The benefits of cinnamon for men

During the winter months I mix cinnamon powder into my eggnog with other spices, and put cinnamon sticks in my hot apple cider. You may have enjoyed cinnamon cookies, spiced eggnog or mulled cider at holiday parties, with co-workers or with family. When I was a child, my parents kept cinnamon and sugar mixed in a mason jar in our kitchen. My brothers and I sprinkled it on warm, buttered toast on cold New England mornings. This common spice seems to find its way into our cooking, baking and drinks every winter.

That’s no accident. Cinnamon warms us from the inside out.

Cinnamon in botanical medicine

In botanical medicine, cinnamon is described as an aromatic, carminative (it eases gas and digestive discomfort) and warming astringent. Herbalists have traditionally used it for diarrhea, because astringents help restrain fluid loss. In the early 1900s, North America’s Eclectic physicians used cinnamon oil, combined with oil of erigeron, to help stop bleeding. In Europe and the Middle East, cinnamon has been used for about 500 years for people with a tired, weak, cold constitution and low immunity.

Those are traditional uses. In recent decades, researchers have turned to a more modern question: can cinnamon help with blood sugar in type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes, testosterone and erections

According to the CDC, an estimated 40.1 million people in the United States, 12% of the population, had diabetes in 2023, and about 11 million adults with diabetes didn’t know they had it.¹

Diabetes raises the risk of heart attack, stroke, eye disease, kidney disease and nerve damage, and it is closely tied to sexual health. A review of 145 studies covering more than 88,000 men found erectile dysfunction in about half of men with diabetes, at roughly three and a half times the odds of men without it.²

In my experience, many men don’t take action on their blood sugar until complications show up. In my former practice, many of my male patients with diabetes also had low total and free testosterone. They came to me about erectile dysfunction, and their blood sugar often wasn’t well controlled. They wanted their sex life back, and they were looking for help.

Research supports that pattern. In a study of 1,222 men aged 40 to 70 with symptoms of low testosterone, testosterone deficiency was found in 79% of men with health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, obesity or high blood pressure, compared with about 5% of men without them.³ Keeping blood sugar in a healthy range is one of the foundations of men’s hormone and sexual health.

What the research says about cinnamon and blood sugar

No spice can fix diabetes. But cinnamon has earned a place in botanical medicine as one tool among many for blood sugar balance. The late naturopathic doctor and teacher Dr. William Mitchell recommended breakfasts of oatmeal with cinnamon and blueberries to help balance blood sugar and blood fats.

Early studies of cinnamon for diabetes were mixed. Newer, larger reviews are more encouraging:

• A 2025 review of 28 randomized trials, with 3,054 adults with type 2 diabetes taking cinnamon for 30 to 120 days, found modest drops in fasting blood sugar (about 15 mg/dL on average), in hemoglobin A1c (about half a percentage point) and in insulin resistance compared with control groups. Doses of 2 grams a day or less showed the clearest effect on A1c.⁴
• A separate 2023 review of 24 randomized trials also found lower fasting blood sugar, A1c and insulin resistance with cinnamon supplements.⁵

Hemoglobin A1c reflects your average blood sugar over about three months, and it’s used to diagnose and monitor prediabetes and diabetes.

There are real limits. The trials varied widely in dose, form and length, and many don’t say which species of cinnamon they used. The NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health still considers it unclear whether cinnamon supplements help with diabetes.⁶ Cinnamon isn’t a replacement for diabetes medication. If you take medication that lowers blood sugar, adding cinnamon supplements could lower it further, so talk with your doctor first.

Choose true cinnamon

Not all cinnamon is the same plant. Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, also called C. zeylanicum) is “true cinnamon.” Most cinnamon sold in the United States, and much of the cinnamon used in research, is cassia (C. cassia), a different species.

The difference matters for safety. Cassia can contain high levels of coumarin, a natural compound that has been linked to liver problems in sensitive people with long-term use, such as people with liver disease. Ceylon cinnamon contains only trace amounts.⁶ Labels don’t always say which species is inside, so choose a trusted source with good quality control.

Use cinnamon safely

• Cinnamon is considered safe in the amounts normally used in food.⁶
• Before taking cinnamon in medicinal (supplement) doses, check with your healthcare practitioner, especially if you take medication.
• Herbal references advise avoiding medicinal doses during pregnancy and with a cinnamon allergy, stomach or intestinal ulcers, or acid reflux.
• Never try the “cinnamon challenge” of swallowing dry cinnamon powder. It’s unsafe.⁶

A warming habit for the 21st-century man

Try adding Ceylon cinnamon to your oatmeal, coffee, smoothies, meals and desserts. On its own, a spice won’t change your health. Combined with whole foods, regular exercise, good sleep and steady blood sugar, it’s one more small, enjoyable habit that supports your energy and vitality as you age. If you’d like structured help with blood sugar and body composition, see the 10-Week Metabolic Reset.

This article is general education, not medical advice, and does not create a doctor–patient relationship. Talk with your own doctor before changing your diet, supplements or medications.

Sources

1. CDC: National Diabetes Statistics Report (data for 2023)
2. Kouidrat et al. (Diabetic Medicine, 2017): High prevalence of erectile dysfunction in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 145 studies (88,577 men)
3. Erenpreiss et al. (The Aging Male, 2019): Prevalence of testosterone deficiency among aging men with and without morbidities (1,222 men)
4. de Moura et al. (Nutrition Reviews, 2025): Effects of cinnamon supplementation on metabolic biomarkers in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis (28 randomized trials, 3,054 adults)
5. Moridpour et al. (Phytotherapy Research, 2023): The effect of cinnamon supplementation on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes: an updated systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis (24 randomized trials)
6. NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: Cinnamon

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