CHROMIUM
Filed Under Lower cholesterol Remedies |
Some of the most intriguing research in the nutritional fight against high cholesterol has to do with a trace mineral whose name reminds most people of the shiny stuff on the bumpers of cars: chromium.
A STRIKE AGAINST DIABETES
People with diabetes run an increased risk of developing heart disease. For them, chromium may improve glucose tolerance, which is a measure of how well glucose, or sugar, is absorbed into the blood and transported into the cells, according to Richard A. Anderson, Ph.D., lead scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland.
Most people with diabetes have glucose intolerance, a condition in which blood sugar levels are out of control. That’s because insulin, a hormone that helps control blood sugar levels, doesn’t work properly. Chromium particularly benefits people who already have diabetes by making insulin work more effectively.
In one study, Dr. Anderson, a leading expert on chromium, had 17 people-8 of whom had mild glucose intolerance-eat a chromiumpoor diet. After a month, Dr. Anderson divided these people into two groups. While both groups continued on the low-chromium diet, the first group took 200 micrograms of chromium per day. The second group received placebo pills. Five weeks later, the groups were switched, with the first group receiving the placebo pills and vice versa.
The chromium supplements didn’t affect blood sugar levels in the glucose-tolerant folks. But the blood sugar levels of the glucose-intolerant people rose nearly 50 percent less when they were taking chromium supplements than when they didn’t take these supplements. The upshot? Chromium may reverse glucose intolerance, says Dr. An-
derson.
Some studies indicate that chromium, which helps control the way your body uses sugar and fat, may boost the body’s stores of “good” HDL cholesterol. “When people who follow a normal diet-which .ends to be marginally chromium-deficient-consume more chromium, their cholesterol and triglyceride levels benefit,” says Richard A. Anderson, Ph.D., lead scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland, and a leading expert on chromium. What’s more, chromium may help people with glucose intolerance avoid developing non-insulin-dependent (Type II) diabetes. Having diabetes increases the risk of developing heart disease. (See “A Strike against Diabetes.”)