Plain language summary
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are rapidly increasing in developing countries, in particular South Asia. Imbalanced diet and increased physical inactivity are two important reasons for this rise. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of signs and symptoms including abdominal obesity, impaired glucose and fat metabolism and high blood pressure, and carries an increased risk of developing T2DM and CVD. The aim of this double-blind study was to evaluate the use of cinnamon as a dietary intervention in Asian Indian individuals with metabolic syndrome. 116 obese patients with metabolic syndrome were randomised to receive either 3g cinnamon or placebo for 16 weeks, alongside diet and exercise advice which was the same for both groups. Compared to placebo group, patients in the cinnamon group had significantly greater improvements in blood glucose control, body composition, body mass index, lipid profile and blood pressure. There was a 35% reduction in prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the cinnamon group compared to 5% in the placebo group. The authors conclude that 3g cinnamon for 16 weeks resulted in significant improvements in all components of metabolic syndrome in this study population.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nutritional modulation remains central to the management of metabolic syndrome. Intervention with cinnamon in individuals with metabolic syndrome remains sparsely researched. METHODS We investigated the effect of oral cinnamon consumption on body composition and metabolic parameters of Asian Indians with metabolic syndrome. In this 16-week double blind randomized control trial, 116 individuals with metabolic syndrome were randomized to two dietary intervention groups, cinnamon [6 capsules (3 g) daily] or wheat flour [6 capsules (2.5 g) daily]. Body composition, blood pressure and metabolic parameters were assessed. RESULTS Significantly greater decrease [difference between means, (95% CI)] in fasting blood glucose (mmol/L) [0.3 (0.2, 0.5) p = 0.001], glycosylated haemoglobin (mmol/mol) [2.6 (0.4, 4.9) p = 0.023], waist circumference (cm) [4.8 (1.9, 7.7) p = 0.002] and body mass index (kg/m2 ) [1.3 (0.9, 1.5) p = 0.001] was observed in the cinnamon group compared to placebo group. Other parameters which showed significantly greater improvement were: waist-hip ratio, blood pressure, serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Prevalence of defined metabolic syndrome was significantly reduced in the intervention group (34.5%) vs. the placebo group (5.2%). CONCLUSION A single supplement intervention with 3 g cinnamon for 16 weeks resulted in significant improvements in all components of metabolic syndrome in a sample of Asian Indians in north India. TRIAL REGISTRATION The clinical trial was retrospectively registered (after the recruitment of the participants) in ClinicalTrial.gov under the identification number: NCT02455778 on 25th May 2015.
Methodological quality
Jadad score
:
5
Allocation concealment
:
Yes
