More support for cinnamon extract benefits for diabetics

MikeV · medicine forum beginner Joined: 23 Feb 2005 Posts: 25

http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?n=68338&m=1NIE612&c=esaxlclacofhthy

summary:
12/06/2006 - A daily supplement of an aqueous cinnamon extract
improved blood-glucose levels in type-2 diabetics by over ten
percent, say German researchers - supporting previous studies into
the benefits of the spice for diabetic.

The new study, published in the European Journal of Clinical
Investigation (Vol. 36, pp. 340-344), adds to a growing body of
science linking the common spice to improvements in blood glucose
levels in diabetics.

A previous study reported in 2003 (Diabetes Care, Vol. 26, pp.
3215-3218) that just 1g of the spice per day reduced blood glucose
levels, as well as triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and total
cholesterol in a small group of people with type 2 diabetes.

But the researchers, from the University of Hannover, claim that
their study is the first to evaluate an aqueous cinnamon extract on
fasting glucose levels, serum lipid levels and glycated hemoglobin
A1c (HbA1c) levels, in Western type-2 diabetics.

In the new study, 79 diabetic volunteers were randomly assigned to
receive either three capsules per day, each containing 112mg of
aqueous cinnamon extract (by Finzelberg), equal to one gram of
cinnamon, or an identical-looking placebo.

The volunteers were not receiving insulin therapy, but were
controlling their disease by oral antidiabetics or diet.

Previous studies have indicated that improved glycaemic control
could lead to improvements in lipid profiles.

Such an effect was not observed in this study, say the researchers,
because the improvements in glucose concentrations were not
sufficient to induce such a change.

Regards

MikeV

To Quentin Grady, in NZ. Every good wish for your complete and early
recovery.

outsor@city-net.net · medicine forum beginner Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 13

Here is the medline abstract:

http://tinyurl.com/gb5vz

TC · medicine forum Guru Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 1814

What is with this one-substance solution mind set?

How about just cutting refined carbs? That will do more to control
blood glucose levels than all of the cinnamon extracts and pharmacopia
available to man. Remove the cause of the problem and you resolve the
problem.

If your tires keep going flat, instead of continually adding patches
and buying new tires, why not just remove the nails from your driveway?

TC

MikeV wrote:

Just Ed · medicine forum Guru Wannabe Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 120

TC wrote:

ray · medicine forum beginner Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 1

On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 13:42:51 -0700, TC wrote:

MikeV · medicine forum beginner Joined: 23 Feb 2005 Posts: 25

"just ed" <just_ed53spam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1150927401.902978.100250@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...

ted rosenberg · medicine forum addict Joined: 29 Apr 2005 Posts: 80

MikeV wrote:

outsor@city-net.net · medicine forum beginner Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 13

We went through this the last time when the diabetes care journal, a
professional peer reviewed journal which is among the 10 most consulted
journal among doctors, published the results from the pakistan research.
Now we have confirmation from another study confirming results. The usda
research didn't have industry support. The patents were taken out after
positive results were first shown in in cell line and animal studies, such
patents allowed by researchers to have. those holding the patents didn't
finance subsequent research, they have no products to sell. The principle
dept. of ag. researcher freely told readers publicly that results could
be achieved by using gram or less of the powder in their food and the
spice is not grown in n. america and has no commercial benefit to any
grower here.

"In the past, all of the Cinnamon hype ans super-questionable studies have
come from the Beltsville marking group at the department of Ag, a group
charged with increasing sales of agricultural products. Funding has come
from a group with patents in the use of cinnamon. NO legitimate
long=term, sizable double-blind studies which meet peer-review standards
for a major journal seem to exist."

outsor@city-net.net · medicine forum beginner Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 13

"Are you aware of this recent negative study?"

Yes, I read it at the time of publication. In nutrition studies opposing
results are often the rule in early studies. We have two independent
studies which say there is a benefit and one that doesn't. Unless we
ascribe fraud to the first two, or the third for that matter, then the
next question for research is why the different results. One possible
factor is the third study was among olderpost men. women while the other
two had a wider range of participants in gender and age. I hope all three
results prompt further study, I have some reservation with the first study
myself but remain open to whatever concensus arises.

Juhana Harju · medicine forum Guru Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 1056

outsor@city-net.net wrote:

: We went through this the last time when the diabetes care journal, a
: professional peer reviewed journal which is among the 10 most
: consulted journal among doctors, published the results from the
: pakistan research. Now we have confirmation from another study
: confirming results. The usda research didn't have industry support.
: The patents were taken out after positive results were first shown in
: in cell line and animal studies, such patents allowed by researchers
: to have. those holding the patents didn't finance subsequent
: research, they have no products to sell. The principle dept. of ag.
: researcher freely told readers publicly that results could be
: achieved by using gram or less of the powder in their food and the
: spice is not grown in n. america and has no commercial benefit to any
: grower here.
:
: "In the past, all of the Cinnamon hype ans super-questionable studies
: have come from the Beltsville marking group at the department of Ag,
: a group charged with increasing sales of agricultural products.
: Funding has come from a group with patents in the use of cinnamon.
: NO legitimate long=term, sizable double-blind studies which meet
: peer-review standards for a major journal seem to exist."

Are you aware of this recent negative study?

J Nutr. 2006 Apr;136(4):977-80.

Cinnamon supplementation does not improve glycemic control in postmenopausal
type 2 diabetes patients.

Vanschoonbeek K, Thomassen BJ, Senden JM, Wodzig WK, van Loon LJ.

Department of Human Biology, Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute,
Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

In vitro and in vivo animal studies have reported strong insulin-like or
insulin-potentiating effects after cinnamon administration. Recently, a
human intervention study showed that cinnamon supplementation (1 g/d)
strongly reduced fasting blood glucose concentration (30%) and improved the
blood lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes. The objective of this
study was to investigate the effects of cinnamon supplementation on insulin
sensitivity and/or glucose tolerance and blood lipid profile in patients
with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, a total of 25 postmenopausal patients with
type 2 diabetes (aged 62.9 +/- 1.5 y, BMI 30.4 +/- 0.9 kg/m2) participated
in a 6-wk intervention during which they were supplemented with either
cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia, 1.5 g/d) or a placebo. Before and after 2 and 6
wk of supplementation, arterialized blood samples were obtained and oral
glucose tolerance tests were performed. Blood lipid profiles and multiple
indices of whole-body insulin sensitivity were determined. There were no
time x treatment interactions for whole-body insulin sensitivity or oral
glucose tolerance. The blood lipid profile of fasting subjects did not
change after cinnamon supplementation. We conclude that cinnamon
supplementation (1.5 g/d) does not improve whole-body insulin sensitivity or
oral glucose tolerance and does not modulate blood lipid profile in
postmenopausal patients with type 2 diabetes. More research on the proposed
health benefits of cinnamon supplementation is warranted before health
claims should be made. PMID: 16549460

http://tinyurl.com/gf2xg

--
Juhana

outsor@city-net.net · medicine forum beginner Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 13

"One possible explanation is that there are different cultivars of
cinnamon which might have different effects although Cinnamomum cassia is
mentioned in the first Diabetes Care study and also in the study published
in Journal of Nutrition in April. According to the study below the Cassia
variety is more efficient."

It was used in all three, I have the full article for the most recent
study. I also read the study in the last sentence above. I have meant to
write dr. anderson the principle researcher in this area at the ag. dept.
and ask him about both of these topics. He recieves email directly and
responds, maybe you can do so.

Juhana Harju · medicine forum Guru Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 1056

outsor@city-net.net wrote:
: "Are you aware of this recent negative study?"
:
: Yes, I read it at the time of publication. In nutrition studies
: opposing results are often the rule in early studies. We have two
: independent studies which say there is a benefit and one that
: doesn't. Unless we ascribe fraud to the first two, or the third for
: that matter, then the next question for research is why the different
: results. One possible factor is the third study was among olderpost
: men. women while the other two had a wider range of participants in
: gender and age. I hope all three results prompt further study, I
: have some reservation with the first study myself but remain open to
: whatever concensus arises.

One possible explanation is that there are different cultivars of cinnamon
which might have different effects although Cinnamomum cassia is mentioned
in the first Diabetes Care study and also in the study published in Journal
of Nutrition in April. According to the study below the Cassia variety is
more efficient.

Phytother Res. 2005 Mar;19(3):203-6.

Antidiabetic effect of Cinnamomum cassia and Cinnamomum zeylanicum in vivo
and in vitro.

Verspohl EJ, Bauer K, Neddermann E.

Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Medicinal Chemistry, Munster
University, Hittorfstr. 58-62, 48149 Munster, Germany.

Rats were given Cinnamomum cassia bark or extracts from Cinnamomum cassia
and zeylanicum to evaluate blood glucose and plasma insulin levels in rats
under various conditions. The cassia extract was superior to the zeylanicum
extract. The cassia extract was slightly more efficacious than the
equivalent amount of Cassia bark. A decrease in blood glucose levels was
observed in a glucose tolerance test (GTT), whereas it was not obvious in
rats that were not challenged by a glucose load. The elevation in plasma
insulin was direct since a stimulatory in vitro effect of insulin release
from INS-1 cells (an insulin secreting cell line) was observed. Thus the
cassia extract has a direct antidiabetic potency. PMID: 15934022

http://tinyurl.com/k6bok

Also it would be interesting to hear if there are any user experiences of
diabetics experimented with cinnamon.

--
Juhana

outsor@city-net.net · medicine forum beginner Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 13

": I have
: meant to write dr. anderson the principle researcher in this area at
: the ag. dept. and ask him about both of these topics.

It would be interesting to hear his response."

I forgot to mention, in contacting him before he said that variety didn't
matter and was wanting to ask him about the report you posted. The
variety used in the tests is the least expensive of the two commonly
available and the one most people think of because it is what is used most
in cooking.

Juhana Harju · medicine forum Guru Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 1056

outsor@city-net.net wrote:

: I have
: meant to write dr. anderson the principle researcher in this area at
: the ag. dept. and ask him about both of these topics.

It would be interesting to hear his response.

--
Juhana

Juhana Harju · medicine forum Guru Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 1056

outsor@city-net.net wrote:

:: I have
:: meant to write dr. anderson the principle researcher in this area at
:: the ag. dept. and ask him about both of these topics.
:
: It would be interesting to hear his response."
:
: I forgot to mention, in contacting him before he said that variety
: didn't matter and was wanting to ask him about the report you posted.

OK.

: The variety used in the tests is the least expensive of the two
: commonly available and the one most people think of because it is
: what is used most in cooking.

Yes, Cassia is more common but the Sri Lankan variety - the original
cinnamon - has a much more delicate taste.

--
Juhana

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