Chromium picolinate is well known for its ability to help regulate blood sugar levels. Chromium picolinate is a combination of the trace mineral chromium and picolinic acid. You may not be familiar with picolinic acid, which is a natural metabolite found in breast milk. Chromium supplied in this format is more easily absorbed and utilized by the body.

Every body needs chromium picolinate throughout life. Chromium helps the body use insulin, a hormone that transfers blood sugar to the cells, where it is burned as fuel. With enough chromium, the body uses insulin efficiently and maintains normal blood sugar levels. Chromium also helps the body break down protein and fat. In recent years it has become a major dieting tool due to the outcome of clinical studies that have been performed:

“Researchers reported chromium picolinate, but not chromium yeast, is able to increase lean body mass in obese patients in the maintenance period after a very-low-calorie diet without counteracting the weight loss achieved.” (From how I lost weight without dieting)

Chromium picolinate may help control diabetes and symptoms related to high blood sugar. In people with type 2 diabetes, the pancreas secretes plenty of insulin in an effort to regulate blood sugar levels, but the body’s cells do not respond. Researchers have found that a molecule called “glucose tolerance factor” is critical for increasing the sensitivity of these cells to insulin, and this molecule contains chromium:

“Reporting on the benefits of chromium picolinate, Jay Skyler, MD, former President of the American Diabetes Association and currently Professor of Medicine at the University of Miami Medical School said:

“‘The most compelling result of this trial is the magnitude of the glucose-lowering effect seen with chromium picolinate. This is comparable to- or better than-that seen with most medications approved for the treatment of type II diabetes in the U.S.’ Dr. Skyler continued: ‘Chromium picolinate supplementation is easy, effective and safe and ought to be a consideration for most patients with adult-onset diabetes.’” (From Health Supplements Advisor )

Some studies have found that chromium supplements enable certain people with diabetes to decrease their dosage of diabetes medications. Current research is looking into the role chromium picolinate may have in preventing excessive blood sugar drops in people without diabetes. If you have low blood sugar, you may experience headaches, fatigue and irritability.

If you feel like you may be riding the sugar rollercoaster, talk to your physician about adding a chromium picolinate supplement to your vitamin and mineral repertoire. Chromium picolinate is available from your local health store or click here to purchase from Physician’s Preference.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 18th, 2006 at 2:41 pm and is filed under Health & Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.