| Cinnamon, cloves may spice up health, studies say
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2006-04-05 13:28:00
Alan Mozes - HealthDay
How much and what type of omega-3 fatty acid is correct
Help against diabetes and heart disease
may be as close as your kitchen cabinets.
Cinnamon and cloves
boost insulin function while lowering cholesterol, according to two
reports presented Tuesday at the Experimental Biology meeting in San
Francisco.
One study reinforced previous research indicating
that as little as a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon extract, taken two
times a day, can stimulate insulin-like activity while lowering
triglycerides, cholesterol and glucose levels by 10 percent to 30
percent.
And this new research found
that the same amount of cinnamon may also alleviate inflammatory
conditions such as arthritis.
The second study revealed that a
few grams of cloves per day delivers a similar therapeutic
effect.
Either spice might help both pre-diabetic and diabetic
patients alike, researchers contended.
Researchers at the U.S.
Department of Agriculture in Beltsville, Md., found that cinnamon
increases levels of three important proteins crucial to promoting
normal insulin-signaling processes, a healthy inflammatory response,
and efficient glucose transportation throughout the body.
The
clove study found that all participants who ingested cloves,
regardless of the amount of cloves consumed, showed a drop in
glucose, triglycerides and LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels.
Blood levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol were not affected
among the clove eaters. Those who did not ingest cloves experienced
no changes.
Researchers cautioned, however, that consumers
should not simply start dousing their food with cloves and cinnamon.
They noted, for example, that cinnamon in powder form is rendered
ineffective by contact with saliva, and its lack of solubility in
water can result in an unwanted build up of the spice in the body.
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