I want to get the word out about Cinnamon and the benefits of taking it.

About 6 weeks ago I was told that there was a study in Europe that showed taking cinnamon helped Arthritis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. I did a search on the internet and found studies showing that taking cinnamon helped with Arthritis and also showed that it could cut glucose levels down as much as 30% for people with type 2 diabetes. It was also shown to help with cholesterol. I didn't find anything out about it for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Except that one research institute in california is going to do a clinical trial with cinnamon and Alzheimers.

Since Mom does have arthritis I figured it could do any harm. In August mom was having problems processing things. She had fallen - wasn't hurt but could figure out how to get up. At dinner she said she couldn't eat all of her sandwich. Her sister said to just take out the meat and eat that. You could see the blank look on mom's face that she didn't understand what her sister was telling her. She just poked at the sandwich with her fork. I was looking into day care for her instead of a companion for 4 hours three times a week. I was hoping I could still keep her home for another year.

After being on the cinnamon and taking warm water aqua therapy classes, I have my mom back. She has started washing dishes again she hasn't done in over 9 months. She use to be very religious about making her bed every day - that stopped about 2 years ago. Now she has said "I didn't make my bed today - I never do that". Her thought process is back, she is now remembering her old co-workers and their full names. She isn't having any more problems with her thought process. These things might seem small but they are huge for me. I feels like I have my mom back.

Here are a couple of web links with additional information

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/12/3215

http://diabetes.about.com/od/whatsonthehorizon/qt/cinnamon.htm (This one at the bottom tells about the proposed study for Alzheimer's)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/04/040414003908.htm

Every day mom has regained lost ground. It is exciting to watch!!!!

August

Mom fell and couldn’t process how to get up.
She couldn’t process how to remove the meat from a sandwich and just eat the meet.
She was having problems remembering her sister’s husband’s name. She kept calling her grandson Matthew by her deceased son’s name Peter.
She had no initiative to do anything.
She has stopped all house work for a year.
She was at the point of wanted to be weighed on.
I had her make her own sandwich one day and had to walk her thru each step on how to make the sandwich.

First of October I started her on the following items:
Hot water Aqua Therapy classes for Arthritis
3 capsules of cinnamon a day.

Items notices in October.
• The thought process has cleared.
• She is starting to do dishes again.
• She asked if she could help make dinner. I had the ingredient out to make a meatloaf. I asked if she wanted to make the meet loaf. I only had to tell her how much of the ingredient to put in. Then she made the meat loaf, shaped it and put it in the pan.
• She was able to keep her hair nice for one week after a perm. Didn’t wet it down and take out the curl.
• Recognized Harriet has someone she knows and then was able to give me her complete last name. Palmer Willis.
• She is able to walk more and not use a store scooter.
• She use to make her bed every day – that stopped a couple of years ago – one day she said “ I didn’t make my bed today – what’s with me?”

11/2 I turned on the TV and then went to paint ceramics. Mom changed the channel to find something different to watch instead of turning off the TV and going to bed.
11/3 Remember that Mara went to the craft show with us.
11/4 Stopped calling Matthew Peter
11/5 Called because she wanted to watch TV and wanted to know what was on. She then changed the channel at 5 pm to news. The TV has now been on every evening since with the news. For the past two winters would come home from work find mom sitting in the dark playing a puzzle on her computer. She didn’t turn on lights or the TV.
11/6 Remembers the craft show. Remembered that Wheel of Fortune is on at 6:30 on channel 7
11/6 Was able to talk about a negative thing at work today and it didn’t upset her.
11/6 I arrange for the vents to be cleaned in the house. They were scheduled to arrive at 1 pm. They showed up at 11 am. Mom was able to take it in stride and helped clean things from vents. She use to get really upset and unsettled when I had someone coming to the house to do repairs – she insisted that I was there when they came.
11/7 Concerned about keeping her hair nice
11/7 Voluntarily talked at the Church meeting
11/10 Started keeping track of the days of the week again on the calendar.
11/10 Recognized today’s monetary values in identifying expensive items.
11/11 Able to give her exact title for her State Department job and what state she worked in.

I was very interseted to read about the effects cinnamon had on your mom. My mom has been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer's and she is not doing to well tolerating the medicine. Was your mom diagnosed with Alzheimer's or did her behavior just lead you to believe that was what was happening? Thanks for your help.

Where do you buy the cinamon capsules?

My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s almost 5 years ago. She is on Galantamine (Razadyne®) and Namenda. I have NOT stopped these meds.

I got the cinnamon at Kingsoopers and Target.

She is continuing to improve every day.

Why Cinnamon works.

Further research shows that people with Alzheimer’s is lacking enough insulin in the brain. Cinnamon helps the body to create the insulin that the brain needs.

http://curezone.com/blogs/mp.asp?f=198&i=1

"Moreover, in Alzheimer's disease, the insulin receptors -- the molecules that are important for receiving the signals from insulin -- are also reduced in the brain," de la Monte said.

Insulin is very important for maintaining brain cell function, de la Monte said. "If you don't have enough insulin or the ability to respond to insulin is impaired, then neurons will not function well and they probably will die," she explained.

"This is not diabetes as we know it," de la Monte added.

The findings appear in the March issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

De la Monte believes the problems of insulin production in the brain start at the beginning of the disease process in Alzheimer's patients. "It starts early," she said. "Over time, it gets worse."

According to de la Monte, these discoveries might lead to new treatments for Alzheimer's. The therapies could involve either replacing insulin in the brain with some compound, or reactivating damaged insulin receptors. "If you are thinking about how to make the cells function better, you would be thinking about replacing what's missing or making the cells respond better than they do," she said.

In addition, de la Monte thinks the lack of insulin production in the brain may also play a role in other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's.

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2006/dec2006_report_alzheimer_02.htm

http://www.smart-publications.com/overall_health/cinnamon_extract.php

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/41026.php

http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20040313220452data_trunc_sys.shtml

http://www.lionsgrip.com/curarticles.html

Be careful. MDadvice.com says that cinnamon is rated dangerous, particularly for persons over 55 years old. This would seem to apply to most readers of this Forum. Everything in moderation is always an important consideration.

That's incredible. A home remedy, I wonder if any clinical-trial studies are in the works

There are clinical studies that have been done in Europe and they are now being conducted in the US.

Also the Barbara Davis center for Diabetes has OK'd their patients to take cinnamon for help with Diabetes. I would think that if there is a problem with cinnamon that they would advise caution or not support their patients taking cinnamon.

Also Mom is now becoming more aware of world events. She saw news clip on the Pope and said, “So that’s what the new Pope looks like.” She remembers the California fires and has been wondering how the people are doing after the fires. I felt the Golden time with Mom was truly gone. Now it’s back and then some.

Thanks for this information Patty, I'm going to look into it. I am really happy for you that your Mom is showing some improvement!

Patty Thanks SO Very Much about the cinnamon!!!! Everytime I've spoken with my mom's doctor he tells me that there is nothing else we can do for her. That all we can do is keep her comfortable. I'm willing to try anything that may bring my mom back to me. This little bit of info is a beacon of light!

What strength were the three capsules taken per day? Has improvement continued for those taking cinnamon on the board?

Mom has been stable for the last 2 months at 1000 MG three times a day. I did get a new memory evulation done - it showed that she is at the same place she was 18 months ago.

Thank you for the quick response Patty! I truly appreciate it.

Is there a dosage for the cinnamon caps?
Anything is worth a try
Arlene

Found it, void that last post.
Arlene

I, too am very interested in what is happening with the Cinnamon pills. My husband has had Dementia / Early Alzheimers since 2004. He's on Namenda and Razadyne also. I purchased the Cinnamon (500 mg. per capsule). The directions indicates take 2 pills per day, which would be 1,000 mg. In your suggestion, I understood to take 1,000 mg. 3 times a day. I did read the info about Cinnamon being dangerous, so I'm being a bit cautious, although, I continuously am on the lookout for new medicines, etc. that can help my husband. He's 71 now, so he was 67 when he was diagnosed with the disease. Which particular article did you read that makes you feel comfortable using Cinnamon and that paticular doseage? My husband also has Acid Reflux, Controllable Bladder Cancer and a 100% blocked Carotid Artery in his neck. Although these other health issues are there, it's the Dementia / Alzheimer's Disease that is debilitating. It would be wonderful if something like Cinnamon could help him like it has your Mother. I would like to know which particular articles address the effects of the Cinnamon on Alzheimer's Disease and how you arrived at the doseage. Thank you!

It has been a while since I've read the articles listed above. In one of the artiles a doctor states that it is table cinnamom that can be harmful - but he is taking 3, 500 mg capsules a day. I have checked out the information on the bottles and have scaled back to having mon only take the 1000 mg of cinnamon twice a day.

Patty, thank you for the update. My husband takes Plavix (blood thinner) for the blocked carotid artery, so I may need to see if the Cinnamon might thin his blood. I'm going to try to check this out. In the meantime, I'm giving him about 1,000 mg. of Cinnamon per day. Please continue to keep us updated on your findings. Anything we can do to slow the disease or overcome the effects of the disease will help our loved ones have a more quality of life as long as possible. Thanks again!

[quote]patty.hertel@upicolo.org[/quote]

HI Patty - after starting to take the Cinammon, how long before you noticed any improvements? Also - would I just go to target and look for Cinammon tablets - is that a common item I can readily find?

My mom is 54, officially diagnosed about a year ago, and has been declining steadlily the last month or two - we will try anything at this point, and this sounds like a simple enough attempt.

You also mentioned your mom's memory test showed her at around the same as she was 18 months ago - but you noticed in your everyday time with her she was rmembering things better? I wasn't sure what you meant by this.


Thanks for your input.

I started to see improvement in Mom in about 3 weeks. Then it was almost a daily change for about 6 weeks.

I get the capsules at Target or Walgreens. I've also found them at Kingsoopers.

When mom started to improve she started doing things she hadn't done in a long time. It was a very exciting time for me to watch her come back. In the first posted I placed on the benefits of cinnamon, I listed a small log of what changes I had seen - that is what I meant about a daily improvement.

For someone with Alzheimer’s to have a memory evaluation stay the same for an 18 month period is fantastic. I was very happy with the results. Generally speaking there is an average of a 5 point decrease in the memory test every year.

Thanks alot Patty. MY mom is coming to visit me this week, and I will try her with the cinnamon pills. I appreciate your conitribution to the blog. I will keep everyone posted on the results I have also. God bless ...

Patty:
I am very happy for you and your LO! Very exciting news.
Do you know if/how the cinnamon pills differ from "table" cinnamon? What about a liquid form, cinnamon extract, for example?
Thank you for sharing your experience.

I am not sure what the difference is. I know there is some type of water soluble additive in the capsules.

I have read that table cinnamon can be toxic in large doses. I would think cinnamon extract would be very concentrated and could be hard on the stomach in a straight dose. I would stay away from using these forms of cinnamon.

Hi Patty H,
Thanks so much for the info about your mom. I read your notes about a month ago and soon after started my mother in law on 1,000 mg per day. We have seen improvements in her; there are moments of "clarity" that we had not seen in a while. I am sure that you know what I mean when I refer to the "vacant look" in their eyes. While these are only moments it is an improvement. Another example was a phone conversation she had that she actually was able to follow. On a day-to-day basis I see a consistant improvement in a board game that we play each day and she has a renewed interest in TV watching therefore she is not napping as much.
All this happened after an abrupt decline in her that I had consulted with the Dr. who increased the Namemda and antidepressant but not her Razadyne ER. When we increased her meds in the past we did not see improvements in these area so we are hopeful about the cinnamon. As her doctor says, "Every ALZ patient is different and different in how they react to medication."
Like so many of you, we too are grasping for straws and we hoping to find something that will help.
CaterinaMaria

Where can you buy cinnamon capsules? GNC???
Thanks, Sue
squash49@aol.com