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Is Cinnamon Good for Diabetes? Read This Before Consuming the Popular Spice
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Cinnamon offers many benefits. It can help manage diabetes by lowering your blood sugar levels. Cinnamon is easily added to your diet in various ways and is readily available from your local supermarket.
Most people with diabetes are treated with medication and insulin injections. However, lowering blood sugar can also be achieved with diet changes. This can be seen in cinnamon, a spice used in both savory and sweet dishes.
Cinnamon has many health benefits, such as managing diabetes and leveling blood sugar levels. Here we talk about cinnamon, how it controls blood sugar, and its effect on diabetes.
Several blood parameters were positively affected when 3 to 6 grams of cinnamon were consumed in a 2019 study. Therefore, taking cinnamon frequently is considered beneficial for our health.
Is Cinnamon Good for Diabetes?
The use of cinnamon as a diabetes treatment alternative is considered to be beneficial. Ceylon cinnamon helped diabetic rats achieve normal insulin levels in one study. In fact, Ceylon cinnamon has potential as a treatment for diabetes.
Activation of insulin-like enzymes is stimulated by Ceylon cinnamon. Reducing insulin resistance improves health. As a result, glucose is metabolized more efficiently in the liver.
The use of Ceylon cinnamon as an alternative to synthetic insulin therapy is promising. As an insulin stabilizer, cinnamon should be taken at a dose of 120 milligrams (mg) per day for best results.
Does Cinnamon Lower Blood Pressure?
Patients with uncontrolled hypertension were found to lose weight and reduce their blood pressure when consuming cinnamon. This spice is also keto-friendly.
Cinnamic acid is present in all cinnamon varieties. It reduces inflammation. As a result of the anti-inflammatory properties, it promotes blood flow through it, reducing heart pressure.
Researchers have been studying Ceylon cinnamon since and found that Ceylon cinnamon can lower blood pressure. Often, heart disease results from weakened hearts caused by cardiovascular problems. Healthy heart function is supported by Ceylon cinnamon.
Glycemic Index of Cinnamon
Cinnamon has a glycemic index of 5 (GI), categorizing spice as a low GI food. This means it has little to no significant impact on the blood sugar levels or inflammatory indicators in those with diabetes.
Foods with a low GI have a minimal impact on your body – they increase the glucose in the blood very slowly. COnversely, foods with a higher GI increase the blood glucose levels in the blood quickly, creating a spike.
For those with diabetes, eating foods that are higher on the glycemic index make it more challenging to control their diabetes.
How to Take Cinnamon for Diabetes?
There are a few ways to include cinnamon in your daily meals to help with diabetes. Here are some of the best:
Oatmeal with cinnamon
Adding cinnamon powder to oatmeal will enhance its nutritional value. You don’t have to add sugar or honey; cinnamon will sweeten your fruit and cereal bowl.
You just need to sprinkle the cinnamon over your oatmeal and stir it through. Cinnamon is also great with oats to break a fast.
Cinnamon infused water
Cinnamon can be consumed in infused water when it comes to reducing diabetes symptoms. First, a 2-inch piece of cinnamon bark should be soaked in a glass of water. Then, let it sit overnight and drink it on an empty stomach in the morning.
Cinnamon instead of sugar
Due to its mild sweetness, cinnamon is a healthy alternative to sugar and can be used in cake and pie recipes. Add it to your coffee or mix it through your smoothie to help lower blood sugar.
Drink cinnamon coffee or tea
You can use cinnamon powder to spice up tea or mix it into the coffee. Cinnamon’s distinctive taste, combined with its numerous health benefits, will elevate any hot beverage.
Please note: Cinnamon should not be eaten on its own since it will be unpleasant at best. Cinnamon can also be life-threatening as it presents a choking hazard due to its fine texture.
How Much Cinnamon to Take Daily to Lower Blood Sugar?
Although cinnamon has huge benefits for lowering blood sugar, the amount you should take per day is debatable.
However, studies show that 1 to 6 grams of Ceylon cinnamon taken daily can reduce blood sugar, total cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol in those with type 2 diabetes.
The effects were the same regardless of whether you take 1 or 6 grams, but this is the guideline for the amount that needs to be consumed to have an effect (1 gram) and when you may experience side effects (more than 6 grams).
It is important to note that Cassia cinnamon is much more potent than Ceylon cinnamon, and the amount should be limited to between 0.5 to 1 gram daily.
You can buy cinnamon supplements that have been adjusted to the right amount.
5 Amazing Benefits of Cinnamon for Diabetes
#1 Anti-inflammatory
Inflammation plays a crucial role in the body. Infections are fought, and tissue damage is repaired with it. Chronic inflammation, however, can cause problems when it affects your tissues. It might be helpful to use cinnamon in this case. This spice has strong anti-inflammatory properties.
#2 Lower blood glucose
Cinnamon may have two potential benefits for blood sugar levels. As a first step, the substance acts as an insulin-like agent within the body, stimulating cells to eliminate glucose. Another way is to increase the activity of glucose-transporting proteins.
#3 Improve cholesterol
In several studies, cinnamon is effective against type 2 diabetes patients in lowering cholesterol and triglycerides. In addition, cinnamon supplementation was found to be beneficial for lipid levels.
Cinnamon significantly lowered the total cholesterol along with triglyceride and LDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol levels, however, did not seem to drop very well.
#4 Boost metabolism
It is known that cinnamon boosts metabolism since it requires more energy for the body to break down and process.
As a result of its insulin-like action, cinnamon may affect the body just how insulin affects sugar metabolism. So, in addition to improving body metabolism, cinnamon extract can also reduce belly fat.
#5 Weight management
There are multiple ways in which cinnamon can help you lose weight. One of its major benefits is that it is well known for being an antidiabetic spice.
By lowering and maintaining blood sugar levels, it can help reduce diabetes. In addition, it improves the efficiency of the insulin hormone in transporting glucose from the blood into the cells for energy.
It also slows the digestive enzymes and their activities. This means the absorption of sugar from your blood will be slower after a high-carb meal. Cinnamon has also been shown to promote weight loss and control diabetes.
FAQs
Yes, cinnamon has the potential to lower your sugar levels. It is different for everyone. Some may get a big drop and others may have a slight drop in levels. You may need to play around with how much you are using as long as it is within safe levels and your doctor has approved. It can take a few weeks for the results to be seen.
People with type 2 diabetes can reduce their cholesterol and fasting blood sugar by taking one gram of cassia cinnamon supplements daily for 4-18 weeks.
Cinnamon contains 2.2 grams of sugar per 100g. Each 100g of cinnamon contains 247 calories. The macronutrient composition of cinnamon is similar to brown sugar, with more protein and fewer carbs.
People taking cassia Cinnamon and Metformin or other diabetes medications have reported drug interactions. For example, women experience pain in the extremities, and men experience fatigue. Other people have reported no interactions.
If you plan to take these two together, consult your doctor to ensure they are safe. The doctor will take your health, medication, and your current condition into account.
A Word From a Nutritionist
Cassia Cinnamon has been well studied for its ability to lower blood sugar levels. The amount of consumption recommended to lower blood glucose levels and avoid potential risks has not been reached despite this.
1–6 grams of the powder have typically been used as a supplement or as a food additive in studies. Cinnamon can improve blood sugar control when taken as supplements or added to meals. However, Ceylon would be a better choice than Cassia.
Ceylon cinnamon supplements have a greater amount of antioxidants than other cinnamons. However, it also has lower coumarin, which can damage the liver over time in higher doses. Therefore, you might not see results right away. If you are going to have any results, they will happen within 3 months.
When it comes to clinical nutrition people with diabetes should always consult with your doctor before going ahead and talking about cinnamon as a treatment for diabetes mellitus.
If you have any diabetes symptoms, you need to speak to your doctor asap. You can also reach out to the American diabetes association for advice about what symptoms to keep an eye out for.
Conclusion
The evidence for cinnamon’s effectiveness and its clinical nutrition as a diabetes-control agent is growing — and it may even prevent diabetes from developing.
It is important to remember that cinnamon is an excellent addition to your pantry. It adds flavor to foods while being low in calories and high in antioxidants, which may help with diabetes mellitus control. However, don’t expect blood sugar results overnight.
It may take a few weeks for changes to be noticed. Cinnamon consumption should be monitored and avoid taking more cinnamon supplements that are recommended.
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