Cinnamon Bark
A kitchen spice with a long run of human trials behind it.
- On the label as
- Cinnamon (Cinnamomum) bark
- Position
- 2 of 14, heaviest first
- Botanical or chemical name
- Cinnamomum cassia and Cinnamomum verum
- Part used
- Inner bark
- Where it comes from
- Sri Lanka, southern India, southern China and Vietnam
- Human evidence for glucose
- Moderate — Human trials exist and agree in direction, but are small, short or unevenly run.
- Amount in GlycoAid
- Not disclosed; part of one 500 mg blend
What gets sold as cinnamon is the dried inner bark of a small evergreen tree, and it has been moving along trade routes for thousands of years. Two kinds dominate the market: cassia, the darker and more assertive one in most kitchen cupboards, and Ceylon, which is lighter in both colour and flavour.
The distinction has consequences. Cassia carries coumarin, which has a recommended ceiling for regular intake, while Ceylon carries very little of it. GlycoAid names the genus on its label and not the species, so buyers cannot tell which is in the bottle.
What the research shows
Few ingredients here have been tested in people as often, and few have produced such a scattered set of answers. Doses across the literature run anywhere from one gram to six a day, and the outcomes range from clear reductions in fasting glucose to nothing measurable at all.
Where a signal does appear most reliably is in what happens after a meal rather than in fasting numbers. Researchers point to cinnamon polyphenols slowing the rate at which the stomach empties and nudging insulin signalling, though the case for the mechanism reads better than the case for the result.
Evidence grade: Moderate
Human trials exist and agree in direction, but are small, short or unevenly run.
What that means inside GlycoAid
Sitting second on the list makes it the second largest component. Since trials work in grams and the entire blend is half a gram divided fourteen ways, the cinnamon content is nowhere near a studied dose. The same is true of most botanicals in most blends.
Everything above describes cinnamon bark as a named substance at doses used in published work. It does not describe GlycoAid, which declares one combined 500 mg covering all fourteen ingredients and publishes no individual amount.
Cautions and interactions
- Regular high intake of cassia has been associated with liver strain because of its coumarin content, though amounts at blend scale are very unlikely to get near that.
- Anyone with existing liver problems should mention cinnamon supplements to their doctor for the same reason.
- It can add to the effect of glucose-lowering medication, and belongs on the list of things to mention before an operation.
Questions About Cinnamon Bark
Three that come in most often about this ingredient.
Which species is in the bottle?
Unstated. The label prints Cinnamomum, which covers both cassia and Ceylon.
Would the spice jar do instead?
It would give you far more cinnamon than a fraction of a 500 mg blend, and it costs a fraction of the price.
Why is the research so contradictory?
Different species, extracts of different strengths, and doses that vary six-fold make for a literature that resists being pooled.
Other Ingredients In The Blend
The label lists ingredients heaviest first, so position is the only quantitative information it carries.
See all fourteen ingredients · About the product · Safety information
GlycoAid Contains Cinnamon Bark
Alongside thirteen other ingredients inside one 500 mg blend, taken as a single capsule a day.
- 14 ingredients in one 500 mg blend
- 30 capsules a bottle, one a day
- 60-day money-back guarantee from the charge date
- $49 a bottle on six with free US shipping
60-day money-back guarantee. Checkout handled by BuyGoods.
