Cinnamon May Benefit Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

n Annals of Family Medicine meta-analysis of 10 randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of cinnamon in 543 patients with type 2 diabetes at doses of 120 mg/day to 6 g/day for 4 to 18 weeks found that consumption reduced levels of fasting plasma glucose (-24.6 mg/dL), total cholesterol (-15.6 mg/dL), LDL cholesterol (-9.4 mg/dL) and triglycerides (-29.6 mg/dL). Cinnamon also increased levels of HDL cholesterol (1.7 mg/dL). No significant effect was seen on hemoglobin A1c levels. High degrees of heterogeneity were present for all analyses except HDL cholesterol, which limits the potential application of the results to patient care.