Cinnamon And Diabetes: Effect On Blood Sugar And Overall Health

Cinnamon and diabetes: Effect on blood sugar and overall health

People with diabetes often face dietary restrictions to control their blood sugar and prevent complications.
Although research is in a preliminary stage, cinnamon may help fight some symptoms of diabetes. It is also unlikely to cause blood pressure spikes, or disrupt blood sugar. So, people with diabetes who miss a sweet pop of flavor may find that cinnamon is a good replacement for sugar.
Can cinnamon affect blood sugar?
Cinnamon has shown promise in the treatment of blood sugar, as well as some other diabetes symptoms.
Research on the effects of cinnamon on blood sugar in diabetes is mixed and in the early stages. Most studies have been very small, so more research is necessary.
People with diabetes who are interested in herbal remedies, however, may be surprised to learn that doctors are serious about the potential for cinnamon to address some diabetes symptoms.
A 2003 study published in Diabetes Care, compared the effects of a daily intake of 1, 3, and 6 grams (g) of cinnamon with a group that received a placebo for 40 days.
All three levels of cinnamon intake reduced blood sugar levels and cholesterol. The effects were seen even 20 days after participants were no longer taking cinnamon.
A small 2016 study of 25 people, published in the Journal of Intercultural Ethnopharmacology, found that cinnamon may be beneficial for people with poorly controlled diabetes. Participants consumed 1 g of cinnamon for 12 weeks. The result was a reduction in fasting blood sugar levels.
However, a 2013 study published in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine had a differen Continue reading

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Exosomes are the Missing Link to Insulin Resistance in Diabetes

Chronic tissue inflammation resulting from obesity is an underlying cause of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. But the mechanism by which this occurs has remained cloaked, until now.
In a paper, published in the journal Cell on September 21, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers identified exosomes — extremely small vesicles or sacs secreted from most cell types — as the missing link.
“The actions induced by exosomes as they move between tissues are likely to be an underlying cause of intercellular communication causing metabolic derangements of diabetes,” said Jerrold Olefsky, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at UC San Diego School of Medicine and senior author of the paper. “By fluorescently labeling cells, we could see exosomes and the microRNA they carry moving from adipose (fat) tissue through the blood and infiltrating muscle and liver tissues.”
During chronic inflammation, the primary tissue to become inflamed is adipose. Forty percent of adipose tissue in obesity is comprised of macrophages — specialized immune cells that promote tissue inflammation. Macrophages in turn create and secrete exosomes.
When exosomes get into other tissues, they use the microRNA (miRNA) they carry to induce actions in the recipient cells. The macrophage-secreted miRNAs are on the hunt for messenger RNAs. When the miRNA finds a target in RNA, it binds to it, rendering the messenger RNA inactive. The protein that would have been encoded by the messenger RNA is no longer made. Thus, the miRNAs are a way Continue reading

In a New Study, Researchers Claim They’ve Found a Way to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

Reversing Type 2 Diabetes
Researchers from Newcastle and Glasgow Universities believe they have found a way to effectively reverse type 2 diabetes, without requiring a new kind of drug or invasive surgery. Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how a person’s body metabolizes sugar, either because they’ve developed resistance to the hormone insulin, or their pancreas fails to produce enough insulin.
It’s long been believed that the condition is manageable, but not curable. According to findings published in the journal The Lancet, however, type 2 diabetes can be reversed through weight loss. More specifically, by reducing the amount of fat being carried in and around the abdomen, as accumulated fat in this region impedes the function of the pancreas.
The study included 298 patients, aged 20 to 65, who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the previous six years. Half of the patients were put on a low-calorie diet and lost an average of 10 to 15 kg (22 to 33 pounds). The other half of patients, who served as a control group, received the best diabetes management available — but that did not include a weight loss program.
Of the patients who lost weight, more than half saw their diabetes go into remission: 86 percent of the patients who lost more than 15kg, 57 percent who lost 10 to 15 kg, and 34 percent who lost 5 to 10 kg.
Of the patients in the control group who were not on a weight management protocol, only 4 percent saw their diabetes go into remission.
“These findings are very exciting. They could revolutionize the way type 2 diabetes is Continue reading

My Diabetes Meds Went On Vacay

... That's Why I Puked
Lil Boosie first heard big cheers from a NYC crowd, and then huge groans .. because fans watched him vomit on stage -- and he tells us it's all because he lost some very important medication.
Boosie -- a known diabetic -- says there was a miscommunication during his travel, and the bag with his meds went to Philly ... while he went to New York. He went on stage last night without getting his insulin shot.
He wants his fans to know everything's cool now -- he's got his Rx, and is on his way to Nebraska to tear down the stage.
As Boosie puts it, "S**t happens when you have diabetes but I feel good now.” Continue reading

Diabetes Now Kills More People in South Africa Than HIV

The country's near-total focus on HIV over the past 15 years has saved countless lives but starved other diseases of resources.
Linda Nordling
Sep 11 2017, 2:00pm
Aletta Harrison
It was in late 2016 that Goodman Gwala noticed an itch on his left foot. His local clinic in Inanda, a township in Durban, South Africa, gave him bone-chilling news. "The doctor told me: 'Your toes are rotten, Goodman, there's nothing we can do. We have to take this thing out.'"
In April, doctors amputated half of Gwala's left foot to halt the source of the itch—a gangrenous ulcer caused by diabetes. If caught early and treated carefully, such wounds can heal. But in South Africa, where diabetes is an overlooked condition, many seek help too late. Type 2 diabetes, which is what Gwala has, can often be prevented by a healthy lifestyle. But his job as a supermarket baker put him in the way of too much temptation. "I used to make birthday cakes, donuts…Most of the time I was eating them," he says.
Aletta Harrison
Today the 51-year-old has given up sweet cakes and sugary drinks, but the damage is already done. "My life is difficult. It's not like before," he says. He rarely goes out, as it hurts to be on his crutches too long. Mostly, he sits at home watching TV. He survives on a meager disability grant of R4,000 a month—around $310—and he reckons he'll never work again. He hopes retirement age will bring more money—enough to build a bigger house for himself and his young son.
Gwala's illness is one case among more than 2 million South African adults who were shown to have diabetes in 2015 (t Continue reading