Cinnamon and Tabata training: one trial is not enough to establish an additional benefit

Four groups to distinguish training from supplementation

The researchers assigned 48 men, with an average age of 22.8 years, to four groups: Tabata-style functional training, cinnamon alone, a combination of both, and a control group. The intervention lasted six weeks, with three training sessions per week in the relevant groups. The cinnamon used was Cinnamomum zeylanicum.

Measurements covered performance on the Army Combat Fitness Test, a military fitness test, as well as blood irisin and several body composition indicators. Only the PubMed abstract was consulted: protocol details and full results are not available in the source material.

Physical improvements were seen in both training groups

Military fitness test scores improved in the Tabata group and the Tabata-plus-cinnamon group compared with the control group. The abstract also reports improvements in the individual events, which include deadlifts, push-ups and running.

The crucial distinction is the comparator. Doing better than the control group does not mean doing better than training alone. The abstract does not report statistically established superiority of the combination over Tabata alone for the performance score. It also does not provide absolute gains, making it impossible to assess their practical significance.

An increase in irisin does not settle the question

The group combining training and cinnamon showed the largest increase in blood irisin. However, this result concerns a biomarker: it does not, on its own, demonstrate an additional benefit for physical abilities or health.

The body composition results do not indicate a consistent advantage for the combination either. The abstract reports favorable changes in the intervention groups compared with the control group, but the Tabata-only group had the lowest body fat percentage compared with the other groups.

A more cautious conclusion than the authors’

The authors present the combination as beneficial. The comparisons described in the abstract warrant a more cautious interpretation: training improves performance in this population, while the specific contribution of cinnamon remains to be established.

With a small sample consisting only of young military men and a six-week follow-up, this trial does not allow the results to be generalized to other populations or support a conclusion of lasting benefit. It is not sufficient reason to buy a cinnamon supplement to improve performance.

What we can take away

The clearest signal concerns Tabata training. The abstract does not demonstrate that cinnamon improves performance more than training alone.