Cinnamon may improve glucose control in diabetes mellitus. Allen, Robert W et al performed a meta-analysis and systematic review on clinical trials which included use of cinnamon for diabetes mellitus. The study examined 10 randomized controlled trials with 543 subjects at doses of cinnamon between a range of 120 mg and 6000 mg per day taken for 5-18 weeks. The following statistically significant results were found by the authors with a 95% confidence interval. Reduction of fasting blood glucose levels by 8.67-40.52 mg/dL (average 24,59 mg/dL), lower total cholesterol by 1.44-29.76 mg/dL, lower LDL 1.63-17.21 mg/dL, lower triglycerides by 10.91-48.27 mg/dL, and increase in HDL 1.09-2.24 mg/dL. A large variation of dosing was used and substantial variation of results was seen. 2 of the trials reviewed by the author showed 1-1.2 grams of cinnamon per day resulted in an increase in fasting blood glucose, increase in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAIC), and a few trials even showed some worsening of lipid parameters. A dose of cinnamon of 1-6 grams per day reported a decrease of fasting blood glucose in 6 trials, and most showed improvements of lipid parameters. In the meta-analysis, there was no significant change in HbA1C. (55)
