Despite huge scientific advances over the last 100 years, it seems we are only beginning to understand the healing power of many of the earth’s plants. Almost daily, it appears that a new health breakthrough is made using a very common everyday plant. One recent breakthrough involves cinnamon and diabetes.

Incredibly, there are well over 200 types of cinnamon plants. References to cinnamon date back to ancient times in many important texts, including the bible. Traditional uses include as a spice, insect repellent and medicine. Most cinnamon is in the form of a small evergreen tree. The substance we consume is prepared by grinding the plant bark, immersing it in a salt and water solution, and then distilling the mixture (i.e., removing the water). Over time, the remaining substance will become dark and aromatic.

With over 200 varieties of cinnamon, it is not surprising that not all of varieties are appropriate for treating diabetes. Initially, a discussion regarding two different cinnamon types is important. Cinnamon zeylanicum is the most common type of cinnamon. Some people refer to it as “true” cinnamon and it is the type you usually purchase in a grocery store.

Cinnamon aromaticum is a related species and is sometimes referred to as cassia. Although different, cassia is often substituted for true cinnamon in stores. The distinction between the two plants is important, as different diabetes studies have used one or the other variety. Let’s take a look at the studies.

A 2003 study, researched how cassia affected blood glucose and cholesterol. The study lasted 40 days and the results were startling. Cassia lowered blood glucose levels (up to 29% in some participants), lowered LDL cholesterol (up to 27%) and lowered triglycerides (up to 30%). Interestingly, the study also found that cassia was able to increase a cell’s receptivity to insulin (reducing insulin resistance). Incredible.

A second study done in 2006 studied true cinnamon or cinnamon zeylancium. Again, this type of cinnamon lowered blood glucose levels and lowered insulin resistance. There is one important footnote, however. The 2006 study was conducted using rats, while the 2003 study used humans. While rats are often viewed as a good (safer and less expensive) substitute for human studies, clearly rats are not people.

The take away from these two studies is that cinnamon shows great promise as a supplement for treating diabetes. Nonetheless, you should be clear regarding which type of cinnamon you are taking, as not all 200 or more varieties have been studied and only one study involved human testing.

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