During the recent holiday season, my mom and I did a lot of baking together. I love making things from scratch as much as possible, and I found a great website called AllRecipes.com –which is now my favorite place for easy, delicious recipes.
Cinnamon. Stock photo.
Two of my favorite cinnamony recipes from the site are an easy and delicious bread pudding recipe and a homemade from-scratch pancake recipe.
My mom has moderate type 2 diabetes, which requires medication, so we always slightly lower the amounts of sugar in recipes. Anyway, my mom really loved both the bread pudding and especially the pancakes for dinner.
The bread pudding recipe has cinnamon in the recipe; the pancakes don’t, but my mother likes to put cinnamon on them, along with sugar-free syrup. Anyway, she started to immediately notice that her blood sugar was a lot lower than usual and couldn’t understand why.
Then, I remembered hearing that cinnamon lowers blood sugar, so I went online and found a lot of great information from WebMD – a very reputable resource.
An article – Cinnamon and Diabetes – from WebMD says “research has shown that cinnamon may lower blood sugar by decreasing insulin resistance. In one study, volunteers ate from one to six grams (about a half to a teaspoon) of cinnamon for 40 days. Researchers found that cinnamon reduced cholesterol by about 18 percent and blood sugar by 24 percent.” My mom’s blood sugar came down about this much.
For those unfamiliar with how type 2 diabetes works, the WebMD article explains, “In people with type 2 diabetes, the sugar-lowering hormone insulin does not work as well (as in non-diabetics). This leads to higher blood sugar levels.”
In people with type 2 diabetes, cinnamon seems to help the insulin work more efficiently, making it more effective in breaking down sugar in the blood.
Alternatively, cinnamon has been shown to be ineffective for people with type 1 diabetes, who don’t make enough insulin.
A number of studies including one done on teens by the American Diabetes Association found that “cinnamon is not effective for improving glycemic (blood sugar) control in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.”
For people with type 2 diabetes, there are still some precautions to take if deciding to add cinnamon to your diabetes management routine. (Notice, I said adding to, not replacing medication!)
WebMD says that because cinnamon may lower blood sugar levels, use caution when combining it with other supplements that lower blood sugar levels, including:
- Alpha lipoic acid
- Bitter melon
- Chromium
- Devil’s claw
- Fenugreek
- Garlic
- Horse chestnut
- Panax
- Siberian ginseng
- Psyllium
The same holds true with diabetes medications. If you and your doctor decide cinnamon is right for you, pay close attention to your blood sugar levels. Let your doctor know if your blood sugar levels fall too low.
Taking cinnamon with drugs that affect the liver may increase the risk of liver problems. If you take any medication, talk to your doctor before taking cinnamon.
WebMD also has another useful article about the taking cinnamon as a supplement, including some risks, such as that while usually causing no side effects, “heavy use of cinnamon may irritate the mouth and lips, causing sores. In some people, it can cause an allergic reaction.”
Also, “people who have cancer that’s affected by hormone levels, like breast cancer, should not take cinnamon,” added WebMD. In all situations, talk to your doctor before making any changes to your medication routine.
Reader comments and input are always welcomed!