Chromium Shown to Preven Weight Gain & Control Blood Sugar
(Diabetes Care, 29:1826-1832, 2006) ..
Lack of exercise and poor diet cause problems with blood sugar and insulin regulation. Insulin resistance is extremely common in America and is linked with the Metabolic Syndrome- agroup of health problems that include type 2 diabetes, abdominal fat deposition, high blood pressure,
abnormal blood fats (high cholesterol and triglycerides, and low HOL), high blood insulin and blood clotting abnormalities.
About 15 years ago, nutritionists found that chromium picolinate works like insulin to move sugar into cells and improves the sensitivity of insulin receptors. Chromium picolinate supplements (400 or 800 micrograms per day) reduced blood sugar after a meal faster than a placebo
(fake supplement) in healthy young men (JAm Coil Nutr, 23: 351-357, 2004). University of Vermont researchers ieported that chromium picolinate (1,000 pg/day for three months) helped prevent weight gain and improved insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Not all studies have been positive: chromium picolinate supplements (25-39 pg/day for 12 weeks) had no effect on bodyweight or body composition in 80 healthy adult women (Med Sd Sports Exer, 38: (5126), 2006). Excess blood sugarfrom eating meals high in simple carbohydrates may
be one cause of the obesity epidemic. Chromium may be a good supplementfor helping people regulate blood sugar. Like many health-promoting strategies, some people benefit while others don't.
The effective dose appears to be greater than 400 pg/day.
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