[Sca-cooks] Current research on the effects of Cinnamon

[Avraham haRofeh of Sudentur]

On Mon, 24 Nov 2003 17:53:25 -0600, t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net wrote:
> The cinnamon used in the test was ground Cinnamomum cassia.  It was
> packaged
> in 500 mg capsules.  The placebo was 500 mg capsules of wheat
> flour.  

<BZZZZZT> Thank you for playing.

Wheat flour is NOT a placebo relative to cassia when testing DIABETICS! Of 
COURSE the diabetics did better on the cassia. Even though the amount of 
flour in question is small, it is nevertheless a confounding variable. 
Increased carbohydrate intake causes increased insulin secretion which 
causes increased triglyceride levels. The placebo arm should have been 
something truly INERT - talcum powder, or cellulose powder, or something of 
that sort. If I were a peer reviewer for Diabetes Care, I would NEVER have 
published this paper. I *strongly* urge you to draw NO conclusions from this 
data.

For this one, I'll sign my mundane name and titles (in case anyone has 
forgotten that I know what I'm talking about here):

Randy Goldberg MD
   former lecturer in Evidence-Based Medicine for New York Medical College
(kiS Reb Avraham haRofeh)