Spice Things Up If you want to spice up your holidays, here's some healthy spice advice. A US Department of Agriculture study of 60 type 2 diabetics revealed that one gram of cinnamon taken daily, over a course of 40 days, improved management of blood sugar levels, as well as triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Some of the subjects took three grams of cinnamon per day, and others took six grams per day, but none of the subjects in these two groups showed an increased benefit over the group that took one gram per day. One gram of cinnamon is less than half a teaspoon. Researchers continued to monitor the study participants after the 40-day trial, and found that the subjects' overall blood sugar levels began rising when the cinnamon intake was discontinued. Based on these promising results, the USDA team called for longer-term studies of cinnamon, which would also include an examination of any potential health problems that might arise from regular ingestion of cinnamon. As for increasing the cinnamon in your diet right now, lead researcher Richard Anderson cautioned against eating more cinnamon buns or apple pies. "The key is to add cinnamon to what you would eat normally," he told NewScientist.com. In other words, cinnamon SUGAR won't provide any benefit to blood sugar levels, in case you thought you found a loophole.
To Your Good Health
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute Sources:
"Cinnamon Spicing Up Insulin Sensitivity" NutraIngredients.com, 11/24/03, nutraingredients.com
"Cinnamon Spice Produces Healthier Blood" NewScientist.com News Service, 11/24/03, newscientist.com
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