Chromium May
Reduce Diabetes Risk
NEW YORK, NY, 6/27/97-
A new study presented at the 57th Annual Scientific Session
of the American Diabetes Association Meeting in Boston, MA,
on June 23 demonstrates that daily supplementation with 1,000
micrograms of chromium picolinate significantly enhanced the
action of insulin. The study enrolled moderately obese people
with a high risk of developing type II (adult-onset) diabetes.
The study was a
randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial
directed by William Cefalu, M.D., Director of the Diabetes
Comprehensive Care and Research Program at Bowman Gray School
of Medicine, Wake Forest University. The study enrolled 29
overweight individuals with a family history of diabetes.
The patients received either a placebo or 1,000 micrograms
(1 mg) of chromium per day.
After four months
of treatment, insulin resistance among chromium recipients
was reduced a statistically significant 40%. This improvement
was maintained at the end of eight months, Cefalu reported.
The researchers
also evaluated the patients' abdominal body fat before and
after treatment using a sophisticated imaging technique. The
placebo group showed a gain of six percent, compared with
a gain of one percent in the chromium group. This difference
was not statistically significant.
"Even though only
a small number of subjects were studied , the improvement
in insulin sensitivity in chromium-supplemented subjects was
quite significant and impressive," noted Dr. Cefalu. "This
is a potentially important finding in light of the fact that
insulin resistance often precedes type II diabetes. Chromium
picolinate is a nutritional supplement that can reduce risk
factors for the development of diabetes."
Richard Anderson,
Ph.D., Senior Scientist at the USDA's Human Nutrition Laboratory
in Beltsville, Md, and a leading authority of dietary chromium
added, "Dr. Cefalu's findings are exciting and could prove
to be of great importance if replicated in future studies.
They are certainly consistent with our findings which were
reported at last year's ADA meeting: We found improved blood
sugar control in a group of Chinese patients with type II
diabetes who were supplemented with chromium"
Insulin
is the master metabolic hormone in the body, regulating blood
sugar. Chromium is an essential trace mineral required by
humans in order for insulin to work properly. In persons with
the most common form of diabetes, the effects of insulin on
lowering blood sugar are reduced. This decrease is referred
to as insulin resistance and is now believed to be the primary
defect in type II diabetes. Years before any signs or symptoms
of diabetes are seen in at-risk individuals (including those
with a family history of diabetes), insulin resistance begins
to take it toll on blood sugar control.
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