The study aims to determine the effects of cinnamon to the blood glucose level of patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Specifically, the study parameters are on the FBS, BMI, weight and waist circumference profile of the participants compared in terms of their pre-test and post-test results.
Methods:
The researcher used a non-equivalent group design under Quasi-experimental research because it allowed control to the target population by means of randomization and it included a pretest and posttest for the experimental and comparison group.
The subjects of the study are from the community people in Mandaluyong City, Philippines who passed the inclusion criteria. The researchers invited both men and women, ages 40-59 years and with the diagnosis of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
Results:
The experimental group lowered their FBS with the percentage of 73.3% also with the other parameters such as Waist circumference with a percentage of 73%, Weight with the percentage of 86.6% and BMI with the percentage of 86.6%. Most of the control group increased their FBS with the percentage of 66.67% and there were no changes with their other parameters.
Out of 15 respondents who experienced drinking cinnamon tea of 2 grams twice a day for 6 weeks, participants showed improvement in their BMI. There were evidences of weight loss, decrease in FBS result and reduced waist circumference. These results show that cinnamon reduces blood glucose levels among patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in the experimental group.
Conclusion:
This study showed that cinnamon affects the blood glucose level of the respondents. There is a decrease in their FBS as well as their weight and BMI.
Studies similar to the present study have shown improved insulin sensitivity and blood glucose control by taking as little as ½ teaspoon of cinnamon per day (Dolson, 2014). Likewise in the study of Polansky (2010), a noteworthy reduction in fasting plasma glucose, BMI and waist circumference were noticed at week 12 compared to baseline in the experimental group, but the changes were not major as compared to the control group. Wong (2015) added that after 40 days of taking cinnamon blood glucose was reduced by 18 to 29 percent.
Although conclusive for this study, the researchers suggest further experimental studies on the use of cinnamon employing a larger sample size and given intervention for a longer period of time.