If you’re still deciding whether to take it or not, here are my suggestions (along with checking with your doctor first): And if you believe that chromium is helping your diabetes, that’s great. You may or may not have a strong opinion on whether it’s helpful for diabetes. We likely haven’t heard the last about chromium. It’s likely that doses up to 1,000 mcg a day are safe, but again, check first with your doctor. For the most part, chromium supplements are safe to take, but don’t go overboard. It’s generally not advisable to take a chromium supplement if you have kidney or liver disease, if you’re pregnant, or if you take certain types of medications. The decision to take a supplement is up to you and should include the input from your doctor. What does this mean for you? It may seem appealing to take chromium, based on the above information, as well as anecdotal reports from others. Meta-analyses are interesting, but they’re hardly the same as randomized clinical trials, which is what are needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of chromium in the treatment of diabetes. But previous studies (including clinical trials) have not yielded the same conclusions. Obviously, some of the newer chromium research seems favorable towards taking a supplement. Should you take a chromium supplement or not? Let’s look at some recent research on the topic: This is the big question, and not surprisingly, there isn’t a definitive answer. Do chromium supplements improve diabetes control? A study from 2011 found that 19% of the U.S. A common type of supplement is chromium picolinate (picolinate enhances chromium absorption) - this is the form of chromium that most diabetes studies have used. Chromium is available in supplement form. How much chromium is in food is somewhat hard to measure, and is dependent upon the amount of chromium in the soil where the food is grown and if any is added during food processing. Chromium is found naturally in certain foods, including brewer’s yeast, whole-grain foods, bran cereals, broccoli, nuts, and grape juice. Determining a person’s chromium status is difficult, however, and blood, urine and hair analyses don’t always reflect body stores of chromium. Instances of chromium deficiency have been rare the exception has been in a few patients who received IV nutrition that didn’t contain chromium for long periods of time. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and older adults may need extra chromium. A couple of years later, chromium was identified as being the ingredient in the yeast, and was subsequently termed a “glucose tolerance factor.” The form of chromium that is biologically active and found in food is called trivalent chromium.Īccording to the National Institutes of Health, chromium is known to “enhance the action of insulin.” Way back in 1957, a study done with rats showed that a compound in brewer’s yeast prevented an age-related decline in the rats’ ability to keep their blood sugars at a normal level. Hexavalent chromium is toxic and a carcinogen. Chrome is a thin layer of a certain form of chromium (hexavalent) that’s applied to a metal object. At first glance, chromium sounds vaguely like it might be related to a chrome bumper or bathroom sink fixture. If you’re a newbie to diabetes or diabetes supplements, you may not be familiar with chromium. But all these years later, is there anything new to add about chromium? Is it really helpful in managing blood sugars? Or are the chromium claims mostly hype? What is chromium If you’ve been taking chromium and you’re convinced that it’s helped your diabetes control (apart from medication, healthy eating, physical activity, weight loss, and potentially any other supplements that you take - yes, you need to consider their effects on your blood sugars, too), then it may make sense to continue taking it as long as you’re taking a safe amount. Although more than 10 years have passed, the topic still remains relevant and controversial.
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