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Cinnamon Supplements and Spices Review

Choose the Best Cinnamon Supplement and Spices. CL Tests Reveal Major Differences in Amounts of Helpful and Harmful Compounds

Reviewed and edited by Tod Cooperman, M.D. cooperman.png

Initially Posted: 12/26/2015 | Last Updated: 07/21/2020
Cinnamon Supplements and Spices Tested by ConsumerLab.com

Alphabetical list of cinnamon supplements and spices compared in this review

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Carlson Ceylon Cinnamon

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CinnaBeticII Cinnamon

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CinSulin

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Doctor's Best Best Cinnamon Extract

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Finest Nutrition [Walgreens] Cinnamon 1,000 mg

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Finest Nutrition Cinnamon

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Frontier Organic Ceylon Cinnamon Ground

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Gaia Herbs Cinnamon Bark

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McCormick Ground Cinnamon

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New Chapter Cinnamon Force

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Simply Organic Cinnamon

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Solgar Cinnamon

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Standard Process Medi Herb Cinnamon Quills

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The Vitamin Shoppe Cinnamon Extract

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What's the best cinnamon supplement to help control blood sugar? Which cinnamon spice is safest? To help you find what's best, ConsumerLab.com tested popular products, finding enormous differences in the amounts of potentially helpful and harmful compounds in products -- differences labels don't reveal. 

Cinnamon contains compounds, called proanthocyanidins (PACs), which may be helpful for lowering blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. They also contain a potentially toxic and cancer-causing compound, coumarin. However, most supplements do not list the amount of PACs on the label and you won't find coumarin amounts on supplements or spices so you normally have no way of knowing how much you are getting! 

ConsumerLab.com tests found over 100 mg of potentially beneficial PACs in some supplements, while others had to less than 1 mg in a daily serving. It's questionable whether those with smaller amounts would be effective. Some extracts actually had much lower concentrations of PACs than plain ground cinnamon bark. We found you can pay as little as 22 cents, or as much as $134 for the same amount of PACs! 

Regarding coumarin, a few products had relatively little while other had amounts of concern. A single teaspoonful of cinnamon from two of the spices contained amounts above the tolerable daily intake level for adults — and way over that for children if consumed on a regular basis. 

You must join to get the full test results for cinnamon supplements and spices along with ConsumerLab.com's recommendations and quality ratings. You will get results for nine supplements and three spices selected by ConsumerLab.com and for two other supplements that passed voluntary, quality certification testing.

In this comprehensive review, you'll discover:
  • Which cinnamon supplements failed testing and which passed
  • Direct comparisons and quality ratings of cinnamon supplements, as well as ground cinnamon spices
  • Amounts of potentially beneficial PACs found in cinnamon supplements — information you won't find on most labels!
  • Amounts of the potentially toxic compound coumarin found
  • Evidence and dosage for specific uses of cinnamon, including lowering blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure
  • Side effects of cinnamon supplements
  • Cautions and potential drug interactions for cinnamon

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Related CL Answers (4)

Which supplements can help lower or control my blood sugar?

Find out which supplements can help lower or control blood sugar. Supplements including turmeric/curcumin, fiber, cinnamon, and ginseng are believed to help lower blood sugar. ConsumerLab's answer explains.

Which supplements can help lower my triglycerides?

Find out whether fish oil supplements, or plant-based oil supplements, such as flaxseed oil and echium oil are best for lowering triglyceride levels. ConsumerLab.com's answer explains.

Which supplements can cause constipation?

Find out which supplements can cause constipation, including iron, calcium, protein powders and drinks and others. ConsumerLab.com's answer explains.

Which dietary supplements and health foods contain high levels of lead?

Information about lead and heavy metals in vitamins, supplements and foods. Information on the adverse effects of lead. ConsumerLab's answer explains.

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