Cinnamon Extract Reduces Diabetes Risk

BELTSVILLE, Md.Cinnamon extract might help reduce the risk of developing diabetes. For a 12-week study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 22 obese participants with prediabetes, or impaired blood glucose values, were divided randomly into two groups and given either a placebo or 250 milligrams (mgs) of a dried water-soluble cinnamon extract twice daily along with their usual diets. Blood was collected after an overnight fast at the beginning of the study, after six weeks, and after 12 weeks to measure the changes in blood glucose and antioxidants.

The study demonstrated that the water-soluble cinnamon extract improved a number of antioxidant variables by as much as 13 to 23 percent, and improvement in antioxidant status was correlated with decreases in fasting glucose.

Prediabetes occurs when cells are resistant to the higher-than-normal levels of insulin produced by the pancreas (in an attempt to help remove elevated glucose levels from blood).