The Spice Which Enhances Your Body’s Health & Aesthetics
Whether is for health, looks or performance, all of us have at some stage strived to loose fat and become leaner. Many diet, exercise and/or change their lifestyle to achieve a leaner version of themselves often coming close to their desire, but just don’t quite reach where they want to be. This is where utilising the spice cinnamon can help. Among many health benefits cinnamon has been proven to elevate insulin sensitivity and thus reduce body fat.
Insulin, Insulin Resistance and Insulin Sensitivity
Insulin is an hormone secreted from the pancreas to control blood sugar (glucose) and amino acid within the body. When the pancreas detects heightened concentrations of glucose and/or amino acids in the blood it releases insulin to help shuttle these nutrients into the cells of muscles, fat tissue and the liver to be used as energy. Insulin is classed as an anabolic hormone as it increases protein synthesis; the process in which muscle is grown and repaired.
Without the release of insulin, glucose and amino acids cannot enter your body’s cells. Elevated blood glucose levels can lead to severe health issues if sustained for long periods. Potential issues can include damage to the nerves, eyes, kidneys and blood vessels. Insulin prevents high glucose concentrations, a condition known as hyperglycaemia and is a vital hormone for survival.
The amount of insulin released into the blood stream is proportional to the elevation of glucose and/or amino acid concentrations caused via the nutrients digested. Moreover, digestion of larger portions and/or consumption of foods higher in macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) will cause a higher insulin spike. Frequent insulin spikes result in the pancreas secreting more insulin than normal, in order to transport the nutrients into the cells and maintain a normal blood sugar level. Long periods of regular insulin spiking leads the pancreas producing more and more insulin as the insulin it secretes becomes less effective. This is known as insulin resistance which affects individuals with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
Those who have insulin resistance tend to have larger body fat percentages. High levels of blood glucose causes a change in your body’s metabolism reducing the rate of fat breakdown, as well as starting the synthesis of new fat cells. When the pancreas reaches its maximum output of insulin secretion and blood glucose levels are still high, this eventually leads to type 2 diabetes.
Unfortunately, insulin and weight gain go hand in hand, higher levels of body fat cause greater insulin resistance and greater insulin resistance causes greater levels of body fat. Moreover, it seems there is a positive correlation between increased abdominal fat and insulin resistance with higher levels of abdominal body fat causing an 80% greater risk of insulin resistance. Research has found that abdominal fat cells release a larger amount of adipokines which counters the effects of insulin.
On the other side of the spectrum to insulin resistance is insulin sensitivity. Insulin sensitivity is the term used for explaining how effective your body is at responding to insulin. Those who are insulin sensitive are able to store the energy from glucose and amino acids more effectively, placing less stress upon the pancreas to produce high levels of insulin. These individuals also tend to have more steady energy throughout the day, along with lower body fat percentages.
Similar to the spiral of insulin resistance and weight gain, insulin sensitivity spirals with lower body fat. With greater levels of insulin sensitivity, the brain also becomes more sensitive to insulin, resulting in reduced levels of hunger, in particular a reduction in the craving of high glycaemic (sugary) foods.
How Cinnamon Helps
Ingestion of cinnamon or cinnamon extract has been shown to significantly increase the glucose infusion rates compared to control subjects. The ‘insulin -stimulated insulin receptors’ within skeletal muscle cells were enhanced from the unitisation of cinnamon, suggesting muscle cells would adsorb greater levels of glucose and amino acids and therefore less would be needed to be stored in fat tissue or the liver. Cinnamon also enhanced insulin receptors when they were purposely inhabited. These findings suggests that cinnamon not only assists insulin to shuttle nutrients into our cells better but also improves the efficiency and effectiveness of our own insulin. In addition to this, the advantage cinnamon offers via better absorption of nutrients into muscle cells could lead to less muscle breakdown, prolong fatigue and superior sporting performance.
A glucose transporter called GLUT4 facilitates the transportation of glucose across plasma membranes into muscle and fat cells. Cinnamon extract has demonstrated to increase insulin uptake and support GLUT4 reducing blood glucose and plasma insulin, along with altering values of insulin resistance markers. Ingestion of cinnamon also inhabits Retinol-Binding Protein 4 (RBP4) a novel adipokine which can make muscles more insulin resistant and works opposite to GLUT4, leading to more glucose being stored as fat. Along with hindering the uptake of glucose from muscle cells, RBP4 also increases glucose production of the liver, furthermore increasing the likelihood of glucose to be stored as fat. Cinnamon helps our body utilise insulin more effectively; optimising the transportation of nutrients within our blood, improving absorption of these nutrients and adjusts glucose to be shuttled into muscle cells more favourably, limiting potential factors towards insulin resistance.
Ingestion of Cinnamon has also been shown to reduce the glucose response when consumed with a glucose salutation. The Cinnamon worked as a buffer towards the elevation of blood glucose, indicating advantages to defending insulin sensitivity with both high fat and high carbohydrate consumption. Chronic use of cinnamon over a 2 week period showed reduced insulin response to glucose, glucose response after consumption of food and delayed gastric emptying. This suggests chronic use of cinnamon offers more benefits to an individual’s health further limiting insulin resistance and linked health complications.
Other benefits
It is believed that type 2 diabetes and other insulin resistant conditions are strongly linked to systematic inflammation. Proinflammatory proteins common between obesity, metabolic syndrome and insulin resistant individuals, stimulate the overproduction of intestinal apolipoproteins which transport lipids (fat and cholesterol) around the lymphatic and circulatory systems. Along with this, apolipoproteins bind lipids to lipoproteins potentially increasing LDL (bad) cholesterol and elevating risk of cardiovascular diseases. Ingestion of cinnamon rapidly induces the expression of an anti-inflammatory protein called tristetraprolin which is reduced in the fat tissue of those with obesity. Cinnamon decreases the overproduction of LDL cholesterol both from the intestine and liver along with limiting elevations in LDL cholesterol after consumption of food.
How Much to Take & Types of Cinnamon
Research has indicated that to gain from the health benefits of cinnamon, 3-6g a day should be consumed. Many studies have used dosages between 2 and 5 grams with a significant effect occurring with 3+ grams. Studies that used 5 grams found total plasma and oral glucose responses reduced along with elevation of insulin sensitivity. Dosages of 6 grams a day had additional defects of reducing postprandial glucose responses and gastric emptying. Moreover, studies which used 1-3 grams showed no change in glucose responses but 3 grams consumed with rice pudding did buffer the insulin response as well of levels of insulin after ingestion.
Acute use of cinnamon both with the consumption of food and prior to consumption offer a reduction in glucose and insulin responses with the effects of cinnamon lasting up to 12 hours after ingestion. The advantage of this is that the timings you ingest cinnamon doesn’t matter a great deal. However, utilising cinnamon to minimise negative effects from an occasionally treat or badly timed meal can allow to optimise this perk. Based upon research findings, taking cinnamon alongside your treat will reduce the insulin response reducing the chances of fat storage. In addition to this, if you are consuming a carbohydras heavy meal before bed cinnamon could be useful in not only reducing the insulin response but also will promote better transportation of glucose into your muscles rather than fat helping you recover from your training rather negatively effecting body fat percentage.
Although it seems from the current research that when it comes to obtaining the benefits of cinnamon the more you ingest the better this is not always true. There are two main types of cinnamon; Cassia and Ceylon. Cassia cinnamon also known as ‘regular’ cinnamon is the more common form of the spice being found in most supermarkets and is used more often due to its cheaper price. Ceylon or ‘true’ cinnamon is more expensive but offers a lighter, less bitter taste along with only containing trace amounts of coumarin. This is important as both forms of cinnamon offer the same benefits to your health yet Cassia consists of high concentrations of coumarin.
Coumarin Is a compound which has been shown to be toxic towards the liver, leading to liver damage. Although this damage can normally be reversible over time the level of damage can vary, with particularly sensitive individual suffering badly. Alongside this, research has also found links to coumarin consumption and cancer. The daily recommended limit of coumarin consumption is 0.1mg/kg body weight therefore an individual weighing 70kg has a daily limit of 7mg. In cassia cinnamon every 2grams contains 5mg, meaning most people will be near or have reached their daily limit without benefiting from the insulin sensitivity benefits.
It’s for this reason that Ceylon cinnamon is recommended, allowing you to benefit from the use of cinnamon with both acute and chronic advantages whilst not risking any side effects to the liver.
To Sum Up
· When your pancreas detects high blood glucose levels it secretes insulin.
· Insulin is a hormone which shuttles nutrients into muscle, liver and fat cells.
· Chronic bouts of heightened blood glucose levels can build up tolerance towards insulin leading to insulin resistance.
· Higher chances to store fat especially abdominal fat when insulin resistant.
· Increases in weight particularly body fat leads to greater insulin resistance.
· Insulin sensitivity allows for more efficient transportation of nutrients and is the opposite to insulin resistance.
· Insulin sensitivity places less stress upon the pancreas as well as tends to result in less cravings of sugary food.
· Cinnamon improves the effectiveness of the body’s insulin as well as the insulin receptors in muscle cells.
· Cinnamon helps support GLUT4 reducing blood glucose and plasma insulin levels.
· Cinnamon inhabits RBP4 decreasing the chances of glucose to be stored in fat tissue.
· Cinnamon reduces gut inflammation and LDL cholesterol.
· Between 3-6 grams of cinnamon will supply the benefits towards your health.
· Benefits can be seen when consumed with or without food.
· Benefits last up to 12 hours after consumption.
· Chronic supplementation of cinnamon can lead to greater insulin sensitivity.
· Two main forms of cinnamon cassia and Ceylon.
· Cassia contains high levels of coumarin.
· Coumarin is toxic towards the liver and can cause liver damage and cancer.
· Daily limit of coumarin 0.1mg/kg BW rough 2-3 grams of cassia cinnamon.
· Ceylon has only trace amounts of coumarin.
References
Qin, B., Panickar, K. S., & Anderson, R. A. (2010). Cinnamon: Potential Role in the Prevention of Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, and Type 2 Diabetes. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, 4(3), 685–693.
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