The Nutrition Examination Research Digest (NERD) aims to provide rigorous, unbiased analysis of the latest and most important nutrition and supplementation studies. Click here to subscribe or login if already a subscriber .
Study under review: Anti-hypertensive Effects of Cinnamon Supplementation in Adults: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Introduction
Elevated blood pressure, known as hypertension, is one of the most prevalent conditions in the developed world, with almost 30% of the entire population having hypertension. Elevated blood pressure is one of the most important modifiable risk factors[1] for cardiovascular disease, making it one of the primary candidates for therapies.
While pharmaceutical approaches to lowering blood pressure have proven to be effective, there are potential side effects and harm that may arise from chronic use of anti-hypertensive medications. For example, the side effects[2] may be as minor as a cough, varying levels of fatigue, or potentially fatal hyperkalemia (high blood potassium levels). For this reason, there is an incentive to seek therapies with fewer negative side effects, potentially including dietary supplements.
Cinnamon contains several bioactive compounds that may exert anti-hypertensive effects, including cinnamaldehyde, coumarin, and cinnamic acid. For example, one randomized controlled trial[3] among individuals with diabetes and hypertension found that these compounds, alone or in combination, were efficacious in reducing blood pressure. However, not all randomized controlled trials have shown cinnamon to be effective[4]. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis examining the effect of cinnamon on blood pressure.
Hypertension affects almost one-third of the entire adult population of the U.S. Pharmacological approaches can lower blood pressure, but they often have side effects from chronic use. Cinnamon is a potential non-pharmaceutical ingredient that has shown some efficacy in reducing blood pressure in previous randomized trials. The present study was a meta-analysis designed to examine the effect of cinnamon on blood pressure.
What was studied?
What were the findings?
The bigger picture
Frequently asked questions
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Interview: Eric Russell Helms and Gary John Slater
In this info-packed interview, we pick the brain of two fitness researchers who recently wrote a comprehensive review examining the optimal energy surplus needed for hypertrophy.
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B vitamins on the brain: Do they improve mental health?
This meta-analysis found a small impact on stress in people without clinical mental health issues, but it also may have asked too broad of a question.
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Evaluating the safety and efficacy of very low calorie ketogenic diets
Very low calorie keto diets have a theoretical leg up on non-keto diets because they’re supposed to suppress appetite more. But whether they actually lead to more weight loss than non-keto very low calorie diets is far from clear.
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Women and men appear to benefit equally from the ergogenic effects of coffee
There are some reasons to suspect that your sex can influence coffee's ergogenic effects. But whether this pans out in actual performance isn’t clear.
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NERD Mini: What’s soy good for?
Soy’s been examined for a lot of health outcomes. But what outcomes does the evidence best support?