On video: Everything you need to know about pre-diabetes/AP, Reuters, Getty Images, Shutterstock
Seasoning your diet with cinnamon can help prevent diabetes among those at risk of the disease, according to a study by the University of California at Los Angeles and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The researchers found that consuming a teaspoon of the aromatic spice can significantly reduce blood sugar levels in those with pre-diabetes - and may prevent diabetes.
In Israel there are more than half a million diabetics and hundreds of thousands more who are in a state of pre-diabetes and may not be aware of it.
A normal fasting sugar level is below 100, while the level of a person with pre-diabetes is between 100 and 126 mg/dl.
Once the levels are above 126, it is classified as type 2 diabetes. This indicates that the body resists the action of insulin or does not produce enough of it to maintain normal blood sugar levels.
A teaspoon of cinnamon, twice a day
In the current study, the researchers recruited 18 overweight or obese adults diagnosed with prediabetes and tested them for a total of 12 weeks.
This means they have a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 40.
The average BMI was 31.5, which is considered obese.
All participants were diagnosed with pre-diabetes but were healthy.
The participants underwent a diet rich in simple carbohydrates such as white bread and pasta, but devoid of vegetables - for a month.
They were divided into two groups: half took a placebo capsule twice a day, and the other group a capsule containing a teaspoon of cinnamon.
They found that those who took nutritional supplements had significantly lower blood sugar levels and smaller increases in glucose than those who took a placebo.
A big little extra.
Coffee with cinnamon/ShutterStock
For the first two weeks of the study, the participants were put on a diet low in polyphenols, compounds found in plant-based fruits and vegetables such as dark berries and leaves, and full of refined carbohydrates such as white bread and pasta rather than fruits and vegetables.
They were also asked to avoid cinnamon at this time.
The patients were then divided into two groups.
Each group received 16 capsules that looked the same every day.
Eight were meant to be taken with breakfast, and eight were allotted for dinner time.
The treatment group received capsules with four grams of cinnamon each, which is about three-quarters of a teaspoon.
Meanwhile, the placebo participants were given supplements with 250 milligrams of maltodextrin, a processed additive that has been shown to cause blood sugar spikes.
Both groups took their assigned pills for four weeks and then did a two-week 'washout' phase in which they did not take any pills.
They then switched groups for the remainder of the study.
The researchers monitored the participants' blood sugar levels using continuous glucose monitors (CGM), which were attached to the user's arm with glue and used a tiny needle just under the skin.
Participants gave blood samples four times during the study to measure how their bodies responded to sugar—after a two-week introductory diet, after the first four-week supplementation phase, after the cleanse phase, and after the second four-week supplementation phase.
The researchers found that overall glucose levels "were consistently and significantly lower in the cinnamon intervention compared to placebo."
Those who took cinnamon also had lower blood sugar spikes compared to those who took a placebo.
However, there was no difference in the glucose levels shown in blood tests.
The researchers suggested that this could be because continuous monitoring is more sensitive to changes in blood sugar.
What exactly does cinnamon do?
The researchers also suggested that cinnamon can encourage the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut microbiome, which may affect glucose levels.
The team noted that the study has limitations, namely its small sample size.
"The small number of participants studied may not be representative of the population of all people with prediabetes and obesity," they wrote.
"However, the relatively small sample size provided sufficient statistical power to detect a significant difference between the cinnamon and placebo interventions in nearly 700 repeated days of observations."
This is not the first time scientists have found a potential link between cinnamon and lowering blood sugar.
A 2020 study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, for example, found that taking cinnamon supplements with a meal was shown to reduce the likelihood of developing diabetes after three months.
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diabetes mellitus