Instantaneously, my brain flashed the question – “What is cinnamon doing on the natural supplements aisle?”   Almost as quickly I answered my own question — “Ah yes, the medical study findings that cinnamon lowers blood sugar and thus, could be useful in helping to control diabetes in America.”  And sure enough, that indeed was it, a nicely packaged bottle under the famous Rexall label with the trade name “Cinn-Max” in a 300 count bottle of 500 mg capsules of none none other than, yes, Cinnamon. 

The label on the bottle touted that Cinnamon has been found to support sugar metabolism.  Indeed, this well-known and popular herb is rapidly becoming famous once again for medicinal purposes.  It has been known for years that cinnamon contains several constituents that have beneficial effects.  Sugar metabolism has been proven to be very important in a number of  areas of health, including energy production, weight management and the support of functional lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. 

A recent study by a group of medical researchers in Pakistan found the following results and conclusions on a controlled group of humans with Type 2 diabetes that were placed on 1, 3 and 6 grams of cinnamon per day for 40 days:

Results: After 40 days, all three levels of cinnamon reduced the mean fasting serum glucose (18-29%), triglyceride (23-30%), LDL cholesterol (7-27%), and total cholesterol (12-26%) levels; no significant changes were noted in the placebo groups. Changes in HDL cholesterol were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate that intake of 1, 3, or 6 g of cinnamon per day reduces serum glucose, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes and suggest that the inclusion of cinnamon in the diet of people with type 2 diabetes will reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Here in America, our own Agriculture Research Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, conducted a study on cinnamon which concluded that cinnamon makes the body’s cells more responsive to insulin, which in turn aids in controlling the level of sugar (i.e., glucose) in the body. 

Sprinkling 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of Watkins cinnamon per day on your food could be the spice of life you’ve been looking for in your efforts to control blood sugar levels, triglycerides and cholesterol.  Watkins cinnamon is of the highest quality and has several important features you should consider when purchasing cinnamon for your household:

• Flavor — Watkins Cinnamon contains a minimum of 2% essential oils, other brands contain 1% and some as low as .5%.
• Quality — Each shipment of cinnamon that Watkins receives at its plant is put through a battery of tests to ensure it is of the highest quality.
• Particle size — Watkins Cinnamon closely adheres to detailed product specifications.  For example, Watkins cinnamon is carefully ground and sifted to ensure uniform particle size and quality.
• Type and Grade — Watkins purchases only the best Cassia Cinnamon available on the market. Watkins strict attention to detail makes Watkins cinnamon the very best cinnamon on the market.  Watkins cinnamon is USDA certified 100% organic.  The absolute best grade of cassia cinnamon in the world today is grown on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and this is where Watkins acquires all of the cinnamon marketed under the Watkins 140-year old world-famous label.

When one considers that 16 million Americans suffer from diabetes and another 13 million Americans have high blood sugar levels and are at risk of getting diabetes, the market for cinnamon to aid in the metabolism of sugar is huge.  We as Watkins Associates need to inform our clients of the benefits of this true “spice of life” and point out the high quality and attention to detail that Watkins takes in manufacturing and packaging our 100% organic grade of Cassia Cinnamon — the finest cinnamon on the market.

And although Watkins has the finest quality of cinnamon on the market, our cinnamon is very competitively priced.  Remember that bottle of Rexall brand cinnamon capsules I mentioned earlier?  It has 300 capsules per bottle.  Based on 500 mg per capusule, a 300 count bottle would contain 150 grams of cinnamon.  The cheapest I could find this bottle sold online was $19.90.  Now compare that to a 56 gram can of cinnamon from Watkins that regularly sales for just $4.99 per can.  One could purchase 4 cans of Watkins cinnamon for roughly the same price as the one bottle of Rexall-brand and have 224 grams of cinnamon – a full 74 grams, or approximately 50% more cinnamon for the same price.   Consider this when buying your next supply of Watkins Cinnamon.