A small study from the Netherlands has failed to find blood sugar benefit from chromium supplementation. The study appears in last month's issue of Diabetes Care.
Chromium had previously been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, but subsequent studies have been inconclusive.
This 6-month, double-blind, randomized trial tested treatment amounts of 500 or 1000 micrograms/day of chromium picolinate in 46 people with type 2 diabetes. Participants taking chromium had no change in A1C, weight, blood pressure, or lipid profile.
Although benefit was not seen in this study population - whose participants were obese (average BMI 34) with poorly controlled blood sugar (A1C > 8%) who took large amounts of insulin (more than 50 units/day) - it does not rule out benefit in populations with better glucose control.
For the study:
Chromium Treatment Has No Effect in Patients With Poorly Controlled, Insulin-Treated Type 2 Diabetes in an Obese Western Population
