Chromium picolinate, an essential trace mineral, helped type 2 diabetics gain less weight and body fat, control blood sugar levels, and use (absorb) sugar (glucose), in a new study. For the first three months, researchers from the University of Vermont, Burlington, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, gave 37 type 2 diabetics a 5 mg dose of the antidiabetic drug glipizide per day plus a placebo substitute for chromium picolinate. The placebo was "single-blind," meaning the doctors knew—but the patients did not know—that it was a placebo. During the next six-month double-blind phase, 29 patients who continued took glipizide plus 1,000 mcg of chromium picolinate per day, or glipizide plus a placebo.

Doctors measured the percentage of fat, bone, and muscle (body composition), the ability to absorb glucose (insulin sensitivity), and blood sugar levels (glycemic control), at the start of the study, after three months, and at nine months. Those who took chromium gained 60% less weight, adding less than two pounds compared to almost five pounds for the placebo group. The chromium group increased the percentage of body fat by 0.12%, compared to 1.17% for placebo, a 90% improvement. For abdominal fat, the chromium group added less than five square inches, while the placebo group expanded by nearly 13 square inches, a 62% enhancement. Insulin sensitivity increased 80% more in the chromium group than in the placebo group.

The doctors concluded that chromium picolinate supplements improved insulin sensitivity and glycemic control while reducing weight gain and percentage increase in body fat in type 2 diabetics who were taking glipizide, compared to placebo. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the intestinal tract absorbs only a small fraction of chromium, excreting the rest, and that vitamin C and niacin (vitamin B3) increase the ability of the body to absorb chromium.

Reference: Diabetes Care; 2006, Vol. 29, No. 8, 1826-32.