November 3, 1997
Contact:
Mary Burnette
202-872-1488
CHROMIUM SUPPLEMENTS HAVE POSITIVE EFFECT ON DIABETES
A daily supplement of 1000 micrograms (mcg) of chromium picolinate can have "pronounced" beneficial effects on the management of adult-onset diabetes, according to a new study published in the November Diabetes, the journal of the American Diabetes Association. This level lowered blood sugar, glycated protein, and blood cholesterol levels. Lower levels of 200 micrograms also showed a statistically significant effect, but not as pronounced as the higher level. Adult-onset diabetes is also known as Type 2 diabetes. To bring attention to the causes and preventive measures against this disease, the American Diabetes Association has designated November as Diabetes Month.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted by Dr. Richard A. Anderson and colleagues at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center in collaboration with the Beijing Medical University in China. Calling the results "unbelievable," Dr. Anderson advises Type 2 diabetics to help alleviate some of their symptoms by improving their overall nutrition, including supplementation with a multivitamin and a chromium-picolinate supplement. Anderson believes the ongoing human trials will show that other forms of chromium are also effective in reducing diabetic symptoms, but so far, chromium picolinate gave "one of the best results."
Dr. John Hathcock, CRN's Director of Nutritional and Regulatory Science, emphasizes that all diabetics should be under the care of a physician and should not use chromium supplementation as a substitute for other recommended treatments. He noted, however, that chromium supplementation seems to be well justified for type II diabetics, and may be useful for other adults at risk.
--more--
Chromium and Diabetes 2-2-2-2
Chromium affects blood glucose levels by enhancing the action of insulin. Chromium is one of the safest nutrients known, and chromium picolinate "is a convenient form of chromium that is used more efficiently than some other forms of chromium," according to the researchers. The chromium supplements used in this study had no adverse effects, and the researchers emphasize that "there have not been any reported toxic effects in any of the human studies involving supplemental chromium."
Ten million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with diabetes, six times as many as in 1958, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC estimates that as many as 15 million people, six percent of the population, actually have the disease but are unaware of it because the symptoms are not obvious in the early stages. An overweight population is cited as the major cause of these rising statistics. The government says we are seeing a chronic disease epidemic occurring. Complications from diabetes can cause blindness, heart and kidney disease and amputations due to impaired circulation and nerve damage.
Study subjects consisted of 180 men and women being treated for Type 2 diabetes at two hospitals in Beijing. The study was conducted in China in order to obtain a relatively homogenous study group who did not take supplements prior to the study. The group continued to take their normal medications and were instructed not to change their eating and living habits during the duration of the four month study. The subjects were randomly divided into three groupsæ60 received a placebo, 50 received 200 mcg of chromium picolinate, and 70 received 1,000 mcg of chromium picolinate. Those taking chromium supplements had significantly lower blood sugar levels, demonstrating better control over the disease.
The chromium supplements were provided by Nutrition 21 of San Diego, Calif., and the research was funded in part by grants from the Diabetes Action Foundation. For more information on diabetes, consumers can call the American Diabetes Month information hotline at 1-800-342-2283.
###
RSS