Can Cinnamon be used to Treat Diabetes?

Is there an effective cinnamon diabetes treatment that sufferers can rely on to help them to manage their condition?  That’s the question that this article will explore.
What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition that comes about because of the pancreas’s inability to produce enough insulin to manage the levels of glucose in the bloodstream. In the case of insulin resistance, the pancreas produces insulin but the insulin itself is chemically defective and it cannot properly fulfill its purpose of enabling the glucose to enter the body cells. The result is a cumulative build up in blood sugar levels and a lack of energy to fuel activity in your body cells. This can only be remedied by introducing insulin into the body from the outside.
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas is totally unable to produce any insulin at all, whereas with type 2 diabetes, it is either dictated by an insufficiency of insulin, or the presence of ineffective insulin.
Don’t substitute prescribed medication with a cinnamon diabetes treatment – use it in a supplementary way
If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, a cinnamon diabetes treatment could well help your condition; but you must always carry on taking any medication that your doctor has prescribed for you.  After several weeks or months, you can always ask your doctor to check you over again to see if there is an improvement in your condition.
Diabetic statistics in the US
Diabetes in most western countries is in almost epidemic proportions. Just take a look at the statistics for the US alone:

• Total number of cases I(including children) – 25.8 million
• Total number medically diagnosed – 18.8 million
• Total number not diagnosed – 7 million
• Total number in pre-diabetic condition 79 million

Diabetes as a disease is much more serious than many people give it credence for. It is the prime cause of new incidences of blindness in adults aged between 20 and 47 years. It is responsible for 44% of all cases of kidney failure. In terms of amputations, 60% of non-traumatic amputations (i.e. those not caused by an accident) were caused through diabetes.
Pre-diabetes
Pre-diabetes is something that doctors are recognizing as being  something they can treat that can prevent the onset of full-blown diabetes. Unfortunately is does not normally present any recognizable symptoms, but on the rare occasions it does they can include:

• Uncharacteristic thirst
• The need to urinate often
• Blurred vision
• Extreme fatigue

The people most at risk from pre-diabetes are adults over the age of 45, anyone with a body mass index of 25 or more, and people who are inactive. If you suspect that you may have pre-diabetes, a cinnamon diabetes treatment could help, but it’s always a good idea to consult your doctor in the first instance.
If you are concerned that you may have pre-diabetes, or you’d like to find out a little more about the condition follow this link through to the Web MD.com website.
Cinnamon and diabetes
Despite the fact that the American Diabetes Association does not promote a cinnamon diabetes treatment, cinnamon and diabetes has a considerable following in the US population. A lot of research has been carried that shows it to have a significant benefit in terms of lowering the levels of blood sugar, and helping to decrease insulin resistance.
The rice-pudding based test

In one particular piece of research, 14 health individuals were each given a 300 gram meal of rice pudding. Some included a 6 gram sprinkling of cinnamon. Each test subject then had their blood checked in 15 minute intervals over a 2 hour period to detect the effect on blood sugar levels. A significant reduction in blood glucose levels was measured in the test subjects who had eaten the rice-pudding with cinnamon. You can read more about this study by clicking this link to the report page on the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

This cinnamon diabetes study shows clear benefits from consuming cinnamon; not only on blood glucose, but on insulin levels, and GER (Gastric Emptying Rate) which was also significantly slowed down too, linking cinnamon to helping to suppressing appetite , thereby helping to regulate weight too.
Cinnamon diabetes treatment reduces LDL cholesterol
One of the biggest risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes is having high levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood.
One particular study reported on by the American Diabetes Association website, focused on research that has been carried out into how cinnamon might affect lipids in the blood. Lipids are basically another name for fats, such as cholesterol, for example. The test subjects were given various amounts of cinnamon (1g, 3g, and 6g). In terms of LDL cholesterol the effect was to lower levels by between 7% and 27%. The levels of HDL (good) cholesterol were not affected. The research also reported that levels of triglycerides were reduced between 6% and 26%, and glucose was reduced by between 18% and 29%.
Cinnamon diabetes treatment works at molecular level
Cinnamon diabetes treatment can also work at molecular level by activating certain essential enzymes in the body system which stimulate the receptors within the body cells, making them respond more effectively to insulin. At the same time cinnamon can also help to inhibit the action of certain enzymes which cause insulin resistance.
In terms of the chemical nature of cinnamon, it contains various elements and minerals, including:

• Calcium
• Chromium
• Copper
• Iodine
• Iron
• Manganese
• Phosphorous
• Potassium
• Zinc
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin B1
• Vitamin B2
• Vitamin C

Many of these ingredients can play an important role in the prevention and/or treatment of diabetes.
The good news about a cinnamon diabetes treatment

Despite the many excellent pieces of research that have been carried out, the conventional medical fraternity is still sat on the fence when it comes down to proactively recommending cinnamon in conjunction with diabetes.
But the good news about a cinnamon diabetes treatment is that it certainly will not do you any harm, (unless you take it in unusually large amounts, which may result in a mild side-effect like a skin rash), it’s a pleasant additive to many foods; and despite what conventional medicine, says, it may well improve a diabetic condition, and will almost certainly help prevent acquiring diabetes in the first place.
It can be spooned over breakfast cereal, fruits, or warm toast. It can also be sprinkled onto yoghurt and fruit juices, and is an excellent additive to casseroles and curries. It’s a great substitute for sugar, which will also help prevent obesity, another major cause of diabetes.
Making a cinnamon diabetes treatment part of your holistic health lifestyle diet
By adding cinnamon to your normal holistic health lifestyle diet, you can enjoy the many other health benefits it offers – thinks like helping to prevent cardiovascular disease, and helping to ward off Alzheimer’s, as well as helping to prevent any pre-diabetes, that you may not even be aware you have, from developing into full type 2 diabetes. Making a cinnamon diabetes treatment part of your everyday holistic health lifestyle diet plan simply makes sense.
Acknowledgements

Diabetes.org website:  What is diabetes? – http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/What-is-diabetes/

Web MD.com website: Pre-diabetes – http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/guide/prediabetes

The Miracle Journal of Clinical Nutrition website: Effect of cinnamon on postprandial blood glucose, gastric emptying, and satiety in healthy subjects – http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/6/1552.full

American Diabetes Association.com website: Diabetes care – http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/26/12/3215

Natural News.com website: How cinnamon helps prevent diabetes – http://www.naturalnews.com/031133_cinnamon_diabetes.html

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