I’ve found several online studies that suggest cinnamon is a safe and effective way to lower blood sugar–but also other studies that didn’t find it particularly helpful.
Just to test the theory, I bought some organic cinnamon and some vegi-caps from a health food store and made my own cinnamon capsules (about 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon per capsule, or less) and tried taking them at night. (I have impaired fasting glucose and tend to have higher morning glucose.)
It seemed to have some effect. For example, one day when I didn’t take cinnamon at night, my morning reading was 113. That night, I took it before bed, and my morning glucose was 98. Looking back over several weeks, it does seem that most of my blood sugars in the 90s were after taking cinnamon, and most of those without cinnamon were in the low 100s up to about 115.
I asked my endo about this, and she said there didn’t seem to be enough evidence either way. She also said that since my A1c is normal, (in the mid-5s) I shouldn’t worry so much about these fluctuations. But, since I have PCOS and am at high risk for diabetes, I’m trying to keep this condition from developing into full-blown diabetes.
I wouldn’t mind taking cinnamon daily, but I have also read some reports that say most cinnamon sold in the US is cassia, which can be toxic to the liver in high quantities. I don’t know how much is considered too much. I have also seen cinnamon capsules that are water soluble and supposedly safer for the liver; of course, they are also more expensive.
I’m just wondering if anyone else has experimented with cinnamon, and what the effects have been–positive or negative. Would love to hear any personal experiences or pertinent studies!
I’ve also read that it works somewhat for Type 2’s but I tried it myself quite some time ago. I used 3 teaspoons a day on my meals for about 2.5 months. I am a Type 1 and I did not see any noticeable differences in my usual blood checks.
I have read this too but steered clear of it because I am on daily baby aspirin for thinning the blood due to high cholesterol. It seems cinnamon has the same effects and I don’t want to thin the blood too much! When I get my cholesterol levels down to a reasonable level I will consider coming off the aspirin and trying alternatives.
Sophie - I take a cinnamon supplement (I’m Type 1) - I don’t know if it helps me any with insulin absorption - but I take it anyway. Because I take a fish oil supplement (Vitamin E) - I find the cinnamon I take - helps quelch the burpies you can get from the fish “football” sized gel I swallow. My endo is the same as yours - not sure if it helps - but he says my A1C’s are good - so just to keep it up . I was taking garlic capsules for awhile - and he just nodded and said - fine. I guess I should do more research in the future shouldn’t I?
Sue, I take low dose aspirin as well - I didn’t know that cinnamon had the same effect. I guess if it was thinning my blood too much - I’d be bleeding profusely out of my finger tips when I do the vampire stabs?
Ive been taking cinnamon for about 6 months. My doc said the same thing, its unproven but it can’t hurt. Its cheap enough from the company I order from in the US (Bronson), so I just take it anyway. And like Anna said, cinnamon burps are better than fish oil burps! As for great reductions in blood sugar, I havent seen it.
I got a spam email touting a "common household spice" that could work miracles for diabetes. I cautiously clicked through it and ended up watching a long, boring video that ultimately wanted me to buy something but in the end revealed that the spice was cinnamon and pointed to some articles. After having read the articles and browsing a little further, it was clear that there was no conclusive evidence either way. However, I looked up cinnamon on my nutritional supplement supplier and it was pretty cheap so I ordered some. I've been taking two 500 mg capsules each morning for a couple months now and am not seeing any benefit. At this point I'm only continuing to take them every day because I'm too cheap to throw them out.
