Cinnamon--A Spice or a Pill?
Could cinnamon, the common household spice, used to flavor our cakes and cookies, have important medicinal properties that can be used help diabetes patients? Well, a recent article by Janet Raloff on the Science Magazine webpage www.sciencenews.org/articles/20070414/food.asp synopsizes a study on 56 teens with juvenile diabetes undergoing a 3 month trial at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire. The results imply that there is no evident effect. It previous studies, evidence suggests that a daily dose of a teaspoon of cinnamon benefits people suffering from type II diabetes. However, this study indicates that Type I (juvenile) diabetes is a different matter altogether. Cinnamon does not show any medicinal effect!
A 90-day trial was made on teens between 13 and 19 years of age afflicted with Type I diabetes testing the effect of a cinnamon pill. To see, whether the spice had medicinal value, half of the volunteers were given a lactose placebo and the other half a cinnamon pill containing 1 gram of the spice. Neither the doctors administering the pills nor the adolescents could tell whether the pill was the placebo or cinnamon. Such concealed placebo/pill trials are done to make sure that there are no psychological effects on the bodies’ physiological processes.
Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease and unlike type II diabetes (which commonly spurs from obesity and aging) type I diabetes is a result of the immune system’s inability to recognize the body’s insulin-secreting beta cells as native to the body. The immune system attacks and destroys these cells and causes a rampant decrease in insulin hormone in the blood. Hence, in order to stabilize the level of blood sugar, daily injections of insulin are administered.
The study reveals that the measure of hemoglobin AIC, the proportion of red blood cells with bound glucose, increases rather than decreases in teens treated with either pill. Surprisingly, the AIC level was higher after the clinical trial than before the trial, rising from an average of 8.40 to 8.75 thus indicating an increase in blood sugar.
Perhaps the amount of cinnamon in the tablet is at a too low concentration to have any effect on boosting insulin production in type I diabetes. Or, contrary to popular belief, cinnamon may be detrimental to insulin production causing a rise in the level of glucose. However, we cannot decide whether cinnamon has any effect, on the whole, as the placebo also causes an increase in AIC values. It may be due to some other common factor. Personally, I think that the study can be done to yield more conclusive results if the trial period is lengthened to six or nine months using several different types of placebos. But don’t be surprised to learn that cinnamon still proves itself to be the best ingredient in cakes and apple pie!
-timoteo
posted by PWH @ 7:21 PM
38 comments
38 Comments:
This is very interesting. Who would have thought that a common household item could perhaps help with a very serious disease? Are there any plans on lengthening the trial to make more concrete conclusions? I think this would be very beneficial to continue if there is some hope of helping diabetes patients. I also wonder if there are any other household items that could cure other diseases!
Tricia Carlson
This is an interesting article. I had never heard of the effects of cinnamon on people with diabetes. Reading this made me wonder if cinnamon is only beneficial to people with type II diabetes and not people with type I diabetes. It also made me wonder how cinnamon could theoretically increase the production of insulin in people with diabetes. Do scientists believe that cinnamon somehow stops the immune system from attacking insulin-producing cells? I think it would be interesting to learn more about this.
Sarah Benjamin
great post! Other posts that i've read have been confusing and disorganized, but you effectively present your information clearly. I didn't have to go back and reread sections to understand what you were trying to say. I like that you explain what past trials have shown, say what is being done now,and then add your own thoughts. nice job.
emerym6
I thought this article was very interesting. I didn't think that anyone could use a well-known household product to help fight against diabetes.
I thought this blog was fun and interesting. It is strange to think about how many things we use each day that could have different purposes. It would be wonderful if something like cinnamon could be used to help people with diabetes. I also thought it was very strange that the placebo and cinnamon had the same effects. Is this just to say that neither pill did anything, so the cinnamon was like a placebo? Or is there some effect of the lactose as well? In any case, this was a good article and I would be interested ot hear how any changes in the experiemntal procedure might yield different results.
I really enjoyed this article, it made me consider how little we know about things we use everyday. If cinnamon is in fact beneficial for diabetes there could be other remedies that help things like high blood pressure, or heart disease. Maybe someday all of our baking goods will have medicinal purposes!
-deae6
I find it interesting how you mentioned that they are studying the effects of cinnamon on Type I diabetes due to the fact that a dose of cinnamon will benefit people with Type II diabetes. However, you go on to mention that "this study indicates that Type I diabetes is a different matter all together". If it is a different matter all together, what gave them the initial idea to study the effects of cinnamon on Type I diabetes?
Robyn Botelho
This was a very interesting post. I had never heard of cinnamon being used in a medicinal way; however, spices and herbs are often used hollistically either instead of or in addition to medicine. Diabetes is such a rising epidemic in the country that it would be really beneficial to finally have a (very inexpensive way) to treat the disease. One thing that comes to mind is how those with diabetes have to avoid sweets like cakes and cookies, so I'm sure that any kind of dietary cinnamon they might be exposed to is completely limited. Maybe the way the body is processing this new substance is part of its effect.
Also, you say "Such concealed placebo/pill trials are done to make sure that there are no psychological effects on the bodies’ physiological processes." Just so you know, this is called a "double blind study".
Great job!
It would be rather ironic if a substance such as cinnamon was able to somewhat cure type II diabetes. With all the profit that pharmaceutical companies make from this disease, and all the research that has gone towards its cure, one wouldn't think that such a common ingredient would be the key. One thing that did intrigue me though was, why only use teens for the study? Is it because the disease was at an early stage? Could this mean that cinnamon was already foreseen as ineffective? This article did not conclude that cinnamon helped, nor that it didn't. Then I wonder, does more research need to be done on cinnamon, is it promising at all?
benhayo6
I think it's always interesting to learn about everyday spices and similar substances can have a medicinal effect. I agree with you that the study might have been better had it been over a longer period of time. What I would like to know more of is how exactly cinnamon is beneficial to type II diabetes. What is it exactly that cinnamon does to the body to help combat this adult onset diabetes?
- Maija Cheung
I think this is an interesting topic to further investigate. A simple solution to a common problem would be something very valuable for all those with type I diabetes. I've heard that peppermint has somewhat a similar result, even in animals. Some say that is has a sort of immune booster, and in the horse world peppermints are a common treat. Keep up the research, and an update if you find any more information on this. Its still in the works obviously, but it could prove very benificial to society.
Emily Beaudoin
densamo6
It is amazing, how a little thing like a spice(cinnamon) can make a difference or change things in our body.
Im not too surpirized though because from where i came from, people make cultural medicine using all kinds things that is avalible to them or that is within there reach.
I don't know what to say but that i hope we find a cure for this horrible disease.
What ingredient in cinnamon is beneficial for type II diabetes? How could the lactose placebo and the cinnamon produce the same results? Do they have an ingredient in common that causes an increase in blood sugar? Or could it be possible that there was some sort of negative psychological effect? If the amount of cinnamon was too low in this study, how much cinnamon was used for the type II diabetes studies?
I'm very surprised to hear about the effects of cinnamon on type II diabetes. My question though is how and why it helps people with this disease. I'm also wondering why you think using several different types of placebos would help this study. I don't understand why there would need to be different types. Aren't placebos just arbitrary blanks?
My father has type II diabetes and I know other people with the disease as well. I think that if there are promising signs for type II but not type I, than they should focus on type II with the use of cinnamon and not waste resources to study its effects on type I any further. I believe there are a lot of natural treatments for common diseases that can at least improve the overall treatment if not be a treatment by itself. An example, ECGC, a chemical in green tea that studies show can inhibit the growth of cancer cells and induce cell death.
I thought this was extremely interesting. I would have never thought of cinnamon as a medicine. I guess I suffer from functional fixedness and I would have just assumed that cinnamon's only use was as a baking ingredient. I think that it would be very interesting to learn about different studies of this cinnamon pill. I wonder if there were any other cases where more results were found. Also are there any other diseases that may be helped with use of a cinnamon pill or any other common spices? Very interesting.
Barrett6
Very interesting article. I have heard that cinnamon is used for medicinal purposes but never knew it was used for diabetes. Traditionally I thought it was used for treatment of respiratory health, so I found it very interesting to be seen as a treatment for diabetes. I was wondering why exactly they believed cinnamon was helpful for diabetes? All in All I liked the article and found it interesting
I think this a very interesting discovery in the medical world. Its crazy to think that something that is present in almost everyone's kitchen can help those with type II diabetes. I definitely enjoyed reading this article. I would suggest though that you get rid of the full link in the first paragraph of the article and also in that same paragraph, first paragraph, you forgot to put "to" between "used" and "help". Overall good and interesting article.
I think this a very interesting discovery in the medical world. Its crazy to think that something that is present in almost everyone's kitchen can help those with type II diabetes. I definitely enjoyed reading this article. I would suggest though that you get rid of the full link in the first paragraph of the article and also in that same paragraph, first paragraph, you forgot to put "to" between "used" and "help". Overall good and interesting article.
My mother often puts cinnamon on things she eats, due to the fact that she had heard of the same idea that it could help diabetes patients, or help people who might be prone to becoming diabetic. It is interesting to see that there was indeed no affect for people suffering from Type I juvenile diabetes. Perhaps they should do a study on older people with diabetes and see if it has any affect?? It will be interesting to see if indeed cinnamon does have any affect on diabetes in older patients. All in all, a well written article, good job.
-- Burkej6
I really enjoyed this article. It is an extremely interesting concept to think about cinnamon helping to alleviate type II diabetes. I wonder if it has no effect on type I because the dosage is too small? or why it has any affect at all on type II. It is amazing to think that such a common spice that people use every day could have such an effect on a disease.
I think this article was very interesting. I’ve never considered that a common household spice could be helpful to someone with diabetes. As a bio major I am constantly learning about lab-synthesized medications, but never naturally produced remedies that could be very beneficial.
-distasi6
This article is very interesting. As a frequent baker, cinnamon is not a stranger in our house. How did they come up with is? Who suggested testing the effects of cinnamon on type I's? I wonder though, cinnamon is usually parted with high amounts of sugar (like in apple or pumpkin pies). Perhaps the initial observation was due to the increase in sugar. I'm not sure if that would have a positive effect on type I's but none the less I wonder why they started these tests in the first place.
Wow, coming from a family with type II diabetes it is very interesting to know that a single teaspoon of cinnamon benefits the people suffering from this type of diabetes. I would never think that cinnamon could be so beneficial besides being an amazing flavor to cookies and other baked goods. The only bad side to it is that it doesn't help type I diabetes. But, there seems to be a lot more people suffering from type II diabetes and for this reason I still think that this discovery is an excellent and advantages one to everyone.
galvezj5
This is very surprising article. I usually don't like cinnamon, so I'd never knew the effects of cinammon and diabetes is serious problem. I want to know more about this and I hope this is true. If cinnamon really affect on the diabetes, it would be wonderful.
I never knew that something so simple as cinnamon can help people with diabetes. I think that this topic is very interesting and further research can be done. Who would have thought that cinnamon, a everyday household product, can help people; imagine what else is out there that can help with other diseases.
I thought that this was a very interesting study of how cinnamon affects glucose level in patients who have Type 1 diabetes. Who would have thoiught hat a spice which we use often would potentially have beneficiary effects on people who have diabetes. However I'm curious, what in particular is so special about the cinnamon spice? Is there something in its chemical structure that lowers the glucose content in the blood? Why is it that some of the patients who had Type 2 diabetes benefitted from intakes of cinnamon in an experiment mentioned in the article?
This was a very interesting post, well done! I would never have thought that an everday ingredient could help lower the effects of such an awful disease. You brought in the case study and also remembered to tell the audience what exactly Type 1 diabetes is, and you also mentioned what could be done to alter the results for more clear and possibly better results. As a result your blog was well organized and clear to the reader.
It is unfortunate that type 1 diabetes showed no effects to cinnamon, but perhaps with extended testing time like you mentioned will change this. Great job!
This is an interesting article. It never occured to me that a common house spice could actually have a beneficial effect on a serious disease. It seems that it has no effect on Type 1 diabetes. I wonder if a different spice such as nutmeg or chile powder could also have such benefical benefits on other serious diseases. I also wonder what prompted this study in the first place. It definately causes one to think.
The topic is very interesting. The only thing I was left wondering was how the experiment for Type II diabetes differed from the Type I experiment you described. How did the cinnamon increase glucose levels for Type I, but lowered them in Type II? It's really quite strange and fascinating that the results were so different between the two studies. Has there been only one main study on cinnamon and the effects on Type I diabetes? Or are there more being done today? It was a good choice of topic and I'm curious to see future articles on new research.
I know several people with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2 and I have never heard of taking cinammon to help with the disease. It is an interesting idea and would be great if it truly does help and is not simply an old wives' tale. It is also interesting that they did not let the patient know what pill they were taking to prevent any psychological side effects. Has there been any previous tests where there were psychological effects on the patients?
smithr6
A great post! I didn't know that cinnamon could help type II diabetes or had any effect on it until now. But, the person should really explain the difference between type I and type II diabete because many people have no ideas about diabetes. Other than that I think this is a great research because child obesity is very common in this generation, so it will be awsome if we found a way to cure it.
Kuai Cheang
bio101
This is an interesting article. It is weird to think that a common spice could have such useful benefits. Are there future plans for more trials to see if this truly can help with diabetes? Is this only going to help with diabetes, or is there hope of other diseases as well? This was very well organized and well written and most of all a great topic.
This is a very interesting idea. I have also heard that honey has medicinal effects on the body and especially the immune system. It would be interesting to see whether or common household items have any benefit that we are currently unaware of. Hopefully more conclusive studies can be continued in the future.
-antonss6
What an interesting blog! I've never heard about cinnamon and diabetes being linked, but it seems that lately, a lot of spices and natural herbs are once again being thought to treat everything- from a common cold to life changing diseases! If cinnamon can treat diabetes, imagine what other natural spices/herbs could do! The world of natural medicine is just so interesting.
I found this blog very informative. I had read, awhile ago that cinnamon aldehyde, the main active compound in cinnamon, actually did help to regulate blood sugar levels, thus helping to treat diabetes. Now I am just curious about this double blind trial. Did the researchers also regulate what the diabetic teens ate? In other words, I would like to more about the procedure of the actual clinical trial.
JMcNeill
I found this blog very informative. I had read, awhile ago that cinnamon aldehyde, the main active compound in cinnamon, actually did help to regulate blood sugar levels, thus helping to treat diabetes. Now I am just curious about this double blind trial. Did the researchers also regulate what the diabetic teens ate? In other words, I would like to more about the procedure of the actual clinical trial.
JMcNeill
I found this blog very informative. I had read, awhile ago that cinnamon aldehyde, the main active compound in cinnamon, actually did help to regulate blood sugar levels, thus helping to treat diabetes. Now I am just curious about this double blind trial. Did the researchers also regulate what the diabetic teens ate? In other words, I would like to more about the procedure of the actual clinical trial.
JMcNeill
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