Lack of support for cinnamon to treat diabetes
Two studies have concluded that cinnamon supplementation does not improve diabetes control in postmenopausal patients with type 2 diabetes.
One can be found here, but here’s the more interesting study.
Patients with type 2 diabetes treated with diet or medicine (not insulin) took either a cinnamon extract or a placebo capsule 3 times a day for 4 months.
- Taking cinnamon was associated with better fasting blood sugar levels compared to placebo.
- But there was no difference in A1c between treatments.
The bottom line?
The lack of change in A1c is the key. It takes about 3 months for any diabetes treatment to improve A1c. This is because A1c is a measure of the average blood sugar levels over the long-term. There are only 2 reasons why there was no change in A1c in this study. Either cinnamon was not effective at the dose given, or the patients were not taking it as directed.
I’d bet the former.
Good reviews of A1c are here and here.
10/26/06 23:12 JR
