Takeaways
- For healthy individuals, the effect of cinnamon is not statistically significant on blood sugar until consumption reaches 6 grams (1.5 teaspoons) per day, where it helps regulate blood glucose to within normal values.
- For prediabetic and diabetic individuals, daily cinnamon consumption of 1-6 grams resulted in a 18-29% decrease in serum glucose levels after 20 days in a placebo-controlled study.
Background and epidemiological theory
Why is insulin sensitivity important?
- Insulin sensitivity refers to how reactive your body is to a spike in glucose. The rate of glucose uptake is dependent on how effectively your body can absorb blood sugar. The more efficient your glucose uptake, the less insulin is required to lower your blood glucose level.
- Insulin resistant people have reduced insulin sensitivity, resulting in the buildup of glucose in the blood since it does not enter the beta-cells as easily. Insulin resistance can lead to diabetes, but a diagnosis does not guarantee you will develop diabetes. Even people with Type 2 Diabetes can increase their insulin sensitivity, which can help reduce the amount of insulin injections you require and potentially allow you to get off medication eventually.
- Although higher insulin sensitivity is generally positive, particularly high insulin sensitivity is generally associated with type 1 diabetes.
- One of the most discussed values of cinnamon has been for regulation of insulin resistance and preprandial blood glucose.
- Cinnamon has been found to mimic some of the biological responses of insulin by activating the insulin receptor kinase, increasing glucose uptake, autophosphorylation of insulin receptors, and glycogen synthase activity.
- The water-soluble components of cinnamon have been found to improve the effectiveness of the insulin signaling pathway by increasing the sensitivity of the insulin receptors to insulin.
- Past research also finds that the cinnamon reduces oxidative stress as well as correcting impaired preprandial glucose after consuming only 500 mg per day for 12 weeks [14].
- Each species of cinnamon has a different chemical content. Chinese cinnamon contains 85-90% cinnamaldehyde, while Ceylon cinnamon contains only 65-70% cinnamaldehyde. Ground cinnamon has also found to be more effective than extract. If available, ground Chinese cinnamon is the most efficient at regulating insulin.
What is the quantitative impact of cinnamon on blood sugar?
For all individuals:
- There was no statistically significant relationship between insulin response after 40 days of participants consuming 1 grams or 3 grams of cinnamon per day.
- We observe that 3-6 grams (0.75 teaspoons to 1.5 teaspoons) of cinnamon per day had a positive impact on blood glucose levels. For participants consuming 6 grams of cinnamon per day, we observe a 4.55% decrease in average blood glucose levels after 20 days and 5.92% decrease after 40 days.
- The difference between the average PrBG measurements was found to be significant in the individuals consuming 6 g of cinnamon per day. The difference between the average PoBG measurements before consumption on days 20 and 40 was significant in the individuals consuming 1 g, 3 g, and 6 g of cinnamon per day.
- We do not observe a statistically significant impact on the hemoglobin level after cinnamon intake.
For individuals with prediabetes, diabetes, or metabolic syndromes:
- For participants who are experiencing disease, placebo-controlled studies are exceptionally important as the psychological impact of a treatment can be exaggerated.
- A placebo-controlled study on 60 volunteer patients over the age of 40, the volunteers were given 1 g, 3 g, and 6 g of ground cinnamon after meals for the first 40 days, and a placebo treatment was administered for the next 20 days. The participants’ serum glucose levels decreased by 18–29%. There was no statistically significant change in the amount of ground cinnamon.
- Patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome experienced an improvement in the preprandial plasma glucose level from 500 mg (¼ tsp) of cinnamon capsule per day [22].
- Meta-analysis found that in all studies demonstrating positive results, Chinese cinnamon was used, and 1-2 grams of ground or extract Chinese cinnamon should be consumed for 1-2 months to observe a statistically significant impact on blood glucose levels.
- The average postprandial (post-meal) blood glucose levels declined by:
Preprandial (before eating) blood glucose (mg/dl) on the typical population
Key Takeaways
- Particularly if you are currently prediabetic or diabetic, research suggests that an intake of 0.75-1.5 teaspoons per day of cinnamon reduces blood sugar.
- Since the water-soluble compounds in cinnamon enhance the effectiveness of the insulin signaling pathway, consider adding cinnamon to your morning coffee or banana.
- If you would like to observe how cinnamon impacts your blood sugar, you can consider investing in a continuous glucose monitor like Dexcom (https://www.dexcom.com/en-us/continuous-glucose-monitoring), which is a minimally-invasive product allowing you to observe the change in your blood sugar.