Cinnamon and other supplements

I use normal,powdered cinnamon on weetabix (one) in the morning,about half a teaspoon.I also have cinnamon tabs which I take at lunch time.I don't know if it helps a lot but I have acquired the taste for cinnamon on my weetabix!

I add half a teaspoon to a mix of good oils and organic yoghurt.This month I am trying Cinnulin PF capsules which contain the active ingredient of cinnamon.They were developed by Dr Richard Anderson who was one of,or, if not the first to discover the benefits of cinnamon on type 2 diabetics.

Hi there,

Use cinnamon powder myself, it has been used for thousands of years in ayurvedic medicine to help maintain glucose levels. I use the powdered version, about £2.99 for quite a large pot of it from Indian food shop, although I have heard chewing the actual bark is effective too.

I like a teaspoon in my tea every morning, and I add extra to any curries I may eat, I find the powder doesn't really mix well in water, kind of sits at the top.

Berbatov said:

I like a teaspoon in my tea every morning, and I add extra to any curries I may eat, I find the powder doesn't really mix well in water, kind of sits at the top.

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I sometimes use it in my coffee, when I want to eat soup <G> never found it affected my BG but it seems to work for some individuals.

she prob isnt a dietitian because what she said is laughable. My guess she is a nutritional therapist - and guess what they sell supplements . i would check that one because if she isnt a dietitian then she could be in trouble - you can check her name on the HPC register. Dont normally comment on here but just thought i would point it out!

a channel islands based company sell 500mg cinnamon supplements (nice small tablets) for a good price - that's what I use

ally5555 said:

she prob isnt a dietitian because what she said is laughable. My guess she is a nutritional therapist - and guess what they sell supplements . i would check that one because if she isnt a dietitian then she could be in trouble - you can check her name on the HPC register. Dont normally comment on here but just thought i would point it out!

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Ally I presume you based your assumption on the fact that she promoted the use of chromium as a supplement. The fact that the Lady in question is based in Harley Street means whether she’s a Dietitian or a Nutritional Therapist she must be very successful at what she does. Have a look at the following link she may be on to a good thing.

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/chromium-000294.htm
Chromium supplements may actually enhance the effectiveness of certain diabetes medications. Clinical studies have demonstrated that people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who take chromium supplements may require lower doses of insulin, metformin, or sulfonylureas (a group of medications used to treat type 2 diabetes including glimepiride, glyburide, glipizide, and chlorpropamide).
Graham

Hi all,
There is a great deal of misinformation and misunderstanding about cinnamon.

There are two types of cinnamon: "true" cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and Cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum). Both are usually sold as "cinnamon" and have an almost identical flavour (zeylanicum is not quite as bitter or harsh as aromaticum). How do you tell the difference? Usually the cost. True cinnamon is quite expensive and the bark is brittle and can be powdered easily. Cassia is cheap and the bark is so tough that it would break a normal domestic blender or coffee grinder - it can only be powdered using a commercial machine. The powdered "cinnamon" that you get in spice jars in supermarkets (typically around £1 a jar depending on brand) is cassia. If you are paying around £3 for it then you are either being over-charged for cassia, or it really is true cinnamon.

Research done on the chemical and therapeutic properties of both sorts has always concluded that true cinnamon is great for flavouring but it won't help your diabetes one bit. Only cassia is generally used in ayurvedic medicine. However, just this year some new research has found that there is a chemical (cinnamtannin B1) that is present in true cinnamon that helps in reducing insulin resistance in type-2 diabetes. Whether it has as much effect as cassia is yet to be determined.

As to whether it works - some people say it does but I tried it for 6 months and it made no difference whatsoever. If you do want to try it then please do so with care. Too much can cause inflamed taste buds, tender gums, and mouth ulcers. Large quantities can change breathing, dilate blood vessels, and cause sleepiness, depression, or even convulsions. The recommended maximum daily dose is two teaspoons of powdered cinnamon (not sure how that equates to the capsule variety).

dennis - having had alot of deatings wuth Nuts they say things like that - was an assumption on my part but i can only rec supplements not sell them and believe me they make a fortune.!

With my own pts I have a few taking cinnamon ans it seems to work - I have one pt who confesses to eating chocolate( a whole bar!) every day and takes it . Her HBa is 5.6!

I seem to recall a study a few months ago that suggested it didnt do anything

Hi Doc,
Your very lucky to be able to call on the advice of such knowledgeable people, I to would value their opinions.
Regards Graham

[/quote]
First off, I was wrong, she is not a dietitian but a former GP who left the NHS in the 70s to specialize in allergies and nutrition, as she was disillusioned by the approaches adopted. She did a further doctorate researching nutrition and allergies. Her husband is a Cambridge don, lecturing in theoretical chemistry. My mate is also a scientist who doesn't believe in anything unless it's been double blind tested. Believe me this is a family of total scientists who deplore quacks and alternative therapies.

BTW she wasn't selling me anything, just offering advice as a friend of her son. If this makes her a nut, I assume you are one too!

Sorry if my post got your back up, but I'd trust her opinion over most.[/quote]

RE-Cinnamon and "other suplements", just an observation,

i was ,told, for about the last 4/5 years, i was on boderline for diabetes,
read about chromium, that it was good for blood suger
i took chromium, for this, did it delay, onset of diabetes, or what

Hi Jeenie,
I don't know what your diet was pre diabetes, but a supplement alone would not stop the advent of diabetes without good dietary advice.

Regards Graham

jeenie said:

RE-Cinnamon and "other suplements", just an observation,

i was ,told, for about the last 4/5 years, i was on boderline for diabetes,
read about chromium, that it was good for blood suger
i took chromium, for this, did it delay, onset of diabetes, or what

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i didnt think it would, just thought it would help though, as i have always had ,what i thought , was a healthy diet, lots of organic, veg, some fruit, organic meats, chicken etc, low fat , but did have butter, never been a big eater, did eat carbs though, as didnt know any better [

quote="graham64"]Hi Jeenie,
I don't know what your diet was pre diabetes, but a supplement alone would not stop the advent of diabetes without good dietary advice.

Regards Graham

jeenie said:

RE-Cinnamon and "other suplements", just an observation,

i was ,told, for about the last 4/5 years, i was on boderline for diabetes,
read about chromium, that it was good for blood suger
i took chromium, for this, did it delay, onset of diabetes, or what

Click to expand...

[/quote]

Re Cinnamon.
Read this article about the work conducted by Dr Richard Anderson.He continues to work on the usefulness of cinnamon on Type 2 diabetics.If you e-mail him,he will kindly send to links to further research.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4 ... blood.html

I have been looking into the work of Dr Richard Anderson.It seems he has discovered a lot of useful benefits with Chromium and diabetes.Google will throw up lots of links. 8)