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Chromium

C

Circuspony

Well-Known Member
Messages
972
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Picked up my prescription this week and the pharmacy have inserted a leaflet on chromium tablets in the bag.

Done a bit of reading and it looks like chromium can help with the uptake of glucose into the muscles (that's a bit simple, but general gist)

Any T1s take chromium supplementation?
 

I don't use it but I know somebody who does and she swears by it. Thinking of giving it a go myself.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/Diabetes-and-Chromium.html
 
What foods have natural Chromium is them i wonder? @Kristin251 might know, i hope.
Since losing weight and some muscle density in my legs i had less liver dumping but lately I've noticed it creep in more again. I'm eating more carbs lately and as a type2 it does make a difference tohow much glucose gets released.
What causes type1s from lacking Chromium? Or is it just diet lacking it or not processed properly?
i know holland &barrett recommended a box of supplements which were good for diabetes but it wasn't cheap. I declined their recommendation and just use multivitamins.
Chromium wont be in them thou id think. More a specialist supplement?

i assumed the box of specific supplements were needed due to low immune system. Am i right? Is Chromium to help with brain function? Or am i confusing myself with brazil nuts and its benefits?
 
Im T2 and take chromium pincinolate ( when I remember!) Ive taken it on and off for 21 years since diagnosis and from the research I did then, the pincinolate version had the best absorbtion. I think my sugars are a bit more stable when I take it consistently

Edit to add link written by jeff volek
https://www.nutritionexpress.com/showarticle.aspx?articleid=744
 
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Chromium helps with the uptake of insulin at its receptor sites, according to Dr Atkins - that was in New Diet Revolution way back in the last century. It helps to build muscle decrease body fat and cholesterol.
The pincinolate is the form recommended.
 
I dont need any more muscle so i think I'll pass on this one! Just for now.
Muscle weighs heavier than fat too.
I'm convinced as a type2 my large muscles made my IR worse. Now on insulin full-time I'm seeing more fat developing but huge muscular arms and legs strinking. Maybe that's why I'm losing weight??? Just 9sts togo. Onwards and upwards. (May end up with more fat than muscle soon. Will need a different diet as only able to walk in pain. Normally running and swimming.)
 
This is from the NHS Choises website https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/others/

Chromium is thought to influence how the hormone insulin behaves in the body. This means chromium may affect the amount of energy we get from food.

Good sources of chromium
Good sources of chromium include:

  • meat
  • wholegrains – such as wholemeal bread and whole oats
  • lentils
  • broccoli
  • potatoes
  • spices
How much chromium do I need?
Around 25mcg of chromium a day should be enough for adults.

You should be able to get all the chromium you need by eating a varied and balanced diet.

What happens if I take too much chromium?
There's not enough evidence to know what the effects might be of taking high doses of chromium each day.

What does the Department of Health advise?
You should be able to get all the chromium you need by eating a varied and balanced diet.

If you take chromium supplements, don't take too much as this might be harmful.

Having 10mg or less a day of chromium from food and supplements is unlikely to cause any harm.
 
I took it when I was T2 and it did nothing but nauseate me and raised me a bit. Lots of supps do. Thank goodness ALA doesn’t.

It’s also in teen beans, romaine lettuce, tomato, black pepper, beef and turkey. A few others with low levels.
 
bulkbiker said:
Nope not me.. I have a teaspoon of magnesium citrate most evenings (when I remember) which seems to sort out any constipation issues..
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I used to take Swanson’s triple magnesium and it worked very well for a long time, until it didn’t.

Now I’m passing on runny egg yolks and that seems to be helping. Haven’t eaten eggs in a few days and missing them but too soon to be conclusive so waiting a few more. A tad of melted Brie isn’t too much of a hardship as an exchange. I know Brie isn’t the issue as some cheeses can be.

I’ve always had issues with this so I still need to give it some time
 
I'm confused, is the pharmacy hinting that it is possibly good for T1 and our artificial insulin? A lot of these supplements seem to be directed at T2. X
 
I am a T2D on orals. I found many years ago that chromium did reduce my bgl, but only for a while. It seems that supplementation only works if your body is actually deficient in it, otherwise you may be wasting money. I take it occasionally, along with zinc and magnesium pills as a general top up go to. Dark green veggies is normally the way to get it naturally, I believe. Body builders swear by it for muscle toning apparently. The chromium picolinate variant is apparently the most efficient form of supplementation, and the GTF formula is not very effective for bgl purposes even though it is marketed as Glucose Tolerance Factor, it may not do what it says on the tin.
 
I feel the same. Sometimes if deficient supps work. Then stop. I don’t waste money anymore. Just eat a good variety of low carb foods. I found tsupps worked half way through the bottle then backfired and mad things worse.
 
**shell** said:
I'm confused, is the pharmacy hinting that it is possibly good for T1 and our artificial insulin? A lot of these supplements seem to be directed at T2. X
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I don't know! The leaflet says "kick your sugar habit" in big letters across the top and its for Bio-chromium tablets. Lots of flashy pictures and graphs. From what I've read chromium can help with insulin resistance so whether it's just a pharmacist chucking in a leaflet without really thinking I'm not sure.
 
As a T1, I tried chromium picolinate but it did nothing for me. Same with cinnamon, but I still use it in my coffee because it's yummy.
 
RAPS_od said:
As a T1, I tried chromium picolinate but it did nothing for me. Same with cinnamon, but I still use it in my coffee because it's yummy.
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I found some very detailed studies of the Krebs / Citric cycle which described how insulin and other hormones acted on muscle tissues, and controlled the use of glucose by these cells. Chromium was involved in the chemistry of the switches that enabled or stored glucose as glycogen. Now in insulin resistance in T2D, it is mainly muscle related. As such it seems to be a T2D problem.

Although I believe that T1D can suffer a form of IR, this I think is around the adipose tissue and involves the resistance to glucose by the liver or other fat cells, not muscles. So you may not have T1D IR yourself (believed to be associated with a fatty liver) so the effect of chromium is probably less likely to show on a bgl meter,
 
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