Q. I would like to try the cinnamon, lime juice, vinegar combo mentioned in your column for weight loss. What is the recipe?
My husband is diabetic, so we just started using cinnamon extract made in the drip coffee maker. How much lime and vinegar do we need to add? How much should we drink? And is the (shudder) vinegar necessary?
A. Many readers want this recipe, and the person who came up with it agreed to share it in detail. Here is Lisa’s Weight Loss Elixir: Put 5 decaffeinated green tea bags in 5 cups of water and bring to a full boil. Let steep 5 minutes, remove and discard tea bags.
Add 2 level tablespoons baking soda and stir (tea will foam). Add 1/3 cup ground cinnamon and stir briefly. Cover and let steep.
Cool the tea and move it to the refrigerator. Allow it to settle for at least two days. Then pour off and save the liquid and discard the solids (unless you know a 10-year-old who needs a science fair project on slime with attitude).
Add 1 packet Certo liquid pectin, 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup lime or lemon juice, 5 cups unsweetened juice (any combination of pomegranate, black or sour cherry, sugar-free cranberry or grape) and 1/3 to 1/2 cup Splenda to taste. Stir. Keep refrigerated. Drink 1/3 cup before each meal or snack. Lisa avoids high glycemic foods (white stuff like sugar, bread, pasta, potatoes and rice).
She suspects that this works for her because she is insulin resistant and cautions that it might not work as well for others. Insulin resistance may contribute to excess weight.
There is research on cinnamon and vinegar independently reducing the rise in blood sugar and insulin after a meal. Caffeine boosts insulin levels, so using decaf green tea makes sense (Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental, Dec. 2007). Green tea may help reduce weight modestly (Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Aug. 2007).
