Having too much sugar in the blood for long periods of time can cause serious health problems if it's not treated. Hyperglycemia can damage the vessels that supply blood to vital organs, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, vision problems, and nerve problems.
Studies have shown that chromium supplements may be helpful for people with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance (prediabetes). There's good evidence that chromium can lower glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity.
Studies have shown that chromium supplements may be helpful for people with type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance (prediabetes). There's good evidence that chromium can lower glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00More and more people, we're talking millions of people worldwide,
00:07are developing insulin resistance.
00:09Poor diet, excessive sugars in their sodas, refined in their foods,
00:16it's causing excessive glucose to spike,
00:21and too much insulin to make that glucose get into the cells.
00:26Because now the insulin receptor cells cannot bind to glucose,
00:31allowing it to come into the cells so it can make energy that we call ATP.
00:37So there is one mineral that every person who is susceptible to insulin resistance,
00:45or even has diabetes now,
00:47because many and many studies are showing that the essential mineral chromium
00:53that the body needs even in trace amounts, is not getting it.
00:57And here's the bottom line.
00:58Chromium enhances the action of the hormone insulin in many, many ways.
01:05And this may make tremendous differences when it comes to obesity,
01:12metabolic syndrome, clogging of the arteries, stroke, heart attacks,
01:19because when we have too much glucose floating around in the blood
01:24that can't get to the cells, some of it gets stored as glycogen,
01:29but whatever doesn't get stored gets converted to fat.
01:33And that fat, most of it is visceral fat.
01:38That's the fat around the abdominal area that leads to metabolic syndrome,
01:41that leads to all different types of problems.
01:45But chromium may, in many, many people,
01:49make all the difference when it comes to improving your health.
01:54And chromium can be a great asset when it comes to controlling your blood sugar.
01:58It enhances insulin sensitivity, and it can lower fasting blood glucose levels,
02:03reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes, and improve overall glycemic control.
02:08And it's quite common that when you're insulin resistant and have no symptoms,
02:12hold on a second, you might be wondering why you can't take the weight off.
02:17And by adding chromium, it can do wonderful things
02:22and help firing up and speeding your metabolism,
02:26because chromium will not allow you to have those sugar spikes and falls
02:32that's going to make you crave more food.
02:34It's going to give you more satiety.
02:36It's going to affect your hormones, your ghrelin, your hunger hormone.
02:41It's going to lower.
02:42And your leptin, your satiety hormone, it's going to raise.
02:46And the number one killer today is cardiovascular disease.
02:50And it's more common for people who have elevated sugar in their blood,
02:54those who are diabetic or even pre-diabetic.
02:57But by increasing chromium in your diet,
03:02this can make a huge difference in the control of your bad cholesterol,
03:06your LDLs, your low-density lipoproteins,
03:09as well as increasing your good cholesterol, your HDLs.
03:15So as we lower the bad cholesterol,
03:17and as we increase the HDLs of good cholesterol, guess what?
03:21The good cholesterol searches through those arteries,
03:25preventing plaquing within those arteries
03:27to take the bad cholesterol back to the liver so it can be excreted.
03:31And when it comes to protecting your cells from damage caused by harmful molecules
03:35that we call free radicals, chromium can exhibit antioxidant activity.
03:41And oxidative stress resulting from imbalances between antioxidants
03:45and free radicals is often increased in individuals with pre-diabetes and diabetes.
03:51And that's why it's so important to reduce that oxidative stress
03:54to keep the body healthy.
03:56And you might be thinking, well, what is the best chromium I should take?
04:00Well, there are many chromiums out there,
04:03but the research shows that chromium picolinate is way up on top of that list.
04:09And the dosage is anywhere between 200 micrograms to 1,000 micrograms a day,
04:14and that could be split up as well.
04:16And if you're going to take higher dosages,
04:18it would probably always be best to speak to your doctor,
04:21particularly if you're taking any other types of medications
04:24or having other health problems.
04:26And chromium is extremely important in glucose transport.
04:30It stimulates the translocation of glucose transporters, GLUT4.
04:34And our pancreas is the vital organ involved in insulin production and release.
04:39And chromium has been shown to support pancreatic function
04:42by enhancing insulin secretion from the pancreatic beta cells.
04:46And it helps optimize the release of insulin in response to elevated blood sugar levels,
04:51promoting better glycemic control.
04:54And what's quite interesting is that every cell has a mitochondria,
04:58which is the heart of our cell, which produces ATP.
05:01That gives us our energy.
05:03So when glucose gets into the cells, it produces ATP within the mitochondria.
05:09And chromium enhances the mitochondrial function.
05:12And this has a direct impact on glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity.
05:18And one of the best things that we can do to help regulate our sugar levels,
05:23there is many of them, but I'm going to give you a quick few.
05:27The important ones.
05:29That when you eat, the worst thing we can do is sit down.
05:32Because if we're having all this blood sugar, this glucose building up in our blood,
05:38this blood sugar needs to go somewhere.
05:41So we can't rely always just on insulin.
05:44Because if there's so much, that means we need more insulin.
05:47And the best thing we can do is move around.
05:49Because as we utilize muscles within our body,
05:52those muscles can absorb that glucose with little insulin, if not any.
05:59And that takes a tremendous load off our pancreas,
06:02so it can rest and restore, so it can make more insulin.
06:07And if you have higher blood sugar levels, just drinking more water
06:10can help the body get rid of that extra sugar.
06:14And it's important to note that if you are dehydrated,
06:17that can make the body produce more insulin.
06:20And if we have too much insulin, that develops more problems
06:24because more insulin means more fat storage.
06:28The only way you're going to store fat is if you have too much insulin.
06:33So we need to lower those insulin levels.
06:35Spread out our food. Stop eating every hour.
06:39Give your pancreas a break.
06:41Walk after you're eating, after your lunch, your dinner, your big meal.
06:45It makes a tremendous difference.
06:47And lastly, if you're under stress, having anxiety, you're overworked,
06:52you're not sleeping enough, it's going to throw your hormones off.
06:56You're going to crave more food.
06:58You're going to have more glucose in your blood,
07:01overwork in your pancreas, more insulin.
07:03That could develop more problems.
07:06But the key thing is you're increasing your sympathetic nervous system,
07:10your fight or flight, and your body's secreting more cortisol.
07:13As your cortisol level goes up,
07:15your body will start producing more glucose in the blood,
07:18and that becomes a vicious cycle.
07:21Because now you're getting glucose not from food,
07:24and whenever there's sugar within the blood, guess what?
07:28Insulin is needed. But here's the problem.
07:31When cortisol levels go up, insulin levels go down.
07:36And that means where are those sugars going to go?
07:40If you're not burning it off, you're not running from the lion,
07:43that becomes a big, big problem.
07:46So you need to maintain and find those ways of,
07:51if it's meditation, yoga, finding your hobbies,
07:55or just saying, you know what? Screw the stress. Let it happen.
07:59You need to let it go because that stress will cause increased blood sugars
08:04that can lead to prediabetes as well as diabetes.
08:08Well, I really hope you enjoyed this video.
08:11You may need to listen two or three times. It's okay.
08:14But just remember, I like chromium picolinate. The research shows it.
08:19I will attach several different PubMed research articles
08:24if you like to skim through them.
08:27Chromium could do wonderful things for us.
08:30And I really hope it can help you, your loved ones, or your family,
08:33and it may make all the difference so you can live a joyful, healthy, and happy life.
08:39So let's get serious. Let's change your diet. Let's get some exercise.
08:43Let's change your thought patterns.
08:46Let's start doing the right thing so we can stay healthy.
08:50Please leave your comments below. I expect many.
08:53And most important, make it a great day.
08:56I'm Dr. Alan Mandel.