美国农业部：肉桂对糖尿病人有益

食品伙伴网导读：根据来自美国农业部的科学家的研究，肉桂等香辛料可用于对II型糖尿病的治疗。他们对肉桂及其他香辛料进行提纯精炼并对其评估，以探索它们对胰岛素水平及其相关功能的益处。试验在俄亥俄州进行，志愿者被随机分为两组，一组摄入水溶性的肉桂提取物对照组则服用安慰剂，实验进行了12周。实验结果表明，服用肉桂提取物的志愿者与对照组相比，空腹血糖显著降低，肌肉量则略有增加，并且身体脂肪及血压都略有下降。

原文报道：
By Mike Stones, 23-Jul-2010

Spices such as cinnamon could be used in the battle against type 2 diabetes, according to United States Agricultural Department (USDA) scientists.

Nutrition researchers from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are purifying, characterizing and evaluating the components of cinnamon and other spices to explore their beneficial effects on insulin levels and related functions.

Research by chemist Richard Anderson, at the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC), Maryland and colleagues suggests certain spices may be beneficial to some people with diabetes.

Blood glucose levels

Their study, based on a water-soluble extract of cinnamon, suggested that the spice could have a beneficial effect on insulin or blood glucose levels. “Insulin is a key hormone that ‘opens a door’ within cells and then escorts glucose into those cells, thus providing fuel to them,” according to the USDA website explaining the research. “Without a sufficient insulin supply, or ability to use available insulin, glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells where it can be metabolized and used for fuel. Over time, damage occurs to the eyes, kidneys, heart, and nerves.”

The cinnamon extract study, conducted in Ohio, focused on 22 volunteers with metabolic syndrome, which increases the chances of developing diabetes. Volunteers were randomly assigned to supplement their diets with either water-soluble cinnamon extracts or a placebo for 12 weeks.

Volunteers who took the cinnamon extract group showed significant decreases in fasting blood glucose and small increases in lean muscle mass compared with the placebo group. “Improvement in lean muscle mass is considered a marker of improved body composition,” according to the researchers.

Pre and post study analysis of the extract group also revealed small but statistically significant decreases in body fat and blood pressure. But other characteristics of metabolic syndrome, such as abnormal blood LDL or HDL cholesterol levels or triglycerides, were unaffected by the cinnamon extract.

Meanwhile, new biomarkers could help physicians and other health care professionals monitor the success of experimental nutrition-based strategies designed to help prevent type 2 diabetes.