FOODS THAT HEAL
Cinnamon stalks High Blood Sugar
By Mark Isaac Thyss, Garden of Healing®
If you are a person with diabetes, life can be a challenge keeping blood sugar levels close to normal. Who would consider cinnamon in their efforts to manage diabetes? You should.
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Cinnamon is a warming, stimulating, pleasant-tasting herb with many uses, and for diabetics, it helps to reduce blood sugar, so make this spice a regular part of your diet.
Diabetes
People with diabetes have high blood sugar levels because their cells don’t respond to insulin, the hormone that signals when glucose needs to be stored. Over time, the extra glucose in the blood damages tissues.  Cinnamon can reduce the amount of insulin necessary for glucose metabolism.
History
Better known in the Western world as a culinary spice, cinnamon’s history as a medicinal herb goes back centuries in India and in other parts of Asia.
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) is sweet and possesses warming qualities. It’s unique healing abilities come from the essential oils found in its bark. These oils contain active components called cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl acetate, and cinnamyl alcohol, plus a wide range of other volatile substances.
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Cinnamon also has a germicidal effect; almost all highly aromatic herbs display some ability to reduce fungal infections and bacteria levels, and cinnamon in mouthwashes and gargles can help treat just these types of infections in the mouth.
More than an everyday spice
You can add cinnamon, in ground or stick form, to your coffee, tea, orange juice, or cereal and get enough of the water-soluble proanthocyanidins that effect blood glucose, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. There are also commercially available cinnamon dietary supplements with whole cinnamon or water soluble cinnamon extract capsules.
Cinnamon and Proanthocyanidins
Cinnamon is an extremely rich source of proanthocyanidins and it’s too bad that it cannot be consumed daily in large quantities.
Proanthocyanidins are large complex compounds found in many foods. Specifically, proanthocyanidins are antioxidants that quench free radicals and potentiate other antioxidants like vitamins C and E.
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Cinnamon contains these (proanthocyanidins) active ingredients and they sensitize cells to insulin. As these chemicals enter cells, they activate insulin receptors and enable the cells to manufacture energy from glucose.
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Studies with cranberries and cinnamon, both of which contain uniquely linked proanthocyanidins, support a role for bacterial anti-adhesion and improved glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetics, respectively.
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Results from a variety of experiments indicate proanthocyanidins may also modulate several reactions involved in cancer processes.
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Studies have identified cinnamon’s water soluble components, these proanthocyanidins, as the active ingredients affecting blood glucose, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
When you use ground cinnamon you are getting both the water-soluble and the fat-soluble components. You also get a health bonus of one gram of dietary fiber in each teaspoon of cinnamon.
The proanthocyanidin content (mg per 100 g) of cinnamon is 8108. So, do your best to sprinkle a goodly amount on your morning oatmeal, and find other ways to bring this aromatic herb into your daily routine.
Diabetes and Fiber
Eating a high-fiber, low-sugar diet and exercising are important ways to keep blood glucose levels normal, and you should employ these strategies, because they work. Consider adding 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon per day to your diet, because doing so will have a beneficial effect on keeping blood sugar levels in check.
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Most people associate the fragrant, sweet and warm taste of cinnamon with its use during the winter months, but cinnamon has a long history both as a spice and as a medicine.
In Chinese medical philosophy, pain, cramps, and congestion are considered blocked energy. Cinnamon is thought to move Qi, or vital energy, when it is “stuck” in the abdomen. Cinnamon circulates Qi energy to the rest of the body. You might want to use small amounts of cinnamon tea to relieve gas in the stomach.
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Cinnamon is an excellent source of manganese and a very good source of dietary fiber, calcium and iron. It warms and stimulates the digestive system, is useful in weak digestion and is helpful for nausea and vomiting. Medicinally speaking, 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon (2-4 grams) of the powder per day is the usual amount to be taken.
Precautions and Warnings
Cinnamon is a safe and inexpensive addition to a program designed to help manage high blood sugar from diabetes.
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Cinnamon bark is generally safe to use in medicinal amounts, but allergic skin rashes or mucous membrane reactions are possible. Avoid this herb if you have a high fever, are red and sweating, or have irritable bowel syndrome. If you have multiple allergies or sensitivities, use cinnamon cautiously.
Caution during Pregnancy
Do not use during pregnancy due to cinnamon’s emmenagogic effect. You may use cinnamon in baking, but avoid more than a cup of cinnamon tea each day.
© 2008 Mark Isaac Thyss/Garden of Healing®. All rights reserved.
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