Cinnamon is a versatile herb commonly used by type 2 diabetics to help keep blood sugar levels low and slow, which has dramatic effects in controlling type 2 diabetes.
When it comes to treating type 2 diabetes, cinnamon stands for Cinnamomum cassia, the bitter, blackish “curry cinnamon” used in Indian cuisine, not the aromatic, reddish “sweet cinnamon” used in baking. However, there is a possible downside to using cinnamon if you are also taking medication to prevent blood clots.
Cinnamomum cassia contains detectable concentrations of coumadins. These are chemicals that work in the same way as warfarin, Plavix, Trental, and other medications to help maintain circulation. However, the herb does not contain large amounts of coumadins.
As is often the case with these matters, the controversy over the coumadins in Cassia started in a relatively foolish way. Although the spice is not used for baking in Germany; In 2006, the Bundeinstitut für Arzneimittel (the German equivalent of the US FDA) expressed concern that if it were, it could cause problems for some people. Specifically, if you added enough of this type of cinnamon to the cookies and they sure tasted bad, then people who ate this type of cinnamon in baked goods because they prefer bitter cookies to sweet ones (yes, sure) could absorb too much. the coumadins.
But suppose such people really exist. Obviously, the German federal administrators do.
If you allow a 10 times greater safety factor, keeping the consumption to less than 10% of the amount that could cause problems, you finally decided the BfürA, then a person weighing at least 110 pounds (50 kg) could consume 1,000 mg of this type of cinnamon safely every day, and a person who weighed at least 220 pounds (100 kg), 2,000 mg.
What all the deliberations left out is that the tastiest type of cinnamon also contains coumadins, in roughly the same concentration. If the type of cinnamon that has an effect on type 2 diabetes can interfere with blood clotting, then it happens that the flavorful type of cinnamon (which is usually added to sugary sweets in English-speaking countries, although it is used with sweets in Latin America), it should also be restricted. It’s not. Apparently, something has to be competitive with a drug to deserve a note of caution.
There have been no reports of “cinnamon poisoning” even among people consuming up to 6,000 mg a day. Perhaps a type 2 diabetic taking any type of prescription blood thinner should avoid cinnamon altogether, and also a type 2 diabetic taking this herb should inform their doctor. It will help the doctor to notice unusual patterns of blood clotting in case a blood thinner is ever needed.
But it is certainly recommended that type 2 diabetics avoid cinnamon rolls and cinnamon sticks.
