Carbohydrate Cravings, Depression, and Chromium Supplements

[Guest guest]

Carboh. MedicalConspiracies@googlegroydrate Cravings, Depression, and Chromium

Supplements

 

The following is an excerpt from The Willner Window radio program, which

can be heard every Sunday on WOR (710 AM) from 2 to 4 pm, or over the

internet at www.wor710.com.

http://www.willner.com/article.aspx?artid=42

 

Sam: Good afternoon everyone, this is .... Welcome to The Willner

Window. For those of you who might be first-time listeners, the focus of

this show is nutritional supplements–vitamins, herbs, homeopathic

remedies–and their proper usage. With me this afternoon is . .

Don, why don’t you get us started?

 

Don: I want to start off today’s program with some comments on

depression, and carbohydrate cravings. Some of you might be surprised

that there is a connection.

 

Dr. Podell: Well, there is a connect. Carbohydrate cravings, weight gain

and unexplained fatigue are hallmark symptoms of atypical depression, a

common, but frequently undiagnosed, depressive disorder estimated to

affect as many as one-third of depressed patients.

According to a 1990 World Health Organization study, depression is

ranked as the fourth most deadly disease worldwide and is expected to be

second only to heart disease by 2020.

 

Sam: Now, as far as conventional medicine is concerned, there is

currently no recognized treatment for carbohydrate cravings.

But a new study, presented at the 24th International

Neuropsycho-pharmacology Congress in Paris found that nutritional

supplementation with chromium in the form of chromium picolinate

significantly improved carbohydrate cravings, in addition to other

distinct symptoms of atypical depression.

 

Dr. Podell: This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

in 113 patients diagnosed with atypical depression. As Sam said, they

found that daily supplementation with chromium picolinate had

significant anti-depressant effects in a patient sub-group with high

levels of carbohydrate cravings.

People with the highest levels of carbohydrate cravings at baseline

experienced the most significant clinical response to the chromium

picolinate.

 

Sam: This study seems to correlate with the findings of another study, a

pilot study published in the Journal of Biological Psychiatry. The study

was conducted at the Duke University Medical Center Department of

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

According to Dr. Malcolm McLeod, a practicing psychiatrist, who

collaborated on the Duke University study “We’ve seen remarkable

improvements in depressed patients after supplementing with chromium

picolinate,” He goes on to say “Chromium picolinate is a real

breakthrough in providing safe and simple relief of atypical depression

symptoms, many of which currently go untreated.”

 

Don: Now, let’s point out a couple of things. First, the results of

these studies are being circulated widely by Nutrition 21, the folks who

make chromium picolinate. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact,

we should all salute Nutrition 21 for spending the money to support

studies that provide us with proof that these supplements work. This is

what we need.

On the other hand, we have to keep a proper perspective. It’s like that

book that come out touting the benefits of a combination of glucosamine

and chondroitin in treating joint pain. That combination did work. It

does work. But the research supporting it did not compare the

combination to each item alone. In other words, they didn’t show that

the combination was more effective than glucosamine alone. Or

chondroitin alone. The supplement that they used happened to be supplied

to the researchers by a company that marketed a combination. So that’s

what they used.

And, again, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s wonderful to see proof

that a certain supplement works. But it’s important to avoid reading

more into such information than we should.

 

Sam: So in the case of chromium picolinate and its relationship to

carbohydrate cravings and depression, you are saying that we can

conclude that this particular form of chromium is effective. It does not

mean, on the other hand, that this is the only form of chromium that

will have this action.

 

Don: Exactly, Sam. How you utilize this data is up to you. If you happen

to be a person who falls into this category, and who has not

supplemented with chromium, I suspect you would feel most comfortable

buying a chromium supplement using the picolinate form. On the other

hand, I don’t recommend you run to the medicine cabinet and toss any

non-picolinate chromium that you might have in the trash can!

 

Sam: What about dosage? How much chromium was used in the study?

 

Don: Well, that leads to the other comment I want to make, Sam. The were

using 600 mcg of chromium.

Now this is a level that should probably be used only under a doctor’s

supervision. Most supplements have up to 200 mcg chromium, including

most multivitamin products. The general feeling is that up to 300 mcg is

harmless.

Evidence of danger with higher doses is spotty at best, but prudence

dictates caution. What you need to do is first look at your

multivitamin. See how much is there. Probably 200 mcg. Then, look at

your other supplements. If you are taking weight loss products, blood

sugar control products, low-carb supplements–you may be getting extra

chromium there, and that has to be added to what is in your

multivitamin.

 

Sam: In Jarrow’s starch blocker product, CarboTame, for example, there

is 50 mcg of chromium per capsule, so you could be getting an extra 100

mcg, or more, from that product. In a two-scoop helping of Jarrow’s

Glycemic Balance–their meal replacement, blood sugar normalizing powder,

there is 120 mcg of chromium.

Many appetite control, and weight loss products, contain added chromium.

Natrol’s Citrimax Plus with Chromate, for example, contains 100 mcg of

chromium per capsule.

 

Don: This is not bad. It’s added to products of this type for a good

reason. It works. All we are trying to point out is that you should be

sure to add up all the sources of chromium in your supplements when

determining how much your total daily level might be.

 

Dr. Podell: It does work. It is probably due to chromium`s essential

role as an insulin co-factor. And, getting back to the studies we told

you about, this may be the biological link between chromium,

carbohydrate cravings and atypical depression.

Insulin has effects on metabolic function that may impact serotonin

levels in the brain. Impaired insulin function, which leads to poor

glycemic control, is linked to a number of health conditions including

diabetes.

People with diabetes have an incidence of depression two times greater

than in normal populations. Numerous clinical studies show that

supplementation with chromium, in the form of chromium picolinate, is

safe and helps improve insulin insensitivity and diabetes.