From: trisa@juno.com (Theresa B Gilman)

Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 19:43:26 EST

I don't know how I got on this list, but I'm glad. It's very interesting

dialogue.

I sent this email to someone on a diabetes talk-list who was asking about

chromium and I figured I might as well send it to you guys too.

I am currently taking "Nutrition Concepts & Controversies" in college to

fulfill a science & technology requirement. I chose this class because I

felt it could help me become healthier and gain any new knowledge out

there regarding diabetes. My teacher is a Registered Dietician. Well,

guess what we talked about last night...chromium! This is what she said:

"A few years ago, researchers found that diabetics who had chromium

*deficiencies* benefitted by a chromium supplement, in that their blood

sugars improved. However, if one does *not* have a chromium deficiency,

taking chromium is not likely to help. ALSO, somehow this information

made a giant leap to people claiming that chromium will aid in weight

loss...this is *not* true!"

I personally think the leap may have been because some of those diabetics

whose blood sugars came down may have also lost weight.

One thing my teacher stressed last night is that it is so easy to take

too many vitamins and minerals and become toxic, and that we do not just

"pee" the extra out as easily as people think. Any excesses may

eventually filter through our systems, but it makes our organs work much

harder to get them out of our bodies. It can affect our kidneys, liver,

etc. So, if a person already has any organ that is diseased, it will

damage it further, especially the kidneys.

So, this new knowledge tells me that before I take any supplements, I had

better find out if I have a deficiency first instead of just taking

something that is "supposed" to help.

Theresa

trisa@juno.com