Lowering Cholesterol e1

[Guest guest]

FYI

 

My experience is that cinnamon works.

I read the research.

 

earl (I'm new here so you may have covered this)

 

Look at

 

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA346983

 

Q Cinnamon for Cholesterol, Blood Sugar Control?

I have been reading that several studies have shown that a daily dose

of cinnamon may delay the onset of type 2 diabetes and help regulate

blood sugar levels of existing type 2 diabetics. I've also heard that

taking a half-teaspoon of cinnamon a day can help to lower

cholesterol.

A Answer (Published 11/30/2004)

 

Some recent research does suggest that cinnamon may have a beneficial

effect on blood sugar and may also help lower cholesterol, but the

study in question was small and its findings need to be confirmed

before we can start recommending cinnamon to patients.

 

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The news about cinnamon's effect on blood sugar and cholesterol came

from a small study in Pakistan. Results were published in the

December 2003 issue of Diabetes Care. The study ran for only 40 days

and included 60 patients with type 2 diabetes. It showed that one,

three or six grams of cinnamon daily, divided into two doses (that

amounts to between a quarter of a teaspoon to 1 teaspoon a day),

lowered fasting glucose by 18 to 29 percent, triglycerides by 23 to

30 percent, LDL cholesterol by 7 to 27 percent, and total cholesterol

by 12 to 26 percent.

 

Cinnamon's effect on blood sugar is believed to be due to a

proanthocyanidin, an active ingredient that increases sensitivity of

receptors to insulin.

 

 

A word of caution: cinnamon in large doses may be toxic, so don't

assume that if the relatively small amounts used in the study help,

larger amounts will work better. There's also the possibility that

adding cinnamon to your diet will change the dose of medication you

need, so you should monitor your blood sugar carefully.

 

As for cholesterol control, the effects seen in the Pakistani study

don't equal those of better-studied statin drugs. So if your

cholesterol is high and you're taking a statin, don't assume that you

can substitute cinnamon. The results of the Pakistani study are very

interesting, but we need to know more. In the meantime, there's no

harm in sprinkling cinnamon on your oatmeal or using it in cooking.

 

Andrew Weil, M.D.