Cinnamon may be helpful in lowering blood sugar levels

As Mary Poppins will tell you, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. But I can top that: It appears that less than a spoonful of cinnamon may help some type 2 diabetics avoid medication altogether.

An HSI member who goes by “doinkdoink” poses this question in the Healthier Talk community Diabetes forum: “I have heard that Cinnamon can lower blood sugar levels. Has anyone any information on this?”

Doinkdoink has more than just a passing curiosity about lowering blood sugar levels; her husband is 64 years old and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes more than two decades ago. The problem: Medication has apparently spun a web of complications: “Every few years he has had to add more medication for blood pressure, kidney problems, etc. as it seems the medicine brings on other results that have to be taken care of with new meds, rather a vicious circle. He is finally trying to find some more natural ways to wellness.”

A member named Mary offers this response: “Yes you can lower your sugar levels with cinnamon, works for some and not works for others. Try 1/4 tsp at each meal.”

In the e-Alert “Bucking the System” (12/15/03) I told you about a U.S. Department of Agriculture study of 60 type 2 diabetics. Results showed that one gram of cinnamon taken daily over a course of 40 days improved management of blood sugar levels, as well as triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Some of the subjects took three grams of cinnamon per day, and others took six grams per day, but none of the subjects in these two groups showed an increased benefit over the group that took one gram per day. (One gram of cinnamon is less than half a teaspoon.)

Researchers continued to monitor the study participants after the 40-day trial, and found that the subjects’ overall blood sugar levels began rising when the cinnamon intake was discontinued.

But cinnamon isn’t the only natural alternative to diabetes meds. A member named Vi writes: “I started eating pumpkin seeds and my last A1C test was the best I’ve had since 1996 when I was diagnosed with diabetes. I try to eat 2 1/2 ozs a day. Buy them at the store in small bags. They are salted and roasted. And I’m not kidding anyone They are delicious too.”

One of the best resources for nutritional research has made a big impression on a member named Aradiva: “In the last year and a half I have been learning about the Weston A. Price Foundation and their approach to nutrition, which includes traditional sources of nutritionally dense foods. Among their recommendationsare more animal fats (cholesterol and saturated fat do not cause heart disease, unlike what most people have been told), no polyunsaturated fats (most of which become rancid during processing, hence full of free radicals), use of mainly coconut oil, palm oil, and butter for cooking and eating (these are all highly stable fats, and also full of nutritious vitamins and co-factors). Also, consumption of RAW milk and cheese products is highly beneficial.”

Aradiva also notes that Sally Fallon and Mary Enig (Of the Weston A. Price Foundation) have published a book titled “Eat Fat, Lose Fat.” She says the book, “details how to incorporate the Price Foundation dietary advice into plans for reversing various metabolic diseases, including diabetes.”

Other topics being discussed this week in the Healthier Talk community forums include:

• Depression/Mood: Getting off Prozac
• Vision: Extremely dry eyes
• Diabetes: Kidneys
• Dr. Douglass’ Real Health Breakthroughs: DDT – Support for Dr. Douglass’ position
• Fibromyalgia: Vitamin D deficiency
• General Health Topics: Question for those who juice

To reach the HSI Healthier Talk community forums, just go to our web site at www.hsionline.com, choose “Forum,” and add your comments to the wide range of topics concerning health care and nutrition.