How might cinnamon lower blood sugar levels?

The results of studies using cinnamon are inconsistent, but researchers from Sweden wanted to find out how cinnamon might lower blood sugar levels.

To do this, they measured the time for a serving of rice pudding (with and without cinnamon) to empty from the stomach into the intestines.

The details.

14 healthy volunteers ate 300 grams (a little more than a cup) of rice pudding with and without 6 grams (about a teaspoonful) of cinnamon added.
Hmm, tasty.

And the results.

Adding cinnamon to the rice pudding significantly delayed gastric emptying and lowered the postprandial (post meal levels of blood sugar) response.
There was no difference in satiety.

The researchers concluded, “Inclusion of cinnamon in the diet lowers the postprandial glucose response, a change that is at least partially explained by a delayed GER [gastric emptying rate].”

6/7/07 22:52 JR

Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point