Cinnamon is everywhere during the holidays – from candles and flavored lattes to festive cookies and cakes. But it’s also being used for its potential health benefits, especially for diabetes, and patients are likely to ask if it really works. So far, research is conflicting. In one analysis, taking a specific form of cinnamon - cassia cinnamon - daily for 4-18 weeks, modestly lowered fasting blood sugar and reduced cholesterol in patients with type 2 diabetes. But cassia cinnamon didn’t reduce the long-term measure of blood glucose control, HbA1c. To learn more, and also to find out why patients with liver disease should be cautious with cassia cinnamon, review our complete scientific monograph.
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