CINNAMON may prevent or at least delay a type of diabetes that develops with
age, say researchers in the US.
Clinical trials of a cinnamon extract are due to begin within a year, but
nutritionist Richard Anderson says patients with type II or
non-insulin-dependent diabetes could benefit now by adding the spice to their
food or drink. 鈥淲e recommend people take a quarter to a full teaspoon a day of
cinnamon, perhaps in orange juice, coffee or on oatmeal,鈥� he says.
Type II diabetes kills 100 million people prematurely each year. In patients
with the condition, fat and muscle cells gradually lose their ability to respond
to insulin, the hormone that directs cells to remove excess glucose from the
bloodstream. As a result, glucose builds up in the blood, causing symptoms such
as fatigue, weight loss and blurred vision.
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In earlier laboratory experiments, Anderson and his colleagues at the US
Agricultural Research Service鈥檚 nutrition labs in Beltsville, Maryland,
established that cinnamon rekindles the ability of fat cells from type II
diabetics to recognise and respond to insulin, increasing their glucose
metabolism twentyfold. Now the team has discovered the substance responsible, a
polyphenol called methylhydroxy chalcone polymer (MHCP).
Anderson says the extract doesn鈥檛 replace insulin by binding to the hormone
receptor itself. Experiments have shown that it simply makes fat cells more
responsive to insulin, ensuring that the 鈥渞emove glucose鈥� message registers
inside the cell.
In unpublished studies, abnormally high glucose concentrations in diabetic
mice fell drastically when they were given MHCP. Blood pressure also remained
stable in spontaneously hypertensive rats, rodents with an insensitivity to
insulin whose blood pressure normally soars when they eat a high-sugar diet.
鈥淎ny work in this area is welcome,鈥� says Cathy West, a spokeswoman for
London-based Diabetes UK. She says that around two million people have type II
diabetes in Britain, but cautions that it is too early to start recommending
that people take cinnamon to treat the condition. 鈥淏ut we look forward to the
results of further research.鈥�