Cinnamon Beats Placebo in Prediabetes
Cinnamon supplements kept a lid on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and other measures of glucose dysregulation in patients with prediabetes, a small randomized clinical trial found. In 51 patients with prediabetes followed for 12 weeks, FPG increased by an average of 4.5 ± 6 mg/dL in the placebo group but remained the same in the group who received cinnamon supplements, resulting in a between-group mean difference of approximately 5 mg/dL (114 ± 8 vs 108 ± 11, P<0.01), reported Giulio Romeo, MD, of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, and colleagues. In addition, as shown in the study online in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, use of cinnamon supplements resulted in a smaller area under the curve for plasma glucose compared with placebo (19,946 vs 21,389 mg/dL/120 min, P<0.05). Cinnamon supplements, but not placebo, were also associated with a significant decrease in plasma glucose at the 2-hour time point of the oral glucose tolerance test (-20 ± 27 mg/dL, P<0.01). "This randomized controlled trial of individuals with prediabetes showed that treatment with cinnamon 500 mg thrice daily resulted in a statistically significant between-group mean difference in FPG of approximately 5 mg/dl at 12 weeks, which was the primary outcome measure of the study. No change in FPG was noted at 6 weeks, which was one of the three pre-specified secondary end-points," the researchers wrote. "Our 12-week study showed beneficial effects of adding cinnamon to the diet on keeping blood sugar levels stable in participants with prediabetes," Romeo said in a news release. "These findings provide the rationale for longer and larger studies to address if cinnamon can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes over time." According to criteria used by the American Diabetes Association, approximately 38% of the U.S. population has prediabetes. Of these, approximately 3%-11% will progress to type 2 diabetes each year. Lifestyle interventions and anti-diabetic drugs are used to prevent the progression, but as many as half of individuals who receive some form of treatment still progress. "Therefore, identification of efficacious, durable, safe, and cost-effective strategies for type 2 diabetes prevention remains a clinically relevant unmet need, especially in low- and middle-income countries," the researchers said. Over the years, randomized clinical trials have tested various forms of cinnamon in adults with type 2 diabetes; doses ranged from 500 to 6,000 mg, and the duration of the studies ranged from 4 weeks to 4 months. The majority of trials demonstrated reductions of 10%-15% in FPG from baseline. However, changes in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were inconsistent among the trials. Mechanisms proposed for the glucose-lowering activity of cinnamon include increased glucose transporter type 4 membrane translocation, stimulation of post-prandial levels of glucagon-like peptide-1, inhibition of alpha-glucosidase activity, and antioxidant properties, Romeo's group explained. "In individuals with prediabetes, the evidence from randomized clinical trials addressing the impact of cinnamon on glucose homeostasis is more limited," the researchers added. "Specifically, it remains unclear if in this population: (a) cinnamon affects FPG, glucose tolerance, or both; and (b) the response to cinnamon is conserved across ethnic groups." The new double-blind trial included two ethnic groups: 39 individuals recruited at the Kyung Hee University Medical Center in Seoul, Korea; and 12 recruited at the Joslin Diabetes Center. All participants were adults ages 20 to 70 with prediabetes. Inclusion criteria were: Impaired fasting glucose, defined as FPG of 100 to 125 mg/dL Impaired glucose tolerance as demonstrated by a 2-hour plasma glucose level of 140-199 mg/dL based on a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test Patients were excluded if they had evidence of diabetes or other significant endocrine, cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, or liver disease. Participants were randomized 1:1 to receive cinnamon capsules, which contained 300 mg of cinnamon extract (Cinnamomum spp.) and 200 mg of Cinnamomum burmannii powder, or a look-alike placebo capsule containing cellulose, food coloring, and cinnamon incense. Participants took the capsules three times a day for 12 weeks, and laboratory tests were performed at baseline and at 6 and 12 weeks. Study limitations, the researchers said, included that the short duration did not allow them to assess progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes, and it was not powered to discriminate between participants with impaired fasting glucose compared with those with impaired glucose tolerance. Nevertheless, "treatment with cinnamon for 12 weeks, compared to placebo, resulted in favorable changes on measures of glucose homeostasis in a representative population of participants with prediabetes," Romeo and co-authors concluded. "These findings should set the foundation for a longer and larger randomized clinical trial that directly addresses the impact of cinnamon on incident type 2 diabetes and/or remission of prediabetes." Disclosures The study was supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in South Korea. Romeo and co-authors reported having nothing to disclose.
Cinnamon linked to blood sugar control in prediabetes, study finds
No result found, try new keyword!While science continues to test the true effectiveness of cinnamon, experts say sprinkling cinnamon on food won't harm you and may a good substitute for sugar, salt and other flavoring agents not good ...
The Week That Wasn't: Mask Cavities, Yosemite Sewage, Cinnamon
Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. This week in medical news, a dentist believes wearing masks may cause cavities, testing revealed coronavirus in Yosemite National Park's sewage, and researchers declared cinnamon improves blood glucose control in prediabetes. But you didn't see these headlines on Medscape Medical News. Here's why. Do Masks Cause Cavities? A pediatric dentist in Houston is noticing more patients with cavities and believes face masks are to blame, ABC News reported. The dentist says it's not the face masks that directly cause cavities but rather the way people breathe while wearing them. "If you're not used to [masks], it really can impede on our comfort of breathing," Piya Gandhi, DDS, owner of two dental practices, said. "So what we tend to do is start breathing through our mouth rather than breathing through our nose. And what happens when you're a chronic mouth breather is that we tend to dry out the mouth, so saliva that usually protects our teeth from cavities is now getting dried out and making us more prone to cavities." Though a provocative observation, no study has tested the proposed link between wearing a face covering and dental cavities. Without any evidence to back it up, we didn't think this claim was worth our readers' time. Yosemite Sewage There have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Yosemite National Park, but testing detected SARS-CoV-2 in the park's raw sewage, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, lab that did the testing told county health officials it's possible about 170 people were infected, based on virus levels in the sewage. It may seem alarming that the virus could have been present in Yosemite without any confirmed cases, which makes this local story of wider interest than usual. But the testing data do not appear to be publicly available or described in a scientific study, making the findings difficult to evaluate and verify for our readers. Benefits of Cinnamon in Prediabetes Cinnamon supplements improved blood sugar control in a study of 51 people with prediabetes, researchers report in the Journal of the Endocrine Society. In the randomized clinical trial, participants took a 500-mg capsule of cinnamon or placebo three times a day over 12 weeks. Researchers compared participants' fasting plasma glucose and oral glucose tolerance at the end of the study with baseline measurements. "Our 12-week study showed beneficial effects of adding cinnamon to the diet on keeping blood sugar levels stable in participants with prediabetes," Giulio Romeo, MD, a staff physician at the Joslin Diabetes Center and the division of endocrinology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, said in a press release. Cinnamon's effects on blood glucose have been studied for years, and this trial is not the last word. The study was small and only followed participants for a few months, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions. The study authors call for longer and larger studies to evaluate whether cinnamon can slow progression of prediabetes. We didn't think these results were ready for primetime for our readers yet. Victoria Giardina is Medscape's editorial intern. She has previously written for The Dr. Oz Show and is currently a National Lifestyle Writer for Her Campus. She can be reached at vgiardina@webmd.net or on Twitter @VickyRGiardina. Follow Medscape on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Here's how to send Medscape a story tip.
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