Chromium & Your Blood Sugar

[Guest guest]

-- Chromium and Your Blood Sugar

 

 

 

Republished with permission from LivingNaturally.com, www.livingnaturally.com,

August 20, 2003

 

" God bless you! " wrote a New Jersey reader who read my recent column on chromium

picolinate, a dietary supplement used by some to treat and prevent diabetes. A

diabetic who was using diet and exercise to control her adult- onset, Type 2

condition, she said she missed the carbohydrates she was forced to restrict and

found her blood levels " perfect " after taking the supplement for two days.

 

Another reader wrote to ask whether she could use it with the insulin she was

taking because she felt well and, at 72, was working 35 hours a week.

 

Chromium picolinate, available at most health food stores, is a dietary nutrient

that helps regulate carbohydrates in the body, thus improving insulin levels.

 

The researcher who has been a steadfast proponent of chromium for years, Richard

Anderson, is a lead scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in

Maryland, but he isn't the only scientist hooked on chromium picolinate for

diabetes regulation and prevention.

 

The Council for the Advancement of Diabetes Research and Education, which is

represented by a New York public relations firm, recently hosted a meeting where

other researchers reported good news about this inexpensive supplement.

 

Yes, there have been reports that it can be cancer-causing, but Anderson calls

those studies " junk science " and says there is no evidence that it is

carcinogenic or damaging to the liver and wonders why people seem to resist the

good news about this product.

 

" They don't believe all the positive things, " he says.

 

Can someone on insulin take it?

 

" Definitely, " he said. " But you have to monitor your blood sugar very carefully.

You could see results within the first week (of use) and might even be able to

get off insulin within a month. "

 

Bring your doctor onboard when you do this, though.

 

His recommended dose is 200 micrograms three times a day, with meals. This is

the exact regimen recommended for newer prescription diabetic pills, which are

also suggested to be taken before each meal.

 

Anderson, who has written or contributed to numerous scientific studies on

chromium, also points to an Israeli study that showed good results for

insulin-taking diabetics.

 

As reported in 1999, the study by Dr. Alexander Ravina at the Linn Clinic in

Haifa, Israel, showed that Ambi Inc.'s Chromax brand chromium picolinate reduced

or eliminated the symptoms of diabetes in 41 out of 44 patients with

steroid-induced diabetes.

 

They were then able to reduce or eliminate their diabetic medication, including

insulin.

 

They started on 600 micrograms daily and were gradually reduced to 200-400

micrograms daily within a week. No one reported any bad side effects. Of course,

this was a very small study, as many are because, Anderson feels, there is no

money in promoting this product since it's not a prescription drug.

 

If you want to take chromium, discuss it with your doctor. If your doctor isn't

familiar with the research, this would be a good way to stimulate interest.

 

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