Comparing the Effects of Three Methods, Cinnamon Supplementation, Aerobic Exercise and Concurrent (Aerobic Exercise - Supplement) on Serum Glucose, Insulin and Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Several treatments have been proposed for treating diabetes; however it is still unclear which one of these methods is more effective with regard to patient conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of aerobic exercise and concurrent (aerobic resistance) exercise on serum glucose, insulin and insulin resistance levels in Type 2 diabetic patients.

In this quasi-experimental study, which was performed as a pre-test, post-test with a control group, 56 type 2 diabetic men randomly assigned into Cinnamon  supplement (14 person) , aerobic exercise (14 person), supplement + exercise (14 person) and  control groups (14 person). The Cinnamon  supplement group received 6 capsule containing 500 mg powder of cinnamon for 8 weeks.  Training program for the aerobic group included 3 sessions with 35 – 45 minutes of running per week with 60 to70% maximal heart rate for 8 weeks and the concurrent group performed aerobic exercise and received cinnamon simultaneously. The variables were measured at baseline and after 8 weeks of intervention. Data were analyzed by t-test and ANOVA at significance level of p

Fasting blood glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR were significantly decreases in three groups compared to control group (p<0.05), but no significant decreased were observed for these indexes between groups.

Cinnamon supplementation, aerobic exercise and concurrent methods, can have positive effects on fasting blood glucose, insulin and insulin resistance.