Interesting discussion. Bottom line - I would not expect miracles with cinnamon, and would not take it in supplement form, but it is great in food and drinks. More recently, there has been a flurry of interest in the effects of cinnamon on blood glucose levels. A number of scientific papers have looked more closely at these effects, but the conclusions are mixed at best. Some studies showed that cinnamon lowered fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, and LDL (bad) cholesterol. Other studies showed no effect on insulin sensitivity, blood glucose levels, or cholesterol. This serves to illustrate one of the classic problems with the widespread interest in natural or herbal remedies in treating human diseases. First, there are several different sources of cinnamon. Cinnamon can be derived from the bark of several species of cinnamon trees or from their leaves; there are a variety of processes used to extract and to refine these products as well. Cinnamon comes from various countries, and is grown in different climates and at different altitudes, all of which can affect the content of the active compounds. Most natural sources of cinnamon are from Asia, including China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. Thus, when one purchases cinnamon, there is no international standard for the content of active ingredients that may have effects on blood glucose or cholesterol. Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the content of active ingredients in any of the many herbal products sold in the United States.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 03:35:05 +0000
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