A few years ago I came across an article on the Net on the use of cinnamon to control blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetics. Besides lowering sugar levels, the article said, cinnamon also helped lower triglyceride levels.
The link below may not be the same one that I read then, but its content is very similar to the one I did read: http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/Blog/Amy-Campbell/can_cinnamon_help_you_control_your_diabetes/
From what I could gather from the article I read (may not have been the link above), sprinkling cinnamon powder on your breakfast cereal & milk apparently helped keep blood sugar levels under control.
It was the month of May and season for mangoes in Mumbai. Mumbaikars love having mango pulp anytime of the day. Mangoes have a high glycemic index and are therefore (one of the the many) forbidden fruit for diabetics. To conduct the test on the effectiveness of cinnamon I had mango pulp at lunch time on two consecutive days, on the first, without and on the next, with cinnamon and measured my blood sugar 2 hours after lunch. The mangoes on both days were from the same box, equally ripe and therefore most likely to have a very similar influence of sugar levels. I also had to know my fasting sugar levels on both the days and make sure they are quite close by, control what I had for breakfast, avoid having anything between breakfast and lunch, have the same items for lunch (one of which was the mango pulp), roughly the same quantity of the mango pulp itself and also ensure I performed activities of generally similar physical intensities on both days. I did all the above to the extent practically possible and noted down the blood sugar levels post-lunch without and with cinnamon added to the mango pulp. On both days for lunch I had two chapattis and used the same bowl for the mango pulp filled to the same level. The first day was without the cinnamon in the mango pulp and my blood sugar level was 254 mg/dL 2 hours after lunch! On the next day, with a small spoonful of cinnamon power in the mango pulp the reading showed 175 mg/dL 2 hours after lunch. It was higher than the target of 140 but still much lower than the 254 without cinnamon. I did not record the fasting sugar levels on the two days but I did check them to make sure they were lower than 110 and close to each other. All blood sugar measurements were done at home and with the same instrument. From my observations and even after considering the not-so-clinical approach I would say that cinnamon does seem to help but having it certainly does not give you the freedom to throw caution to the wind regarding your diet.
I welcome any suggestions and advise on the use of cinnamon for controlling sugar levels and also any experience with the purported lowering of triglycerides.
The link below may not be the same one that I read then, but its content is very similar to the one I did read: http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/Blog/Amy-Campbell/can_cinnamon_help_you_control_your_diabetes/
From what I could gather from the article I read (may not have been the link above), sprinkling cinnamon powder on your breakfast cereal & milk apparently helped keep blood sugar levels under control.
It was the month of May and season for mangoes in Mumbai. Mumbaikars love having mango pulp anytime of the day. Mangoes have a high glycemic index and are therefore (one of the the many) forbidden fruit for diabetics. To conduct the test on the effectiveness of cinnamon I had mango pulp at lunch time on two consecutive days, on the first, without and on the next, with cinnamon and measured my blood sugar 2 hours after lunch. The mangoes on both days were from the same box, equally ripe and therefore most likely to have a very similar influence of sugar levels. I also had to know my fasting sugar levels on both the days and make sure they are quite close by, control what I had for breakfast, avoid having anything between breakfast and lunch, have the same items for lunch (one of which was the mango pulp), roughly the same quantity of the mango pulp itself and also ensure I performed activities of generally similar physical intensities on both days. I did all the above to the extent practically possible and noted down the blood sugar levels post-lunch without and with cinnamon added to the mango pulp. On both days for lunch I had two chapattis and used the same bowl for the mango pulp filled to the same level. The first day was without the cinnamon in the mango pulp and my blood sugar level was 254 mg/dL 2 hours after lunch! On the next day, with a small spoonful of cinnamon power in the mango pulp the reading showed 175 mg/dL 2 hours after lunch. It was higher than the target of 140 but still much lower than the 254 without cinnamon. I did not record the fasting sugar levels on the two days but I did check them to make sure they were lower than 110 and close to each other. All blood sugar measurements were done at home and with the same instrument. From my observations and even after considering the not-so-clinical approach I would say that cinnamon does seem to help but having it certainly does not give you the freedom to throw caution to the wind regarding your diet.
I welcome any suggestions and advise on the use of cinnamon for controlling sugar levels and also any experience with the purported lowering of triglycerides.
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