Chromium Picolinate

Newbie_2009

I have evil sugar cravings at the moment and cannot control them.
Has anyone tried Chromium Picolinate? Is it any good.
I usually find if iI keep off refined carbss for a week or so I can control my sugar cravings easily enough. But at the moment I can only get to two days before gorging down about 300g of sugar in one go through Coke,sweets and choclate

Crazy Pet

Hi Newbie_2009,

I'm by no means any expert but from research I have done on the supplement you mentioned I cannot recommend it at all for a few reasons:
1) Not enough research has been done to determine the long term effects of taking this supplement.
2) No one is exactly sure what a safe dose might be over and above very small micro gram amounts.
3) It's thought by some very intelligent well informed people to interfere with neuro transmitter function in a negative manner and people with certain depressive type conditions have been strongly advised not to take it.
4) Some Diabetics are taking it in capsule form to help reduce high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), but they are doing so at their own risk. I am a diabetic and have decided against using this for just some of the previous reasons I mentioned above.

Bottom line a healthier option for someone with a sugar craving would be to eat a small piece of fruit.

Hope this helps you to make a safe decision.

EileenG

Personally, I like 99% chocolate as a way to control cravings. It's chocolate, but no sugar, and it's so strong that a square or two is all you need to provide the fix. Also, if you try to eat sugar after, it just tastes nasty.

El_Dangeroso

Crazy Pet wrote: »

Hi Newbie_2009,

I'm by no means any expert but from research I have done on the supplement you mentioned I cannot recommend it at all for a few reasons:
1) Not enough research has been done to determine the long term effects of taking this supplement.
2) No one is exactly sure what a safe dose might be over and above very small micro gram amounts.
3) It's thought by some very intelligent well informed people to interfere with neuro transmitter function in a negative manner and people with certain depressive type conditions have been strongly advised not to take it.
4) Some Diabetics are taking it in capsule form to help reduce high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), but they are doing so at their own risk. I am a diabetic and have decided against using this for just some of the previous reasons I mentioned above.

Bottom line a healthier option for someone with a sugar craving would be to eat a small piece of fruit.

Hope this helps you to make a safe decision.

Interesting, can you provide a link for no. 3? I had seen a case report of renal failure induced by super-physiological doses of chromium but I hadn't seen the neuro-transmitter thing. In fact, I thought it was proposed at some stage to help depression? I suppose the poison is in the dosage.

all_smilz

personally- my experience was that when i took it i found myself to become jittery and anxious and a bit weak and trembly- my blood sugars were fine, it just didnt suit me and i cant reccommend it.

Crazy Pet

@ Temple_Grandin

http://www.mendosa.com/chromium.htm

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/chromium/

http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/other-medications/34734-chromium-2.html

issues of possible kidney & liver problems as well as DNA damage have been raised of course dosage amounts and duration of usage, as well as more research may prove necessary in understanding better what the risks may definitely be, but for now I personally would not use this supplement to aid my blood sugar management.
With regard to the OP's first post I am not aware of this supplement being used to curb sugar cravings, indeed as some diabetics are using this to help reduce blood sugar levels it may encourage unhealthy eating patterns in order to maintain normal blood sugar levels, how it might work in non diabetics, I have no idea to be honest.
I hope this helps you, as I said before I am no expert, but I'm very cautious about taking supplements and I believe in a healthy diet, & lifestyle. I am a slim & fit type 2 Diabetic, not what the media would have you believe about us type 2's. I am on tablets for my Diabetes, and I have never had a sweet tooth, the odd occasion that I might get a sugar craving I use my will power or have a small piece of fruit.
Sorry don't mean to sound like I'm giving a lecture,..just letting you know where I am coming from.
Stay Happy & Healthy