|
When we eat, food is digested and
converted to glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids before it reaches the cells. This is the beginning of a long and complex
series of steps. One very important step
is glucose entering the bloodstream. It
raises the blood sugar levels and signals the pancreas to start manufacturing
the hormone insulin. Insulin then enters
the blood and then opens the door to countless billions of cells. Glucose can get in the cells, and once inside,
it is burned to provide energy to walk, run, dance, exercise, think, etc . . .
in short, to energize the entire body.
Chromium is an essential mineral
directly related to the maintenance and normal function of insulin. Many typical American foods are loaded with
sugar but depleted of chromium. If insulin
isn't present or its action is diminished by a lack of chromium, the result is
higher levels of fat deposited and stored in the blood and urine. Without chromium, glucose metabolism cannot
be normal, and this has a direct effect on energy levels and how good or bad we
feel. Diabetes develops when there is a
problem with insulin, and chromium is necessary for the insulin to function
properly. For this reason, chromium is
showing fabulous promise in preventing diabetes. (If you have diabetes, take chromium only
under medical supervision.)
Good nutrition depends upon
getting the optimum amounts of all essential nutrients. With all the refined and processed foods on
the market, it is very difficult to know what to and what not to eat. We can start by remembering a couple of basic
rules. First, the benefits of decreased
sugar consumption are far too great to list on this page. A second rule we can follow is to eliminate,
wherever possible, processed and refined foods from the diet, such foods like
canned vegetable (especially corn), processed meats (bologna, hot dogs, etc.)
pre packaged entrees, TV dinners, and the like; these foods are high in
chemical additives and can only do a poor job of supplying nutrients.
Chromium is difficult to absorb
and only about 3 percent of dietary chromium is reclaimed in the body. To further the problem, absorption and
retention is decreased with age. Some
rich food sources of chromium are corn oil, clams, whole grain cereals, and
brewers yeast. Drinking water supplies
variable amounts. There are no adverse
side effects from taking a maximum of 200 micrograms of chromium a day. With better insulin levels, you feel better
and have more energy.
Want more good news? Chromium works at the cellular level to fire
up your metabolic furnace. In effect, it 'flicks a switch' in your metabolism to start burning up more fat and turning
it into extra energy for you to use in your daily activities. You have more energy while you burn more fat;
and, at the same time, this marvelously healthy nutrient raises your LLDL
(good) cholesterol while lowering you LDL (bad) cholesterol; so, it's wonderful
for your heart and arteries, too.
With chromium as a regular part
of your diet, you not only lose weight and gain slender, lean muscles, but
these lean muscles burn up more calories without the extra effort on your
part. And all the while, you're looking
thinner and more attractive than ever, and
you?re also lowering your cholesterol.
There are many supplements that
claim to have chromium, but not just any kind of chromium supplement is the
right kind. For example, vitamin C
interferes with the absorption of chromium, so these should never be packaged
together.
By preventing the loss of muscle
tissue during reduced calorie diets, Chromium Picolinate may "break the string
of yo-yo diets," which is the pattern of repeated calorie diets where the
weight consists of both fat and lean body mass (LBM). LBM is largely muscle tissue, Dr. K.N. Pavlou
reports, in Medical Science of Sports and
Exercise (1985; 17:466-471), that as much as 30% of the total weight lost
can be LBM.
Muscle tissue continually burns
calories, even during sleep; fat merely stores calories. So, with the loss of LBM during a diet,
metabolic rate goes down. This means
that merely to maintain the lower weight attained by dieting, calorie
consumption must be reduced to a much greater degree than would be necessary if
LBM had been preserved or increased.
On resumption of usual,
higher-calorie eating following a diet, the weight not only comes back, but a
greater proportion of it is fat rather than muscle. This leaves dieters fatter than when they
started dieting, even though scale weight may be exactly the same, and it also
leaves them with a lower metabolic rate.
Dr. Gilbert R. Kaats of San Antonio found that
giving dieters supplemental Chromium Picolinate accelerated fat loss while lean
body mass was almost always preserved and usually increased. Those volunteers receiving a daily supplement
of 200 micrograms of Chromium Picolinate lost on average 4.2 pounds of fat
while gaining 1.4 pounds of LBM. There
was no statistically significant change in volunteers receiving placebos. Many people taking Chromium Picolinate
reported a reduction in sugar cravings.
The preservation of LBM in
Chromium Picolinate-supplemented dieters helps to maintain a high metabolic
rate. This makes it much easier to keep
weight off. Dr. Kaats presented this
information at the American Aging Association?s 21st annual meeting
in October 1991.
These findings are also confirmed
by animal studies. Scientists at Louisiana State University
have found that young pigs receiving Chromium Picolinate had 7% more muscle and 21
less body fat as compared to pigs on an identical diet not receiving Chromium
Picolinate.
|
