14 DAY TRIAL // Even if not listed among the essential nutritive minerals needed by our body to fully function, Chromium may be as important as Calcium, Magnesium, Iron or Potassium. A recent study shows that daily supplements of Chromium picollinate combined with a common anti-diabetic drug cuts high levels of sugar in the blood and also reduces weight gain with 60%.
The clinical trial was conducted by a team of scientists at the University of Vermont. They recruited 27 patients that suffered from type 2 diabetes and asked them to take for three months a common anti-diabetic medication combined with placebo. After the three months' period, patients involved in the study formed two groups: 12 subjects who further received the same anti-diabetic drug combined with placebo and 17 subjects who were treated with the anti-diabetic medicine plus chromium picollinate.
At the end of the second stage of the study medical experts measured body composition, insulin resistance and glycaemic control of the participants. They found that those who have been administered chromium picollinate and an anti-diabetic drug lost significantly more weight and total abdominal fat than those in the placebo group.
Scientists William Cefalu who was involved in the study pointed out: "The results further support that chromium may serve as a safe and effective adjunct to medication in helping people with type-2 diabetes improve their blood sugar control. In patients who take sulfonylurea to control elevated blood sugar, weight gain is common. However, the study findings show that weight gain was less with use of supplemental chromium."
He also added: "Further, chromium picolinate supplementation significantly attenuated body weight gain and visceral fat accumulation compared with the placebo group."
The team concluded that the findings of this study are extremely important for further development of anti-diabetic and other diseases medications, because "chromium picolinate helped reduce abdominal fat accumulation, which is associated with a greater risk for other conditions such as abnormal lipids and hypertension."