AIM GlucoChrom™ details

Blood sugar (glucose) problems are becoming increasingly prevalent among industrialized nations. A Western diet that is low in dietary fibers—and rich in processed sugars, fats and simple carbohydrates—contributes to an imbalance in the body’s ability to manage glucose levels.

Blood sugar

Blood sugar is the amount of sugar (glucose) we have in our blood. When we eat, the body breaks down the carbohydrates in foods to produce sugars. The sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream, which carries it to every cell in the body. Blood sugar fuels the cells, providing them with the energy they need to keep us healthy. It is extremely important that glucose levels in the blood remain consistent and not be too high or too low.

How insulin works

The amount of glucose in the blood is largely controlled by insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas.

When the level of glucose in the blood permeating the pancreas is elevated, insulin secretion is increased. When it is low, the rate of insulin secretion is low.

Healthy individuals secrete enough insulin to efficiently metabolize glucose. Any unused sugar not accepted by the cells is turned into glycogen and is stored in the liver or muscle tissue for future use as energy when the body needs it.

When the body is unhealthy, the pancreas secretes too much insulin, and the cells are unable to accept and efficiently use glucose. Elevated glucose and fats remain in the blood and may result in abnormally high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which over time, can damage the vital organs, causing heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure.

Inefficient insulin production and the inability to efficiently use insulin can lead to adult onset (Type II) diabetes mellitus and its related complications. An estimated 16 million adults in the United States and Canada suffer from Type II diabetes. Another six million adults may have diabetes but do not know it.

In recent years, children and adolescents have become at increased risk for the disease (as never seen before) due to dramatically rising rates in adolescent obesity. (Journal of Pediatrics May 1996)

Metabolism and diet

As we’ve seen, the body needs a constant level of glucose in the blood, but a careful balancing act must be achieved for proper metabolism to take place. Dieting is the most obvious way to maintain insulin. With reduced amounts of insulin in the blood (within normal limits), fat cells are less inclined to store fat, and weight loss may become easier.

By contrast, those who are overweight may have insulin resistance, or the inability of the cells to accept and efficiently use glucose. Fat cells respond to increased levels of insulin in the bloodstream by storing even more fat. Quite simply, high insulin levels build fat, while low insulin levels break down stored fats and sugar.

For those attempting weight loss, the management of glucose levels becomes a challenge.

“A healthy diet and modest physical activity can help people cut their risk for developing” diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Studies show that the progression of prediabetes to diabetes can be prevented or delayed through lifestyle changes,” states the CDC. (Koplan 2003)

Chromium

Chromium is considered an essential trace element that improves the body’s response to efficiently use insulin. It plays an important role in the biological process by regulating the movement of glucose out of the blood and into the cells, thus maintaining stable blood sugar levels.

Chromium also aids in the synthesis of fats, cholesterol and proteins in the blood, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Here, it is interesting to note that, among other symptoms such as increased thirst and weight-gain, prediabetics often show signs of elevated triglyceride and cholesterol levels prior to full onset of the disease. (Healthwell 2004)

How does chromium react with insulin?

Scientists think that chromium becomes a ‘cofactor’ to insulin to gain access to the cell membrane, thus allowing glucose to enter the cells. With increased sensitivity to insulin, the cells of the body absorb glucose out of the blood. As the level of insulin in the blood falls, fat cells are less inclined to store fat, and weight loss therefore, becomes easier.

Because of chromium’s close relationship with insulin, chromium has been studied as a supplement for use in diabetics to help regulate abnormalities in blood sugar levels.

Numerous studies indicate that abnormal glucose levels in prediabetics, and Type II (noninsulin-dependent) diabetics can be managed successfully through diet, exercise and nutritional support. When used in combination with exercise, chromium provides even greater benefit by helping to regulate the body’s use of glycogen, or stored sugar. (Mindell and Hopkins 1997)

Chromium is a naturally occurring substance found in drinking water and soil. Concentrated sources are also found in food substances such as whole grains, brewer’s yeast, broccoli, sugar and molasses, but when processed, many of these foods are stripped of their natural chromium.

Modern farming practices have further reduced natural forms of chromium found in our food, since many crops today are grown in nutrient-depleted soil.

A chromium deficiency can produce symptoms that mimic diabetes, such as high glucose levels and decreased insulin-binding. When we consume a diet high in processed grains and sugars, deficiencies in chromium are exacerbated because metabolizing these foods requires more chromium than they provide. (Healthwell 2004)

Vanadium

Vanadium is an ultra-trace mineral found in very small amounts in seafood; grains such as oats and buckwheat; radishes; cabbage; carrots; dill; parsley; corn; vegetable oils such as olive, sunflower and safflower; and in soy.

Increasing evidence suggests that vanadium is an essential micronutrient needed for cellular metabolism, and it may play a role in reducing cholesterol.

In 1899, it was found that vanadium could decrease blood sugar levels, but it was not until the late 1970s that vanadium was found to stimulate insulin action.

Vanadium is thought to activate insulin receptors—making the cells more receptive to insulin—and through this, stimulates insulin activity.

Vanadium improves insulin sensitivity. (Cohen et al. 1995) It is also useful as a supplement for Type II diabetics, resulting in modest reductions of blood sugar and hepatic (liver) insulin resistance (Boden et al. 1996) Vanadium also decreases hypersecretion of insulin.

Bitter melon

Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) is a tropical fruit that grows in parts of Asia, East Africa, and South America. It has been used for ages as a folklore remedy for diabetes mellitus, and has gained recognition in recent years for its polypeptide properties.

Bitter melon may help to lower blood sugar levels by increasing the activity of hexokinase and glucokinase, the enzymes in the body that convert sugar into glycogen, which is then stored in the liver and used later for energy.

In this way, bitter melon was found to reduce blood sugar by improving glucose utilization by the liver. (Sarkar 1996)

The authors of another study suggest that bitter melon may cause a renewal and recovery of the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. (Ahmed et al.1998) Other research found that 100 ml of bitter melon juice was found to improve glucose tolerance by 73 percent in a standard glucose tolerance test. (Welihinda et al. 1986)

Gymnema sylvestre

Gymnema sylvestre—also known by the Hindi name Gurmar which literally means “the destroyer of sugar”— is a woody climbing plant native to the tropical forests of central and southern India.

Today, G. sylvestre is known to stimulate insulin secretion while lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and is favored for long-term use as a supplement for bloodsugar stabilization.

G. sylvestre may also improve the health of the pancreas by regenerating beta cells. (Shanmugasundaram and Gopinath et al. 1990)

References

• Ahmed, I., et al. “Effects of Momordica charantia Fruit Juice on Islet Morphology in the Pancreas of the Streptozotocin-Diabetic Rat.” Diabetes Res Clin Pract 40, no. 3 (June 1998): 145-51.
• Baskaran, K.; B. Kizar Ahamath; K. Radha Shanmugasundaram; and E.R. Shanmugasundaram. “Antidiabetic Effect of a Leaf Extract from Gymnema sylvestre in Noninsulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Patients.” J Ethnopharmacol 30, no. 3 (October 1990):295-300.
• Boden, G.; X. Chen; J. Ruiz; G.D. Van Rossum; and S.Turco. “Effects of Vanadyl Sulfate on Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism in Patients with Noninsulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus.” Metabolism 45, no. 9 (September 1996): 1,130-5.
• Cohen, N.; M. Halberstam; P. Shlimovich; C.J. Chang; H. Shamoon; and L. Rossetti. “Oral Vanadyl Sulfate Improves Hepatic and Peripheral Insulin Sensitivity in Patients with Noninsulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus.” J Clin Invest 95, no. 6 (June 1995): 2,501-9.
• Head, K.A. “Type I Diabetes: Prevention of the Disease and Its Complications.” Alt Med Rev 2, no. 4 (1997): 256-281.
• Koplan, J.P., M.D., M.P.H., “Diabetes: Disabling, Deadly and on the Rise,” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 2003.
• Mindell, Earl L, R.Ph., Ph. D. What You Should Know About Herbs, Supplements, Trace Minerals, and Homeopathic Remedies, 2000.
• Sarkar, S., et al. “Demonstration of the Hypoglycemic Action of Momordica charantia in a Validated Animal Model of Diabetes.” Pharmacol Res 33, no. 1 (January 1996): 1-4.
• Shanmugasundaram, E.R.; G. Rajeswari; K. Baskaran; B.R. Rajesh Kumar; K. Radha Shanmugasundaram; and B. Kizar Ahmath. “Use of Gymnema sylvestre Leaf Extract in the Control of Blood Glucose in Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus.” J Ethnopharmacol 30, no. 3 (October 1990): 281-94.
• Shanmugasundaram, E.R.; K.L. Gopinath; K. Radha Shanmugasundaram; and V.M. Rajendran. “Possible Regeneration of the Islets of Langerhans in Streptozotocin-Diabetic Rats Given Gymnema sylvestre Leaf Extracts.” J Ethnopharmacol 30, no. 3 (October 1990): 265-79.
• Welihinda, J., et al. “Effect of Momordica charantia [Bitter Melon Fruit] on the Glucose Tolerance in Maturity Onset Diabetes.” Journal of Ethnopharmacology 17, no. 3 (September 1986): 277-82.

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