of cinnamon, which are four 500 mg capsules. Groups 4, 5 and 6 were given placebo capsules corresponding to the capsules given to the first three groups. This study lasted for 40 days and then it was followed by 20 days of washout period. The levels of mean baseline fasting glucose ranged between 205.2 and 300.6 mg/dl. The patients in the study needed to continue with their regular diet. Those who received insulin were excluded from the study. Every person needed to give blood samples on the zero day and then on the 20th, 40th and 60th day of the study. On the 40th day, there was significant decrease in serum glucose levels with patients in groups one, two and three. Apart from the group that received 6 g per day, no other group show any sign of significant reduction in serum glucose levels on the 20th day. After the washout after the study that lasted for 20 days, all patients in the first three groups showed significant rise of glucose levels. Overall, the reduction of fasting glucose levels ranged between 18 and 29%. The good thing is that not even one patient experienced any adverse effects. The people who monitored the study reported that it is safe to intake dietary cinnamon in order to decrease the levels of fasting glucose levels in patients who suffered from type 2 diabetes.

However, before coming up with any conclusions, people need to know that the test subjects were Pakistani patients with poorly controlled diabetes. Further, the study group included only 60 patients which are not considered to be a large group. In addition to this, there was no standardization of nutritional differences.