Cinnamon Twist?

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Cinnamon Twist?

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The debate continues about whether this spice can flavor your health for the better.

Reality Check
Cinnamon may reduce risk factors for people with diabetes. Or not.

A 2003 USDA study explored whether cinnamon could help improve blood sugar and cholesterol levels in people with Type 2 diabetes. The results were encouraging: After receiving 1-, 3-, and 6-gram tablets of cinnamon daily for 40 days, the study’s subjects showed levels of glucose, triglycerides , and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol each down by nearly 30 percent. But the most recent work, which focused on postmenopausal and perimenopausal women, showed mixed results. Likewise, researchers who have tested isolated cinnamon compounds on animals have been unable to produce conclusive data.

“Clearly, the bottom line is that results are mixed,” says Roger A. Clemens, spokesman for the American Society for Nutrition and an expert in food technologies. “The trials have just been too small in scope and the studies not well-enough defined. [Saying] otherwise is leveraging minimal science to claim it may be beneficial for those with Type 2 diabetes.”

Reality Check

Cinnamon contains antioxidants.

We do know that cinnamon has antioxidants, but there is no evidence that high doses of the spice will produce any of the healthy effects associated with antioxidants, such as helping prevent cardiovascular disease. Antioxidant potential is assessed in a test tube. Whether or not their presence in cinnamon translates to a health benefit for people is yet to be proved.

Reality Check

Cinnamon may help kill bacteria, fungi and viruses.

That’s a good thing, too, considering the insect pieces and rodent hairs that might be spicing up your coffee cake. But again, properties proven on a laboratory bench may not translate to benefits in the human body. “One also has to ask if those antimicrobial properties are friendly or adversarial,” says Clemens, who holds a doctorate in public health. “We have bacteria in and on us that are good for us, and bacteria that are bad for us. Typically, they live in harmony and allow us to be healthy. If we create antimicrobials out of cinnamon, how do we know what is going to be active and what is going to be knocked out? We have to be very careful as we look at different kinds of flora, especially in the gastrointestinal tract.”

Reality Check

There are many hurdles to approving alternative medicines.

It’s tempting to believe that giant pharmaceutical companies have a stranglehold on Food and Drug Administration approvals—that no medicine or dietary supplement gets approved unless it will profit the drug industry. But the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has its work cut out. Clemens, who has served on a NCCAM committee, explains that variables in cinnamon bark have to be controlled before we can start to address the vast physiological variables in people with diabetes.

“Even in the trials conducted, the type and quality of the cinnamon could affect results,” Clemens says. “Was there a botanist there to determine all the cinnamon came from the same plant? Did it come from the same region? The same season? This kind of information helps establish consistency of data.”

Reality Check

Cinnamon studies are worth further examination.

Research on cinnamon is challenged in part because the companies that manufacture spices are unaccustomed and unmotivated to support the tremendous number of tremendously expensive clinical trials. “Fortunately, there have been a number of investigators around the world that have provided fuel for the concept of cinnamon as a healthy supplement or medicine,” says Clemens. “We know that plants similar to cinnamon may have benefits. But we have a lot to do in terms of clinical science. It’s intriguing. We want to encourage those who conduct this kind of research to continue.”

Of course, laypeople attempting to conduct their own “research” over a box of cinnamon doughnuts must factor in the prospect of diminishing returns.