Health for life

A small study from the Netherlands has failed to find blood sugar benefit from chromium supplementation. The study appears in last months 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.

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For the study:
Chromium Treatment Has No Effect in Patients With Poorly Controlled, Insulin-Treated Type 2 Diabetes in an Obese Western Population

Trans-fat, like saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, has been found to raise LDL cholesterol, increasing risk for heart disease. Trans-fats may also increase insulin resistance in people with diabetes. (See Trans Fatty Acids And Insulin Resistance.)

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) recommends that people with diabetes limit intake of foods with trans-fat, such as snack foods and commercially baked goods.

But how healthy are the fats being used to replace trans-fats?

A study that appeared in the January 15th issue of Nutrition & Metabolism tested the effects of interesterified fats (IE fats), one of the leading contenders to replace trans-fats. Thirty participants consumed diets that were either rich in palm olein*, trans-fat, or IE fat. After 4 weeks:

• Those on the trans-fat and IE fat diets had higher LDL/HDL cholesterol ratios than those on the palm olein diet.
  
• Those on the trans-fat and IE fat diets had higher fasting plasma glucose than those on the palm olein diet. (Those eating trans-fat had a BG increase of about 5.2 mg/dl after 4 weeks, those eating IE fat had a BG increase of about 18.9 mg/dl.)

Manufacturers are still working to find a good replacement for trans-fats. What this study tells us is that not all apparently healthy alternatives to trans-fats are good ones.

*Palm olein is the fraction of palm oil that is liquid at room temperature. Palm olein is approximately 45% saturated fat and 55% unsaturated fat. (American Palm Oil Council)

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For the study (full free access):
Stearic Acid-Rich Interesterified Fat And Trans-Rich Fat Raise The LDL/HDL Ratio And Plasma Glucose Relative To Palm Olein In Humans