Researchers find a dash of cinnamon packs a big dose of health benefits

By Valerie Reitman
Los Angeles Times

	KIRK MCKOY / LOS ANGELES TIMES Researchers are finding that cinnamon lowers blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol levels and improves insulin function in type 2 diabetes. A good way to reap the benefits is by boiling cinnamon sticks in water as a "tea" — not by chomping on a cinnamon bun.
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The aromatic bark can lower blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol levels, as well as improve insulin functioning, particularly in type 2 diabetics, researchers have found. Richard Anderson, lead scientist at the Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Md., has been studying cinnamon and calls its medicinal properties the most significant nutritional discovery he's seen in 25 years.

"I don't know of anything else," he said, other than drugs, "that can change glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol levels nearly so much." The most recent study, which appeared in the December issue of the journal Diabetes Care, showed that, after 40 days, 30 diabetics who had taken 1 to 6 grams of cinnamon extract daily reduced their risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Their mean fasting glucose fell 18 percent to 29 percent, their triglycerides 25 percent to 30 percent, their LDL ("bad") cholesterol 7 percent to 27 percent and their total cholesterol 12 percent to 26 percent. Only a little cinnamon was necessary, said Anderson, who helped conduct the study. A 30-person placebo group showed no change.

Sounds good, but more tests needed

Other experts say they're reserving judgment until more extensive studies confirm the results. "It sounds like maybe there is something there, and it's surprising that there's such an effect," said Dr. Eugene Barrett, a Charlottesville, Va., endocrinologist who serves as president of the American Diabetes Association. If the results hold up in additional studies, he added, the impact could be significant.

Don Graves, a researcher at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, agrees. He is studying the effects of cinnamon being fed to diabetic mice. The results should be available in about six months. He's optimistic but added, "It's still in trial, and we can't leap to any conclusions."

Anderson's department, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has applied for patents on the compounds in cinnamon responsible for the beneficial effects. The patent covers the tasteless water-soluble extract responsible for the reactions. The extract could be used to make supplements or as additives in soda and other high-sugar foods and drinks to negate some of the spikes in blood sugar produced after eating or drinking such products. The insulin spikes are worse in diabetics.

If Anderson's findings are confirmed by wider studies, the spice could help fight the soaring U.S. rate of type 2 diabetes. Also known as adult-onset diabetes, it afflicts an estimated 16 million people in the United States. One cause is the rapidly rising rate of obesity among Americans.

The cells of diabetics fail to recognize and respond as well to insulin as they once did, leading to elevated blood sugar. Insulin prompts cells to take in the glucose. Cinnamon, Anderson said, makes cells much more sensitive to insulin, thus increasing glucose metabolism, a process in which cells convert blood sugar to energy.

As little as half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day can produce effects that in some cases are nearly as dramatic as those produced by the drugs known as statins, which millions of Americans take to lower their cholesterol levels, Anderson said.

Dr. Lois Jovanovic, the Sansum Institute's director, said she was excited about the cinnamon research. "It really does look like it may help us, as we are desperately looking for ways to stave the tide of this epidemic."
 
Of course, Anderson said, cinnamon itself is no panacea, and it won't do nearly as much good if it's consumed in high-calorie foods such as cakes rather than sprinkled on oatmeal.

And it all began with an apple pie

One of the best ways to get a substantial dose is to boil cinnamon sticks in water to make "tea," he said. At least one company puts it in supplements, he added.

Anderson's research into cinnamon started with apple pie.

About 10 years ago, he and his colleagues began to look into the effects of chromium, which is found in nonprocessed high-fiber foods such as broccoli and helps improve insulin action. Since World War II, Americans have been consuming more highly refined foods, which are low in fiber, low in complex carbohydrates and low in chromium, contributing to diabetes.

People who have low chromium levels often have high levels of insulin that don't act efficiently because the insulin receptors — the fingers on the cells where the insulin binds — aren't as active. Chromium revs them up.

The researchers tested potatoes, vegetables and spaghetti, but the food that most improved insulin action was apple pie. They initially suspected the apples but instead found it was cinnamon that produced an effect even more pronounced than chromium.

They have since tested some 50 other plant extracts — including tea, cloves, turmeric and bay leaves, which also improved insulin functioning — but none came close to the effect generated by cinnamon extract. Anderson said the extract was shown to reduce blood pressure in hypertensive rats because it functions as an antioxidant, which is important in reducing cardiovascular disease.

Anderson said researchers had not found any downside to taking cinnamon. Extraordinary amounts would have to be consumed to have a negative effect.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company