Can Cinnamon Help Diabetes And Cholesterol? By Ng Peng Hock At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

A sprinkling of cinnamon might provide you a tasty solution to a difficult health problem. What does this mean? To get the answer, you need to start with apple pie. Scientist in United States tried to find out why apple pie was not as bad on blood sugar as it should be. This in turn led to cinnamon, which was the target of a study conducted in Pakistan.

The study found that Type-2 diabetes who had taken cinnamon daily after meals reduced their blood sugar levels by almost 30 percent. Several risk factors for cardiovascular disease were also improved by between 20 percent and 30 percent.

Only a little cinnamon was necessary. Even 1g of cinnamon (around half a teaspoon) taken every day reduces levels of blood sugar, triglycerides, LDL (bad cholesterol) and total cholesterol. The researchers also found that the beneficial effects of cinnamon could last for at least 20 days after people stopped taking it. Subsequent studies also showed that cinnamon can in fact help manage blood pressure and reduce inflammation in the body.

How can cinnamon help for people with these conditions? The mechanism is simple. Cinnamon essentially improves the way the body handles sugar. When sugar enters the body, insulin is called upon to help manage it. People with diabetes lose the ability to do this effectively, so the body keeps producing more insulin to take care of the problem. Cinnamon helps the body become more sensitive to the insulin that is already there, and in so doing, boosts the mechanism of dealing with sugar by as much as 20 times.

It is easy enough to take. People prepare cinnamon tea, made by soaking a stick in hot water; some adds the powered spice directly to the food. While most people can benefit from a spice like cinnamon, do not take it in very large amount. It is believed that it is toxic if taken in high dose (though no one knows exactly how much). If you are on medication for any of the conditions mentioned, you should not use cinnamon as a substitute. You can add it to your diet but you must monitor your blood sugar, lipid levels or blood pressure levels carefully. People with diabetes should be more careful as cinnamon might intensify the effects of medication.

The risks of sugar apply not only to people with diabetes but also to all of us. Many people suffer from undetected problems with blood sugar control. Sugar-related problems are at the core of many health conditions. For instance, the risk of heart disease goes up with too much sugar in the diet. Irregular menstrual cycles, chronic fatigue, and age-related mental decline are more likely to occur when the body does not properly manage sugar.

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