Another Update on Cinnamon and other supplements

Last week, I added a probiotic chromium supplement (also containing cinnamon, tumeric, fenugreek and some other ingredients) to my diet. Despite carbo-binging over the weekend (OK--it was mostly one meal at Il Fornaio), I've lost one more pound since Thursday. Many people have been asking me about the previously mentioned cinnamon supplement (which I still take on days when I don't get cinnamon into my food)... you can learn about here. I have been VERY pleased with the New Chapter products. They also have a more expensive supplement called "Diet and Energy" that is much more expensive but is similar to the chromium supplement. It adds, however, adaptogens--substances believed to be helpful with cortisol-influenced weight-gain--and thermogens ("fat-burners") such as green tea. A search for "green tea weight loss" on Google Scholar will bring up tons of studies, including some at well-respected institutions such as the University of Chicago. Green tea may (although through different mechanisms) also help with high cholesterol and certain types of hormonally caused conditions and tumors.

All of these supplements are much less expensive than the current prescription treatments for insulin-resistance/Type-2 Diabetes and high LDL cholesterol. Most of them also have little or no known side-effects.

I keep wondering why these simple nutrients are not more widely known. I would think that something as instantly effective as the cinnamon would have been mentioned by one of my doctors at least. My sister told me that no doctor ever told her about either the cinnamon or the chromium. Before she tried supplementing with them, B. asked her endocrinologist about them. He said that they are effective for some people and that she could give them a try.

If the doctor knew that they were effective for "some people," why did he not tell her about them to begin with? The University of Chicago team (in the conference paper on Green Tea linked to above) underscore how skeptical of Traditional Chinese Medicine and alternative therapies most doctors are, despite the fact that two-thirds of American medical schools teach them, including Chicago, Hopkins, and Stanford. In other words, don't let doctors' prejudices rob you of the best care for your health!