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Chromium is an essential trace mineral that's deficient in most people today and one that's rarely recognized. A combination of a stressful lifestyle and the consumption of convenience foods or snacks loaded with fats and sugar severely depletes body stores of chromium. Modern-day meals contain little or no chromium to replenish lagging tissue levels.
The diabetes epidemic
Diabetes is epidemic in the US, affecting more than 15 million Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even more tragically, many of us unknowingly suffer from diabetes. A highly refined diet with too few vitamins and minerals may be the dominant factor in the rising incidence of diabetes and other insulin-related conditions in this country. Among these missing micronutrients, chromium has the greatest impact on insulin response.
Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas. Its job is to help the body metabolize carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. After you eat, insulin is released into the bloodstream in response to rising glucose (or blood sugar) levels from digested food. Glucose is the primary fuel for energy production in all body tissues, including the brain. But without insulin, it can't get into the cells. The more sugar that enters the blood, after a high-carb meal or sweet desert, the more insulin you need to carry glucose into the cells. When your pancreas can't produce enough insulin to handle the load, Type I diabetes, and autoimmune condition, may result, Type II diabetes results when cells become insensitive to insulin and blood glucose levels rise. In this case, sufficient amounts of insulin are produced but the hormone is ineffective. A related condition, hypoglycemia, occurs when rising levels of glucose following a sugar-rich meal cause an overzealous insulin response that causes blood sugar levels to plunge rapidly.
Chromium supplementation has a significant impact on diabetes, according to Richard A. Anderson, PhD, chief chemist at the USDA Nutrient Requirements and Functions Laboratory. His research shows that a therapeutic dose of chromium (200-400mcg/day) on a regular basis can improve insulin response in diabetics. Besides helping to regulate blood sugar levels, chromium acts as an "insulin amplifier" in the transport of amino acids and electrolytes into cells. Chromium supplementation also helps postpone or eliminate serious effects of diabetes: heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and peripheral neuropathy (a loss of nerve function in the extremities that can lead to amputation).
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Chromium and exercise
Chromium supplementation is also helpful in treating obesity, increasing lean muscle mass, and improving athletic performance. Although more research is needed, chromium helps build lean muscle and boosts stamina during exercise. USDA research noted in 2001 that although chromium's role is not totally understood, "magnesium, zinc, and chromium are mineral elements required" not only for health, but for "optimal performance" in athletes. Richard A. Passwater, PhD. calls chromium "a safe alternative to steroids" for body builders.
Chromium for cardiovascular health
Not interested in pumping iron or running marathons? Remember, lean muscle tissue is also what makes up our vital rogans, including the heart and kidneys. So chromium's benefit goes beyond body builders to give all of us healthier, stronger heart and kidney function. Chromium also helps normalize lipoprotein levels (LDL and HDL). High levels of LDL and low levels of HDL are believed to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The missing mineral
Often 50 percent or more of the subjects in various studies improve following chromium supplementation," according to Walter Mertz, PhD, of the USDA. Eating foods high in simple sugars causes chromium to be lost through the urine. Plus, these foods are lacking chromium, so that chromium deficiency persists. And, in addition, stress, trauma, and heavy exercise deplete chromium.
Eat your chromium!
Food sources of this important trace mineral include brown rice and other whole grains, nutritional yeast, dried beans, corn and mushrooms.
How much do you need?
- Healthy individuals need at least 80 mcg/day.
- Diabetics and hypoglycemics may need at least 200 mcg two to three times a day (check with your healthcare provider).
- People with cardiovascular disease should take at least 200 mcg a day.
- Those under stress or who excercise regularly need 200 mcg daily, minimum.
- Pregnant and nursing women should take 200 mcg every day.
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SYMPTOMS OF CHROMIUM DEFICIENCY
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♦ Fasting hyperglycemia (too much blood sugar)
♦ Hypoglycemia (rapid fall in blood glucose)
♦ Decreased lean body mass
♦ Weight gain
♦ Persistent, severe tingling in hands and feet
♦ Unremitting fatigue and/or anxiety
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THE DIET AND EXERCISE CONNECTION
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You can prevent and possibly reverse Type II diabetes if you follow these steps from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease:
♦ Eat smaller portions of foods high in saturated fats or, better yet, avoid them altogether
♦ Choose nutrient-dense, minimally processed foods over "empty" calories
♦ Get regular exercise
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NOTE: If you have diabetes and take insulin, never discontinue insulin without consulting with your healthcare provider. Also, since chromium supplements affect your blood sugar, you should carefully monitor blood sugar levels when taking chromium.
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