Yesterday my mom asked me about cinnamon. It seems she heard something recently about cinnamon being healthy but she didn’t quite remember the details. She often makes this quick and easy snack: slice an apple, add a few drops of water and put it in a bowl and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Microwave for about 1.5 – 2 minutes.
While all cooking herbs and spices have benefits (aside from the obvious – the more you season with these the less fat, sugar and salt you cook/bake with), cinnamon has been the talk of a few research papers recently. And, another one of these studies just popped up this month. In this particular one, cinnamon’s role for reducing blood sugar spikes and insulin production (insulin brings sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy) was once again examined. Scientists in Sweden took 15 healthy subjects and gave them 1 or 3 grams of cinnamon a day in a rice pudding. They found no affect with 1 gram but 3 grams a day reduced insulin production after a meal was consumed. A previous study by the same researchers found that 6 grams a day reduced blood sugar after a meal.
The research to date on cinnamon is equivocal (as it often times is), mainly due to different subjects (healthy, diabetic, metabolic syndrome etc.) and the differing amounts of cinnamon given. However, one thing is for sure, spicing up your food with cinnamon is a smart move. You’ll use less fat and sugar and you may minimize a post-meal surge in your blood sugar level. Though of course you may have to douse your food with this spice to have a significant, measurable impact on your blood sugar level.