Chromium and Diabetes

 

Chromium has been shown to benefit people with Diabetes

Link between Chromium and Diabetes

A study has been done of children with Type 1 Diabetes and measuring their Chromium levels.

What is Chromium?

Chromium is a mineral. There are Major minerals we need in our body and Trace minerals or Trace elements as they are also called. A trace mineral     means that we only need traces of it, that is, small quantities of it. We need larger quantities of the major minerals.

Now although we only need small quantities of Chromium, it does not mean that we do not need it.

A Study of Children with Type 1 Diabetes

In this study, young people from 2 years old to 16 years who had recently been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes had their chromium levels tested. Their levels were significantly lower than a control group, that is, children of the same ages who did not have diabetes.

In the US alone, there are 250,000, (yes, that's a quarter of a million) children with Type 1 Diabetes.

What Works?

Does this say to us that we have to look at alternatives for our children to make sure we leave them healthy when we leave this planet? Obviously, what we have been doing in the past is NOT working.

What we can do about it

The most obvious thing we can do to increase our levels of Chromium is to eat foods that contain chromium. These are brewer's yeast, whole wheat, wheat bran and wheat germ, green bell peppers, apples and spinach.

The other thing we can do to ensure we have enough chromium is to take a supplement. Check on the ingredients of you daily vitamin and mineral supplement. There may be chromium in it, but often, for people with diabetes, the amount is too small. You may also need to take a larger Chromium mineral supplement.