Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of the shoots of a tree (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum) that grows predominantly in India, China, and Ceylon. The inner rind when dried and rolled into cylinders forms the cinnamon of commerce. The fruit and coarser pieces of bark when boiled yield a fragrant oil. Cinnamon is aromatic and one of the best tasting spices. In recent years scientists have discovered that cinnamon extract has strong antioxidant activity and has the potential to help maintain healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Patients with diabetes may find cinnamon to be a healthful addition to their diet.

Planetary Formulas Cinnamon Extract 200 mg

One of the oldest remedies used in traditional Chinese herbalism for digestive support, recent studies have shown cinnamon may support healthy blood sugar levels, when used as part of your diet, by activating insulin and glucose transport and improving glucose metabolism.

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Cinnamon herb research
Cinnamon extract prevents the insulin resistance induced by a high-fructose diet.
Qin B. Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan. Horm Metab Res. 2004 Feb;36(2):119-25.
The aim of this study was to determine whether cinnamon extract would improve the glucose utilization in normal male Wistar rats fed a high-fructose diet (HFD) for three weeks with or without cinnamon extract added to the drinking water (300 mg/kg/day). In vivo glucose utilization was measured by the euglycemic clamp technique. Further analyses on the possible changes in insulin signaling occurring in skeletal muscle were performed afterwards by Western blotting. At 3 mU/kg/min insulin infusions, the decreased glucose infusion rate (GIR) in HFD-fed rats (60 % of controls, p < 0.01) was improved by cinnamon extract administration to the same level of controls (normal chow diet) and the improving effect of cinnamon extract on the GIR of HFD-fed rats was blocked by approximately 50 % by N-monometyl-L-arginine. The same tendency was found during the 30 mU/kg/min insulin infusions. These results suggest that early cinnamon extract administration to HFD-fed rats would prevent the development of insulin resistance at least in part by enhancing insulin signaling and possibly via the NO pathway in skeletal muscle.

Isolation and characterization of polyphenol type-A polymers from cinnamon with insulin-like biological activity.
Anderson RA.Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, USDA, ARS, Bldg 307C, Rm 223, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350, USA. J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Jan 14;52(1):65-70.
We have shown that extracts from cinnamon enhance the activity of insulin. The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize insulin-enhancing complexes from cinnamon that may be involved in the alleviation or possible prevention and control of glucose intolerance and diabetes. Water-soluble polyphenol polymers from cinnamon that increase insulin-dependent in vitro glucose metabolism roughly 20-fold and display antioxidant activity were isolated and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy. The polymers were composed of monomeric units with a molecular mass of 288. Two trimers with a molecular mass of 864 and a tetramer with a mass of 1152 were isolated. Their protonated molecular masses indicated that they are A type doubly linked procyanidin oligomers of the catechins and/or epicatechins. These polyphenolic polymers found in cinnamon may function as antioxidants, potentiate insulin action, and may be beneficial in the control of glucose intolerance and diabetes.

Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes.
Khan A. NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan. Diabetes Care. 2003 Dec;26(12):3215-8.
The objective of this study was to determine whether cinnamon improves blood glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol levels in people with type 2 diabetes. A total of 60 people with type 2 diabetes, 30 men and 30 women aged 52.2 +/- 6.32 years, were divided randomly into six groups. Groups 1, 2, and 3 consumed 1, 3, or 6 g of cinnamon daily, respectively, and groups 4, 5, and 6 were given placebo capsules corresponding to the number of capsules consumed for the three levels of cinnamon. The cinnamon was consumed for 40 days followed by a 20-day washout period. After 40 days, all three levels of cinnamon reduced the mean fasting serum glucose (18-29%), triglyceride (23-30%), LDL cholesterol (7-27%), and total cholesterol (12-26%) levels; no significant changes were noted in the placebo groups. Changes in HDL cholesterol were not significant. The results of this study demonstrate that intake of 1, 3, or 6 g of cinnamon per day reduces serum glucose, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes and suggest that the inclusion of cinnamon in the diet of people with type 2 diabetes will reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Cinnamone bark extract availability from raw herb and ingredient suppliers
Cinnamon bark is available as a plain powder or in various extract potencies, for instance a 5 to 1 concentration.

Cinnamon emails
Q. I discovered your site while trying to find out what may have caused one of the worst nights of my life. Could too much cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon), sprinkled on, say, grapefruit or oranges, cause intestinal aches? Onslaughts of pain like tidal waves striking an unprotected beach? Intermittent tortures occurring every twelve minutes and lasting about 12 seconds, OVER TEN HOURS?!!! My insides are still sore, and I'm still shaky and wobbly, but I think cinnamon, and to a much greater degree, nutmeg, should not be treated like harmless aromatic spices. Even a pinch too much can cause agony.

Q. I read somewhere about adding honey and cinnamon to "tea water". Is this just hot water, or is it any flavor of tea that you add this to?
   A. Some people like cinnamon taste in various teas, others don't, you may wish to try to see which teas you like combined with cinnamon.

Q. Recently, there have been a lot of publication on cinnamon herb. I would like your input on this subject. My friend had mentioned to me that he started taking 2 cinnamon capsules 1,000mg daily on what he heard about cinnamon. He is pre-diabetic. He did stop after I had showed him the site that I was reading. Never asked his Doctor if he could take the supplement. I was concern because he is taking 3 blood pressure medications and gout medication, and that the combination would interfere with each other.
   A. There is no clear evidence yet that a few grams of cinnamon make a significant difference in blood sugar control.

Q. "Cinnamon extract inhibits the aggregation of tau and disassembles fibers that have already formed." I ran across this rather tantalizing information:  The title is "CINNAMON EXTRACT USEFUL FOR INHIBITING THE AGGREGATION
OF TAU AND TREATING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE" by a researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara by the name of Donald Graves. Here is the most detail I've found about this: "Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered an extract of common cinnamon that contains a class of small organic molecules that inhibit several key processes in Alzheimer's disease. The cinnamon extract inhibits the aggregation of tau and
disassembles fibers that have already formed, suggesting that neurofibrillary tangles can possibly be reversed by these compounds. The extract exhibits potent inhibitory activity, is orally available, water-soluble, non-toxic, and the bioactive molecules are likely brain permeable. The extract is readily produced in large quantities and can be encapsulated in powder form for oral administration. These properties make the cinnamon extract a highly favorable substance for development into an effective therapeutic to slow or prevent Alzheimer's disease."
   I haven't been able to find much more about this, but as you can imagine, I'm extremely interested. I don't know what the "extract" is, exactly, and if regular old cinnamon has enough of this stuff to do the job.
   A. There are many, many laboratory studies with a variety of herbs and natural substances that have shown benefits for Alzheimer's disease and other conditions. Until human trials are done one should not get overly excited. However, cinnamon has many healthy compounds and one can either add more cinnamon spice to their diet or take cinnamon extract capsules.

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