Cinnamon?

Tophers_Motivation

I've been told cinnamon can help your body process sugars (I'm diabetic), so I bought a bottle of cinnamon supplements. One dose is two pills ... but does anyone know if I need more than one dose a day for it to have this effect?

alicebhsia

i don't know the necessary dose of cinnamon, but i do know that i started drinking a small glass of red wine with dinner almost every day sort of following the DASH diet and my blood sugar dropped a lot. i never knew red wine had that effect but if you google it the internet does say drinking red wine helps control your blood sugar. i went from like average 185 to 107-145 on a daily basis.

Tophers_Motivation

Interesting. I wonder why that is. Never been an alcohol fan, though.

rockymir

Yes, apparently it's true but there is a problem, which is also what always kept me away from using cinnamon as a supplement and limited my use of it as a flavour only. The problem is most (or at least it's what they say) cinnamon on the shelves is actually cassia bark, not real cinnamon. And cassia bark contains coumarin, that is toxic and may even cause cancer with repeated/regular use.
Now, you can recognise cassia from cinnamon when it's whole (you know, those small bark rolls...) but how can you tell when it's ground? I never dared to trust that.

Crafty_camper123

Cinnamon is supposed to help your body by stabilizing your blood sugar. I'll preface by saying I am not diabetic. But, I have had some blood sugar symptoms in the past though, and taking a cinnamon supplement seems to help stave of the crash feeling if I get too hungry, and the peak feeling from eating after a crash. I don't think you need more then one dose a day, but I'm not a doctor either, lol. Just speaking from personal experience from when I've taken cinnamon supplements. I've found I can get the same effect by putting a dash of cinnamon in my morning oatmeal or coffee. Try it for a while and see what it does for you. To my knowledge, I don't think there are any medical contraindications, but that may be something you should look into before deciding to take it if you are on any medication.

Christine_72

trimi1104 wrote: »

Yes, apparently it's true but there is a problem, which is also what always kept me away from using cinnamon as a supplement and limited my use of it as a flavour only. The problem is most (or at least it's what they say) cinnamon on the shelves is actually cassia bark, not real cinnamon. And cassia bark contains coumarin, that is toxic and may even cause cancer with repeated/regular use.
Now, you can recognise cassia from cinnamon when it's whole (you know, those small bark rolls...) but how can you tell when it's ground? I never dared to trust that.

Purchase Ceylon cinnamon, not the regular grocery store types which are most often cassia.

JAYxMSxPES

Yes, the peer-reviewed literature suggest cinnamon can help manage insulin levels. I believe the interventions were done with a 6gm dose of cinnamon per day; it's been a while since I read it myself. You can probably find abstracts on Google Scholar if you search Cinnamon and Insulin. Please consult with your doctor to see how that will affect your current therapy plan.

lemurcat12

Christine_72 wrote: »

trimi1104 wrote: »

Yes, apparently it's true but there is a problem, which is also what always kept me away from using cinnamon as a supplement and limited my use of it as a flavour only. The problem is most (or at least it's what they say) cinnamon on the shelves is actually cassia bark, not real cinnamon. And cassia bark contains coumarin, that is toxic and may even cause cancer with repeated/regular use.
Now, you can recognise cassia from cinnamon when it's whole (you know, those small bark rolls...) but how can you tell when it's ground? I never dared to trust that.

Purchase Ceylon cinnamon, not the regular grocery store types which are most often cassia.

May not be helpful for blood sugar, however.

https://nutritionfacts.org/2013/10/29/cinnamon-for-diabetes/

"...cassia cinnamon, also known as Chinese cinnamon (probably what you’re getting at the store if it just says “cinnamon”) contains a compound called coumarin which may be toxic to the liver at high doses....

...So a teaspoon a day of cassia cinnamon might be too much for anyone, but can’t we just switch from cassia cinnamon to Ceylon cinnamon and get the benefits without the potential risks? Without the risks, yes, but we’re no longer so sure about the benefits.

Nearly all of the studies showing blood sugar benefits of cinnamon have been done on cassia. We’ve just assumed that the same would apply for the safer cinnamon, Ceylon, but only recently was it put to the test. That nice blunting of blood sugars we saw in response to cassia cinnamon disappeared when the researchers tried Ceylon cinnamon instead. In fact, it may actually be the potentially toxic coumarin that was the active ingredient in the cassia cinnamon all along. Thus, sidestepping the toxin by switching may sidestep the benefit."

I will note that I would not worry a bit about normal usage of cinnamon (cassia or Ceylon) in cooking, certainly not for adults, but it might be better not to take it as a medication daily (and obviously not if one is on a blood thinner already).

My view would be that cinnamon tastes good, use it in cooking (whatever kind you like), but don't go overboard, and usually blood sugar can be dealt with through weight loss, a healthy diet, and not eating refined carbs on their own.

Christine_72

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

trimi1104 wrote: »

Yes, apparently it's true but there is a problem, which is also what always kept me away from using cinnamon as a supplement and limited my use of it as a flavour only. The problem is most (or at least it's what they say) cinnamon on the shelves is actually cassia bark, not real cinnamon. And cassia bark contains coumarin, that is toxic and may even cause cancer with repeated/regular use.
Now, you can recognise cassia from cinnamon when it's whole (you know, those small bark rolls...) but how can you tell when it's ground? I never dared to trust that.

Purchase Ceylon cinnamon, not the regular grocery store types which are most often cassia.

May not be helpful for blood sugar, however.

https://nutritionfacts.org/2013/10/29/cinnamon-for-diabetes/

"...cassia cinnamon, also known as Chinese cinnamon (probably what you’re getting at the store if it just says “cinnamon”) contains a compound called coumarin which may be toxic to the liver at high doses....

...So a teaspoon a day of cassia cinnamon might be too much for anyone, but can’t we just switch from cassia cinnamon to Ceylon cinnamon and get the benefits without the potential risks? Without the risks, yes, but we’re no longer so sure about the benefits.

Nearly all of the studies showing blood sugar benefits of cinnamon have been done on cassia. We’ve just assumed that the same would apply for the safer cinnamon, Ceylon, but only recently was it put to the test. That nice blunting of blood sugars we saw in response to cassia cinnamon disappeared when the researchers tried Ceylon cinnamon instead. In fact, it may actually be the potentially toxic coumarin that was the active ingredient in the cassia cinnamon all along. Thus, sidestepping the toxin by switching may sidestep the benefit."

I will note that I would not worry a bit about normal usage of cinnamon (cassia or Ceylon) in cooking, certainly not for adults, but it might be better not to take it as a medication daily (and obviously not if one is on a blood thinner already).

My view would be that cinnamon tastes good, use it in cooking (whatever kind you like), but don't go overboard, and usually blood sugar can be dealt with through weight loss, a healthy diet, and not eating refined carbs on their own.

I'd probably give it a miss altogether then. The cassia may help with blood sugar, but could start to cause other problems where there were none before...

rockymir

Christine_72 wrote: »

I'd probably give it a miss altogether then. The cassia may help with blood sugar, but could start to cause other problems where there were none before...

Yeah, sounds like more trouble than benefit.

Jaymie

What a shock to hear about cinnamon. Is there any safe real foods left !!

trigden1991

Cinnamon is delicious but not a medical supplement.

Azercord

Kind of glad I found this. I use 2.5-3 grams of cinnamon in my yogurt everyday because I really like the taste. I need to double check the source now and make sure I'm buying the good stuff.

mph323

This is really interesting and informative. I was always mystified by those recipes that call for grated cinnamon stick instead of just grated cinnamon from the container. Now I get it!

lemurcat12

Jaymie wrote: »

What a shock to hear about cinnamon. Is there any safe real foods left !!

It's fine, just don't start pounding it on the idea it's a superfood. Use it in a normal way for cooking.

Stephen801

Please, stop the madness.