Several months ago, I told you about several herbs that can control type-2 diabetes. These included aloe vera, cinnamon, and Gymnema sylvestre. All of these are great for treating diabetes. But now there is evidence that one of them actually works better the worse your condition is.
A German study evaluated 79 subjects with type-2 diabetes. All of them managed their condition with either diet or oral drugs. The researchers randomly divided the volunteers into two groups. One took 112 mg of a cinnamon extract (three times daily) or a placebo. The extract was equivalent to about three grams of cinnamon powder per day.
The results showed that cinnamon reduced fasting blood glucose by 10.3%. The placebo group also went down, but only by 3.4%. And those with the highest glucose levels at the start of the study saw the greatest benefit. Unfortunately, lipid profiles did not change. However, any improvement in blood sugar levels is very likely to improve your vascular risk. Lower blood sugar means less need for your body to make insulin, which I call the hormone of aging and death.
Action to take: Cinnamon is cheap, plentiful, and very tasty. So feel free to eat all you want. However, the researchers recommend a cinnamon extract over the powder. Its difficult to eat enough powdered cinnamon to make a substantial difference in your blood sugar problems. Unfortunately, some extracts contain oils that many people are allergic to. So try aqueous (water) extracts instead. They do not contain oil, are completely safe, and should give you the results you want.
Ref: Eur J Clin Invest, 2006; 36(5): 340-4.