Chromium Enhances Blood Sugar Balancing

Chromium supports blood sugar balancing, according to a recent study. Chromium is a mineral required in trace amounts that plays a role in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. In particular, chromium enhances the activity of insulin, the primary hormone that regulates blood sugar concentrations.

The study evaluated 40 subjects with suboptimal blood sugar metabolism. After 1 month of stabilization, they received either 9 grams of brewer’s yeast that contained 42 mcg of chromium daily or a placebo consisting of yeast devoid of chromium for 3 months duration. The subjects were evaluated at the beginning of the study and again after 3 months for fasting blood glucose, lipid profiles, and hemoglobin A1c, which is a measurement of blood sugar balance over the previous 3 months.

The results of the study revealed that the subjects that received the yeast with chromium had enhanced blood glucose metabolism compared to the subjects that received the yeast without chromium. Additionally, the average hemoglobin A1c in the group that received the chromium went from 9.51 at the beginning of the study down to 6.86 after 3 months of chromium supplementation, indicating more tightly-controlled blood sugar levels. Furthermore, in the group receiving the yeast with chromium, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were optimized compared to the levels at the beginning of the study.

The study authors concluded that chromium has beneficial effects of blood glucose balancing and lipid metabolism in subjects with suboptimal blood glucose levels.

Reference:

Sharma S, Agrawal RP, Choudhary M, Jain S, Goyal S, Agarwal V. Beneficial effect of chromium supplementation on glucose, HbA(1)C and lipid variables in individuals with newly onset type-2 diabetes. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2011 May 11. Published Online Ahead of Print.