Chrom Sweet Chrom

It’s no secret that Type II diabetes is one of the biggest public health threats facing us today. It’s a chronic disease that affects 194 million people worldwide – and the incidence rates are climbing higher each year. In fact, some experts predict that the number of people with diabetes will exceed 333 million by 2025!

Fortunately, diabetes is also one of the most treatable. With weight loss, a healthy diet and exercise, many people with the disease are able to maintain healthy blood sugar levels without medication. That's good, because uncontrolled Type II diabetes can lead to a variety of serious health problems, like kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and blindness.

But, that if you’re doctor has you on insulin or other drugs to control your diabetes? Are you destined to take medication for the rest of your life? Maybe not. New research has found one supplement that might help you reduce or even eliminate your dependency on anti-diabetic drugs.

Traces of hope

I’m talking about chromium, an essential trace mineral. While chromium, which is a co-factor of insulin, can help maintain normal blood sugar levels, most of us don’t get enough of it. But, according to several new studies, boosting your intake, in the form of chromium picolinate, can also boost your insulin sensitivity.

The studies were presented at the 18th International Diabetes Foundation Congress and, I’m happy to report, the findings created quite a stir. In the first clinical trial, researchers from the Netherlands studied the effects of chromium picolinate intake on metabolic control in 52 patients with Type II diabetes. The six-month double-blind, placebo-controlled study enrolled patients who had hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels greater than eight percent and who took more than 50 IU of insulin per day. HbA1c is a blood test that measures average  over the preceding 120 days.

In addition to their usual oral anti-diabetic medication, the patients were also given 500 µg of chromium picolinate, 1,000 µg of chromium picolinate per day or a placebo. By the end of the study, the researchers found a significant decrease in HbA1c levels in the group receiving higher doses of chromium picolinate supplements. HbA1c levels decreased from 9.5 percent to 9 percent in the patients receiving a higher dose of the supplement. But glucose levels weren’t the only improvements. The study also showed a significant reduction in cholesterol levels and trends for improvement in triglycerides in both chromium picolinate groups.

Another double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted by the University of Vermont confirmed the findings. In the study, patients with Type II diabetes, treated with either sulfonylureas (a class of diabetic drugs that increase insulin secretion) or a diet program, were assigned to receive either 1,000 µg chromium picolinate or a placebo every day. Of the 16 subjects, those taking the chromium picolinate had a mean increase in insulin sensitivity of 8.9 percent, while the placebo group were 3.6 percent less sensitive than when the study began.

Traces of hope

This new research isn’t a breakthrough. Researchers have known about how chromium picolinate can benefit people with Type II diabetes since 1957. But these new findings do add further credence to what alternative physicians have been saying for decades – that chromium picolinate may help diabetics avoid anti-diabetic drugs.

The most exciting thing about these two new studies is that they reveal the mechanism involved in chromium picolinates ability to improve insulin resistance in human skeletal muscle – the primary site for glucose metabolism. The research suggests that chromium picolinate “turns on” Akt phosphorylation – an insulin dependent protein that helps the cells take up glucose. And the more glucose the cells can use, the more energy they can produce.

One last thing . . .

A few years ago, you may have heard some concerns about taking supplemental chromium. Like many of the other scare reports I’ve told you about recently, this one stemmed from the media getting it wrong – again.

The news stories were based on a small test-tube study and warned consumers that chromium was not only ineffective, but even dangerous. What they didn’t say was that neither study reflected real life. In the study, hamster cells were exposed to extremely high concentrations of chromium – 3,000 times higher than the amount found in supplements. Based on this, the researchers came to the conclusion that chromium picolinate could cause chromosomal damage in hamster cells. But what happened next was really crazy. The media, in its infinite wisdom, made the illogical assumption that chromium causes cancer in humans!

The truth is that numerous animal and human studies have found that chromium picolinate supplements are extremely safe. Even the Ames test, which is commonly used to pinpoint potential cancer-causing substances, has given chromium the thumbs-up. Bet you won’t hear that on the evening news!

This just in . . .

Its round and red and the only time most of us think of it is during the holidays. But if a stroke is in your future, researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth have found that cranberries may help protect nerve cells against the damage that occurs during a stroke.

In their preliminary study, the Dartmouth team simulated a stroke in cultured rat brain neurons and then treated some of the cells with a concentrated cranberry extract. What happened next was truly remarkable. Forty-three to 49 percent fewer of the cranberry-treated neurons died off than those left untreated.

While the researchers don’t yet know what it is about cranberries that give them their protective qualities, other research has found that blueberries can also reduce stroke-related brain cell damage. They speculate that the antioxidant-rich flavonoids in both berries are probably part of the answer.

This is a terrific study, even if it is preliminary. It reinforces what most nutritionists have been saying for years – that berries are literally bursting with health. But it isn’t the first time science has made the connection between berries and brain health. Last year, a study conducted by Tufts University and the USDA found that blueberries reduce age-related damage to the brain and may prevent the mental decline that accompanies Alzheimer’s disease by influencing the way neurons communicate.

While it’s true that raw berries are preferable to berries that are frozen or cooked (freezing and heating can destroy some antioxidants), fresh fruits may be tough to find during the winter months. But you can boost the nutritional value of processed berries by taking a cranberry extract supplement. It may just be one of the smartest things you can do for your health.

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References:

18th IDF Congress: Abstracts 154, 756,762. Presented 28 Aug 2003.

Anderson RA. Chromium in the prevention and control of diabetes. Diabetes and Metabolism. 2000;26(1)22-27.

Anderson RA, et al. Elevated intakes of supplemental chromium improve glucose and insulin variables in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes 1997 Nov;46(11):1786-91.

Rauscher M. “Cranberry extract may help reduce stroke damage.” Reuters. 9 Sept. 2003.

Stearns DM, et al. “A prediction of chromium(III) accumulation in humans from chromium dietary supplements.” The FASEB Journal. 1995;9:1650-1657.