What can high-chromium foods do for you?

What events can indicate a need for more high-chromium foods?

Romaine lettuce is an excellent source of chromium while onions and tomatoes are very good sources of this mineral. Other food sources of chromium include brewer’s yeast, oysters, liver, whole grains, bran cereals, and potatoes. Many people do not get enough chromium in their diet due to food processing methods that remove the naturally occurring chromium in commonly consumed foods.

What is chromium?
This essential mineral, required by the body in trace amounts, was first discovered in 1797 by a chemist in France named Louis- Nicolas Vaquelin. Many years later, a physician and research scientist in the U.S. named Walter Mertz, discovered that chromium played a key role in carbohydrate metabolism, possibly by participating in formation of a special compound which he named “glucose tolerance factor,” or GTF.

Researchers are still not clear whether GTF is an actual chemical compound or not. But they are clear that the nutrients related to GTF – even though they may not be assembled into a single chemical structure – play an important role in blood sugar balance.

These chemicals include chromium (which may be the most active component), nicotinic acid (a version of vitamin B3), and the amino acids that make up glutathione (glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine).

How it Functions
What is the function of chromium?
Controlling blood sugar levels

As the active component of glucose tolerance factor(GTF), chromium plays a fundamental role in controlling blood sugar levels. The primary function of GTF is to increase the action of insulin. Insulin is the hormone responsible for carrying sugar (glucose) into the cells where it can be used for energy.

After a meal, blood glucose levels begin to rise, and, in response, the pancreas secretes insulin. Insulin lowers blood glucose levels by increasing the rate in which glucose enters the cells. To accomplish this, insulin must be able to attach to receptors on the surface of cells. GTF is believed to initiate the attachment of insulin to the insulin receptors.

Metabolizing cholesterol & nucleic acid

Chromium may also participate in cholesterol metabolism, suggesting a role for this mineral in maintaining normal blood cholesterol levels. In addition, chromium is involved in nucleic acid metabolism. Nucleic acids are the building blocks of DNA, the genetic material found in every cell.

Food Sources
What foods provide chromium?
Although chromium occurs naturally in a wide variety of foods, many foods contain only 1 or 2 micrograms (mcg) of chromium per serving. In addition, food processing methods often remove the naturally occurring chromium. As a result, obtaining a sufficient amount of chromium in the diet can be difficult.

Furthermore, determining the chromium content of foods is problematic due to inadequate analytical tools. Consequently, currently available food composition databases do not contain accurate information about the amount of chromium found in various foods. While our food rating system qualified romaine lettuce as an excellent source of chromium and onions and tomatoes as very good sources, the following foods are also believed to provide a significant amount of chromium: brewer’s yeast, oysters, liver, whole grains, bran cereals, and potatoes. Beer and wine can accumulate chromium during fermentation and are therefore considered to be dietary sources of the mineral.

Source: www.whfoods.com