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Cinnamon defats liver


Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the build-up of excessive fat in the liver cells of people who drink little or no alcohol. It is the main cause of liver (hepatic) damage worldwide, and affects up to a quarter of US adults - an estimated 90 million people.1 When more than 10% of the weight of their liver is from fat (an alternative definition of NAFLD) people are more prone to inflammation and scarring of the liver, becoming (i) overweight or obese and often (ii) 'insulin resistant' (see GHWM47p10). Severe cases of NAFLD can even trigger liver failure.
If you are not attracted by the raft of drugs and side effects that orthodox medicine offers people with NAFLD, cinnamon may be a powerful alternative.
One meta-analysis of ten trials (covering a combined 543 patients) found that various cinnamon doses (between 120mg and 6g per day for between four and eighteen weeks) significantly reduced (i) fasting blood glucose levels, (ii) blood total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol and (iii) triglyceride levels, but raised blood HDL ("good") cholesterol levels.2
In another (double-blind, placebo-controlled) trial, 50 patients with NAFLD were:
  • advised how to implement a balanced diet and exercise into their daily routines, and
  • given either two 750mg capsules of cinnamon or two placebo pills daily for twelve weeks3
All of the participants given cinnamon experienced:
  • significant reductions in fasting blood glucose levels, total blood cholesterol levels, blood triglyceride levels and blood C-reactive protein levels
  • dramatic reductions in the levels of three enzymes used as indicators of liver damage or disease (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and gamma glutamine transpeptidase (GGT))
Blood HDL cholesterol levels remained unchanged. Blood LDL cholesterol levels dropped in both the cinnamon and placebo groups. The study suggests that taking 1500 mg cinnamon daily may be effective in improving NAFLD characteristics. Interestingly, one study has suggested that caffeine may also help treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.4

Editorial
(i) One diagnostic set of criteria for insulin resistance is that the patient must have at least three of the following five criteria: waist measurements of 40 inches or more for men, 35 inches or more for women; high blood triglyceride fat levels of 150mg/dL or above; low HDL (good) cholesterol blood levels below 40mg/dL for men, 50mg/dL for women; high blood pressure of above 130 over 85 milligrams of mercury (mmHg ); raised fasting blood glucose levels of 100mg/dL or above.
(ii) 'Insulin resistance' occurs when, due to long-term exposure to insulin, the cells of the body have reduced sensitivity to it and no longer follow its 'instruction' to draw glucose from the blood so strongly, with dire consequences.

References
1 Rector RS, et al. World J Gastroenterol. 2008 Jan 14;14(2):185-92
2 Cinnamon use in type 2 diabetes: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Allen RW1, Schwartzman E, Baker WL, Coleman CI, Phung OJ. Ann Fam Med. 2013 Sep-Oct;11(5):452-9. doi: 10.1370/afm.1517.
3 Askari F, et al. Nutr Res. 2014 Feb;34(2):143-8
4 An epidemiological study of the association of coffee with chronic liver disease. Walton,HB et al. Scott Med J. 2013;58(4):217-22 PMID: 24215040

(16699)  Larissa Long. Whole Health Insider   (22.5.2014)

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