The purpose of this study was to determine the short-term effect of cinnamon on blood pressure in middle-aged obese adults. Subjects consumed a beverage with (experimental) and without (control) 6 g ground cassia cinnamon. Blood pressure was assessed at baseline, and then at 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 minutes. A food frequency questionnaire was administered to estimate usual dietary intake. Twenty-six adults (9 males and 17 females), aged 40-65 years, completed the study. There was no significant difference in blood pressure at any time point between the two conditions (p>0.05). Multiple regression analysis evaluated the relationship between usual intake of diet components and control baseline blood pressure. The diet components studied did not significantly predict systolic blood pressure or diastolic blood pressure at baseline. The results of this study suggest 6 g cinnamon does not exert a short-term beneficial effect on blood pressure in middle-aged obese adults. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

The purpose of this project was to determine the effects of 6 g of ground cinnamon added to farina (Cream of Wheat) cereal on blood glucose levels between obese and normal weight individuals. Thirty students, aged 19-30 years, were recruited to participate in this study. During study visits, participants were given one of two test meals (74 g of farina with and without 6 g of cinnamon) followed by seven blood glucose measurements over a two-hour period. A significant difference was seen in glycemic response between the two dietary conditions, but not between the two BMI groups (normal and obese). The two BMI groups were combined for analysis of dietary conditions. Ingestion of the cinnamon cereal resulted in significantly lower blood glucose responses at minutes 15, 30, 45 and 60 compared to the plain cereal. The results of this study confirm the positive glucose-lowering effects of cinnamon. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences