Chromium is
an essential trace mineral that makes insulin more efficient. Chromium
repartitions the body by causing glucose disposal into muscle cells instead
of fat cells. What this is saying in laymens terms is that while
taking chromium, it will help shuttle sugars and carbohydrates into the
muscles as opposed to putting them directly into the fat cells causing
you to gain weight that you are not wanting to. This does not mean
to start eating a bunch of junk food and expect not to get fat. It
just gives you a little more room for error. Foods such as brewer's
yeast or cinnamon are good sources of chromium but most people would
want to supplement chromium instead to get a higher dose. The
two forms of chromium that are available are chromium picolinate and chromium
polynicotinate.
Results of a new double-blind,
placebo controlled clinical study published today show
that chromium picolinate
aids in the loss of body fat, without causing a loss in
lean body mass.
In the study, the 122 moderately overweight individuals
who took chromium
picolinate lost an average of 6.2 pounds of body fat as
opposed to only 3.4
pounds in those individuals in the placebo group.
The new research, reported in this month’s issue of
Current Therapeutic
Research, reinforces results from an earlier clinical
trial and demonstrates that
chromium picolinate supplementation can play an
important role in improving
body composition. Body composition is determined by the
ratio of fat-free mass
versus the amount of fatty tissue in the body.
"The data clearly confirm that supplementation with
chromium picolinate can lead
to significant improvements in body composition
resulting from fat loss,
particularly for individuals who may not be as
aggressive in making lifestyle
changes such as reducing caloric intake or increasing
their physical activity," said
Gilbert Kaats, PhD, of the Health and Medical Research
Foundation in San
Antonio and lead investigator in the study.
Subjects involved in the study were provided 400
micrograms of chromium
picolinate or placebo daily. Changes in body fat,
fat-free mass and weight were
measured over a 90-day period. The results of the study
demonstrated a
statistically-significant reduction in body fat (and
fat mass) in those individuals
who took chromium picolinate, without losing any
valuable lean body mass.
"It has been proposed that chromium picolinate's
positive effect on body
composition is through its ability to improve insulin
utilisation, thereby reducing
fat deposition and resulting in improving entry of
glucose and amino acids into
muscle cells," the researchers write. "Although this
study did not attempt to test
this assertion, the findings are consistent with this
hypothesis."
Chromium picolinate's ability to improve glucose
utilisation was also the subject
of presentations and discussion at the recent
International Symposium on the
Health Effects of Dietary Chromium sponsored by the
Tufts University School of
Medicine, the United States Department of Agriculture
and the Chromium
Information Bureau, held in Dedham, MA. My recommendation
is to go ahead and use it. The recommended dosage
varies from 400 mcg - 1000 mcg. per day. A good supplement formula
containing it is Get Lean Quick.
Click Here For Supplement Secrets Revealed