Cinnamon ......... Was: Metformin harmful for the heart ??

[Guest guest]

Hi folks:

Any suggestions for the best low calorie way to introduce a small

amount of cinnamon into one's diet on a daily basis? ty

Rodney.

> > Hi,

> >

> > I am a non diabetic man with some insulin resistance and FBS

leves of

> > 100+, I was considering the use of Metformin for its potential

life

> > extension benefits. However, the following study appears to be

> > troubling. I request comments and opinions and any other relevent

> studies/facts.

> >

> > Best regards

> >

> > Rizwan Kherati

> >

>

> Rizwan,

>

> Metformin may cause lactic acidosis which can be fatal. The sudden

> development of a slow or irregular heartbeat may be a sign of lactic

> acidosis.

>

> http://www.drugs.com/metformin.html

>

> Check with your doctor, but before taking any drugs, you may want to

> try cutting down your calories, specially carbohydrates, and adding

a

> teaspoon of cinnamon to your daily diet. Check out the following

sources.

>

> Tony

>

> ================

> How I Defeated Type II Diabetes

> http://shurie.com/lee/writing_defeat_diabetes.htm

>

> ===

> Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2003 Dec;62(3):139-48.

> Cinnamon extract (traditional herb) potentiates in vivo

> insulin-regulated glucose utilization via enhancing insulin

signaling

> in rats.

> Qin B, Nagasaki M, Ren M, Bajotto G, Oshida Y, Sato Y.

>

> Department of Sports Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine,

Nagoya

> University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.

>

> Cinnamon has been shown to potentiate the insulin effect through

> upregulation of the glucose uptake in cultured adipocytes. In the

> present study, we evaluated the effect of the cinnamon extract on

the

> insulin action in awaked rats by the euglycemic clamp and further

> analyzed possible changes in insulin signaling occurred in skeletal

> muscle. The rats were divided into saline and cinnamon extract (30

and

> 300 mg/kg BW-doses: C30 and C300) oral administration groups. After

> 3-weeks, cinnamon extract treated rats showed a significantly higher

> glucose infusion rate (GIR) at 3 mU/kg per min insulin infusions

> compared with controls (118 and 146% of controls for C30 and C300,

> respectively). At 30 mU/kg per min insulin infusions, the GIR in

C300

> rats was increased 17% over controls. There were no significant

> differences in insulin receptor (IR)-beta, IR substrate (IRS)-1, and

> phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase protein content between C300 rats

> and controls. However, the skeletal muscle insulin-stimulated IR-

beta

> and the IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation levels in C300 rats were 18

and

> 33% higher, respectively, added to 41% higher IRS-1/PI 3-kinase

> association. These results suggest that the cinnamon extract would

> improve insulin action via increasing glucose uptake in vivo, at

least

> in part through enhancing the insulin-signaling pathway in skeletal

> muscle.

>

> PMID: 14625128

> ===

> Diabetes Care. 2003 Dec;26(12):3215-8.

> Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2

diabetes.

>

> Khan A, Safdar M, Ali Khan MM, Khattak KN, RA.

> Department of Human Nutrition, NWFP Agricultural University,

> Peshawar, Pakistan.

>

> OBJECTIVE: 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. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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.

CONCLUSIONS:

> 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.

>

> PMID: 14633804