CHROMIUM | CRUCIAL FOR OPTIMAL INSULIN METABOLISM!
CHROMIUM IS AN ESSENTIAL TRACE ELEMENT that is of great importance for the body's own insulin synthesis for blood sugar control. Only when sufficient chromium is available can insulin fulfil its main task of regulating a healthy blood sugar level. A balanced blood sugar level has a lasting effect on appetite and the burning of nutrients, protein metabolism (muscle formation), carbohydrate metabolism (main energy source), fat metabolism (energy storage) and cholesterol metabolism.
As we age, our bodies gradually lose the ability to absorb chromium from food. At the same time, however, our need for it usually increases. Chromium is used up faster than it can be absorbed through physical exertion, sport, high sugar consumption, stress and infectious diseases.
Both animal and human studies have shown that the absorption of chromium can be significantly increased when it is bound to picolinic acid. Chromium picolinate is one of the most biologically active forms of chromium as a dietary supplement.
CHROMIUM IMPROVES MUSCLE BUILDING AND FAT REDUCTION
A study by the Center for Health Sciences at the University of Texas, USA, has shown that 200 to 400 micrograms of chromium picolinate daily resulted in a noticeable loss of fat and a build-up of muscle mass in almost all test subjects (Kaats, GR, et al., "Current Therapeutic Research" 57(1996):747-55) .
In another American study, a group of 15 patients received 200 mcg of chromium picolinate daily for 2 1/2 months, while the control group received a placebo. The chromium-supplemented group lost an average of 4.2 pounds of fat, while the placebo group lost only 0.4 pounds. At the same time, the proportion of muscle mass increased by 1.4 pounds in the chromium group, while the placebo group only lost 0.2 pounds. More muscle tissue also means better fat-burning potential. The report mentions that these positive results were particularly noticeable in older people, and here again in men, who lost 7.7 pounds of body fat compared to 1 pound in the placebo group. The effects were even stronger with a daily dose of 400 mcg of chromium picolinate.
Chromium deficiency can cause insulin resistance and even diabetes. Unbalanced insulin levels are usually responsible for the blood becoming contaminated with dangerous amounts of sugar, bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) and triglycerides - which in the long term can lead to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and possibly cancer. Surveys in the USA have shown that more than a quarter of the population over the age of 35 has serious insulin disorders.
Because chromium increases the effectiveness of insulin, it also improves immune functions. It supports various immune-related processes, such as the control of the hormones interferon and interleukin, which is primarily responsible for the activation of T lymphocytes (white blood cells).
CHROMIUM AGAINST SIGNS OF AGING
Numerous tests have shown that when sufficient chromium is consumed, the body requires significantly less insulin and that blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels are greatly improved. Dr. Walter Mertz, a pioneer in chromium research at the US Department of Agriculture, found that chromium "attaches itself" to insulin and thereby increases the hormone's main ability - to convert glucose into carbon dioxide - up to a hundredfold.
Chromium can slow or delay the onset of aging by stimulating the production of the important anti-aging hormone DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone). High insulin levels inhibit the production of DHEA by suppressing an enzyme that converts the chemical precursor of DHEA into this hormone. The intake of chromium picolinate thus promotes DHEA production. In a test carried out by Dr. Gary Evans, a leading chromium researcher and professor of chemistry at Minnesota State University (USA), with postmenopausal women, they were given 200 mcg of chromium daily for 12 weeks. After the 12th week, chromium intake was stopped. The women's DHEA levels fell by more than 10 percent after four to six months of not taking the supplement.
Our current diet does not provide a reliable source of chromium. Adults up to the age of 40 need around 200 mcg of chromium daily. For people over that age, especially men (chromium also prevents age-related prostate enlargement), Dr. Gary Evans recommends 400 mcg daily. According to experts, diabetics or people with high cholesterol or triglyceride levels need much higher amounts - between 400 and 1000 mcg daily. According to the above-mentioned study by the US Department of Agriculture, it is practically impossible to get enough chromium from a normal diet. To get 50 mcg of chromium, you would have to consume 3,000 to 4,000 calories daily. That corresponds to the calorie expenditure of a hard worker. To get the 200 mcg considered essential, you would have to consume more than 12,000 calories daily!
CHROMIUM AND ITS OCCURRENCE IN FOOD
Foods with relatively high chromium content include brewer's yeast, broccoli, barley, liver, lobster tails, shrimp, whole grains, mushrooms and, due to contamination during the fermentation process, some types of beer. However, the actual absorption of chromium from food is very low for most people.
Sugar is considered a "chromium destroyer". People who like to eat (or drink) sweet things destroy even the little chromium they consume with their food. Refined crystal sugar in particular, as well as high-fructose corn syrup (which is found in almost all sugary soft drinks and canned goods) literally flush the chromium out of the body and worsen the already low levels even further. If you cover a third of your calorie needs in the form of sugar, you increase your chromium losses threefold compared to a calorie intake that only comes in the form of sugar to the tune of ten percent.
The effect of taking chromium is the improvement in insulin and blood sugar levels after just a few days to a few weeks. Improvements in cholesterol and triglyceride levels take a few weeks to months, depending on the daily dose, says Dr. Anderson of the US Department of Agriculture.
Quit smoking? Men gain 2.8 kg, women 3.8 kg. Chromium counteracts this. Most ex-smokers have already experienced it: giving up cigarettes makes you gain weight. One year after quitting smoking, men weigh an average of 2.8 kg more and women 3.8 kg more, according to the Federal Association of German Pharmacists. According to experts, this has several causes: firstly, ex-smokers eat more sweets after giving up cigarettes, and secondly, their general feeling of hunger increases - caused by the neurotransmitter dopamine. But smokers are also less sensitive to insulin. So when you quit smoking, your insulin sensitivity increases and you feel hungry more quickly. Chromium can counteract this and help you avoid snacking.
CHROMIUM PICOLINATE IS USED TO:
- REDUCE INSULIN LEVELS
- STRENGTHEN YOUR MUSCLES AND LOSE FAT
- SLOWING DOWN THE AGING PROCESS
- NORMALIZING BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS
- REDUCE THE RISK OF DIABETES
- REDUCE TRIGLYZERIDES
- INCREASE GOOD HDL CHOLESTEROL
- REDUCE BAD LDL CHOLESTEROL
- AVOID PLAQUE FORMATION ON THE ARTERY WALLS
- TO INHIBIT HEART DISEASE
- INCREASE DHEA PRODUCTION AND EFFECTS
- PREVENT TUMOR FORMATION
- INCREASE ENERGY SALES
- AVOIDING SWEET CRAVINGS
- NOT GAINING WEIGHT WHILE QUITTING SMOKING