Cinnamon & Apple Cider Vinegar

Braunbeck · September 15, 2009, 1:09am

So I’ve been reading quite a bit on cinnamon and apple cider vinegar.

I’ll post the references below, but CT states to have a teaspoon of cinnamon and a teaspoon of ACV prior to every meal. I gave it a shot today and damn, the cinnamon is just horrible to get down every meal, now with shakes it’s not that big of deal, but straight out is just awful. Anyone else doing this for every meal? What could I mix the cinnamon with to make it more user friendly.

Thanks in advance for any help or recommendations.

“references”

Mondays With Thibs: Beef Up Your Body Composition

Use one or two tablespoon(s) of ground cinnamon prior to every meal (and mix it in your shakes). Cinnamon, on top of having a myriad of other health benefits, improves insulin sensitivity, insulin management, and glucose disposal. It doesn’t contain any calories, has a high level of several minerals, as well as fiber, and tastes great!
But, don’t go twisting that. I’m talking about adding cinnamon to your meals, not cinnamon buns!
Use one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar with every meal. (Don’t mix it into your shakes, though; the stuff tastes horrible!) Just like cinnamon, apple cider vinegar is a great natural and cheap way to improve the insulin sensitivity of your muscles.

Question of Nutrition Vol 8
by Dr. Jonny Bowden
â?¨Spice of Life
Q: I’ve heard some amazing health claims made for cinnamon. Does it really increase insulin sensitivity? And if so, does that mean I can put apple pie in my diet, as long as it has some cinnamon on it?
A: Two very promising studies by USDA scientist Richard Anderson and colleagues did in fact show that cinnamon extracts could lower blood sugar.
In a 2003 study, as little as a gram a day helped people with type II diabetes lower their fasting glucose, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol after 40 days, with levels continuing to drop for 20 more days after that. And in another study, water-soluble compounds from cinnamon called polyphenolic polymers increased sugar metabolism twentyfold in fat cells.
Other studies, alas, haven’t found such promising benefits.
Nonetheless, cinnamon is high in antioxidants, on top of the fact it makes everything taste really, really good. Adding some cinnamon to food and beverages couldn’t hurt, and may even help inch you to gain a tad more insulin sensitivity.
But by itself it won’t cure type II diabetes, but it sure can’t turn apple pie into health food.

The 2008 Fat Loss Roundtable, Part II

Testosterone: Rapid fire question time! First thoughts that come to mind: Cinnamon for insulin sensitivity (so carryover to fat loss).
Dr. Mohr: Very cool data with blood sugar and boosting insulin sensitivity, but very few studies to support this (or refute it). Again, it doesn’t hurt, so add it to shakes, oatmeal, etc.
Roussell: Probably, but I’d like some more research.
Shugart: Fat people will just use this data to justify eating cinnamon rolls.
Testosterone: Apple cider vinegar for fat loss?
Roussell: Vinegar does lower glycemic response, so useful? Yes. Will it make or break your plan? No.
Dr. Mohr: If it makes you gag and throw up, sure. But it’s thrown around like a miracle liquid and that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Shugart: Apple cider vinegar diets are on the cover of the tabloids all the time, right next to the three-headed Bigfoot babies. So it must be true.

yorik · September 15, 2009, 1:37am

Mix the vinegar in a glass of water and it’s not that bad. I’ve also heard you should use raw apple cider vinegar from the health food store, not the cheap stuff at the grocery store. Don’t know if it’s really better or not.

skizac · September 15, 2009, 1:39am

CT recommended TABLESPOONS of cinnamon, not teaspoons. I dump some into all of my protein shakes. I also sip some organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar every now and then, and I put it on my salads. No idea if either of those is helping me, but I just finished reading Jonny Bowden’s book about the 150 healthiest foods, and he lists a bunch of health benefits for both cinnamon and ACV, so it probably isn’t hurting.

skizac · September 15, 2009, 1:43am

[quote]yorik wrote:
Mix the vinegar in a glass of water and it’s not that bad. I’ve also heard you should use raw apple cider vinegar from the health food store, not the cheap stuff at the grocery store. Don’t know if it’s really better or not.[/quote]

The cheap stuff is pasteurized, which destroys all the healthy compounds.

Braunbeck · September 15, 2009, 3:26am

Yeah I use Bragg’s Organic ACV and just bought a monster container of cinnamon. The ACV is easy with water and I can take it every meal, but the cinnamon is a sum bitch to get down. It burns and is awful in water, okay in shakes, but I only have 3-4 shakes a day and 3-4 meals a day at this point. So getting the cinnamon in with meals is tough since I’m on the Anabolic Diet now and cinnamon on meat, cheese or veggies isn’t good either. Was looking for some ways to taste it or how others use it and also how much do they use.

Thanks

El_Sonido · September 15, 2009, 6:48am

[quote]Braunbeck wrote:
Yeah I use Bragg’s Organic ACV and just bought a monster container of cinnamon. The ACV is easy with water and I can take it every meal, but the cinnamon is a sum bitch to get down. It burns and is awful in water, okay in shakes, but I only have 3-4 shakes a day and 3-4 meals a day at this point. So getting the cinnamon in with meals is tough since I’m on the Anabolic Diet now and cinnamon on meat, cheese or veggies isn’t good either. Was looking for some ways to taste it or how others use it and also how much do they use.

Thanks[/quote]

Cinnamon is good with bacon, pork chops, gammon and so on - just toss it on while frying or coat the meat before grilling.

With anything else you can always add in some chinese five spice too or take it in the other direction with garam masala, turmeric and so on.

Amonero · September 15, 2009, 11:39am

Be sure that you get the one on the left, not the one on the right.

guitarlifter · September 16, 2009, 5:58am

I absolutely love cinnamon. I go through about a half-pound cinnamon a week, and I don’t even put it in shakes. I pile the stuff on my oats. I think I’ll start doing that. Haven’t tried ACV for health yet, though.

guitarlifter · September 16, 2009, 6:11am

Correction. I just had cinnamon for the first time with a casein shake, and my God was it delicious! I’m prepared to now use up to a lb of cinnamon a week.

CKMAN · September 16, 2009, 12:29pm

CT should never have recommended using good old ground cinnamon in such high doses (1-2 tbs) prior to every meal. Overtime, ingesting regular cinnamon in high doses (1 teaspoon is regarded as high) can become toxic.

However, it’s worth noting that there are actually two types of cinnamon being sold, Ceylon cinnamon and Cassia cinnamon (Chinese). The Ceylon variety contains much lower amounts of the potentially harmful chemicals and should be the ONLY CINNAMON YOU USE in high doses.

I encourage everyone interested in using cinnamon to read the following links.

guitarlifter · September 16, 2009, 8:30pm

[quote]CKMAN wrote:
CT should never have recommended using good old ground cinnamon in such high doses (1-2 tbs) prior to every meal. Overtime, ingesting regular cinnamon in high doses (1 teaspoon is regarded as high) can become toxic.

However, it’s worth noting that there are actually two types of cinnamon being sold, Ceylon cinnamon and Cassia cinnamon (Chinese). The Ceylon variety contains much lower amounts of the potentially harmful chemicals and should be the ONLY CINNAMON YOU USE in high doses.

I encourage everyone interested in using cinnamon to read the following links.

I’ve been consuming several cinnamon shakers worth of cinnamon every week for years, and I’ve had no problems whatsoever. I’m not condoning massive dosing, but I’m just speaking for myself. Those were interesting reads.