Cinnamon and Diabetes

What's the relationship between cinnamon and diabetes? There has been a lot of hype over this in the news and on the web. So, is there anything to this? Let's find out.

The USDA did a study and the findings were released in August of 2000. What were the results? Cinnamon increased the body's ability to metabolize glucose by 20 times. There was another study in 2003 that appeared in the Diabetes Care journal. In this study, 60 people took cinnamon in pill form in varying amounts each day. Forty days later, it was found that fasting glucose levels were considerably reduced.

It would appear that there is something to cinnamon and diabetes. However, cinnamon should not be considered a cure for diabetes. The 'cure' is proper diet and exercise. We treat our bodies horribly and diabetes is just one of the ways we pay for it.

Another problem with cinnamon is that we often mix it with sugar. In fact, any given tablespoon of our version of 'cinnamon' is more than 50% sugar. I can't see how consuming all that sugar is good for anyone with diabetes. In fact, in these medical studies the cinnamon is taken in the form of a pill. Not by eating the old American past time, cinnamon toast. Hmmm.... I remember making that when I was a kid.

If there is any cure for diabetes it would be to modify what you eat and to exercise on a daily basis. If you are eating well, here are some foods you would never ever ever eat:

• Fast food
• Anything sold in box
• Anything sold in can
• Anything with sugar
• Anything with white flour
• Anything heavily processed
• Soda, both diet and regular

If you are eating well, your diet would consist of things like:

• Raw vegetables
• Lean organic meats
• Lots of water
• Lightly cooked vegetables
• Small amounts of fruit
• and of course... some cinnamon

So, it does seem there is something to this cinnamon and diabetes thing. Finally, a tasty and delicious way to help us treat a chronic condition.