Does Chromium Picolinate Effectively Aid Weight Loss?

2768 Words6 Pages

Does Chromium Picolinate Effectively Aid Weight Loss? For many years people all over the world have struggled to regulate weight loss and weight gain. Through research and experimentation, doctors can now provide people with methods of doing this. One widely used weight loss product is chromium picolinate. This is the main ingredient in capsules that are designed to reduce appetite and cravings and help convert fat to lean body tissue. Although there is no proven evidence that is one hundred percent accurate, the general opinion of consumers nationwide is that chromium picolinate is effective in aiding weight loss. The general opinion of doctors and scientists, however, is that chromium picolinate does not effectively aid weight loss, and may be harmful due to side effects. This serves as a forewarning to consumers that advertisements may be false, and caution is necessary. What is the Purpose of Chromium Picolinate? Chromium picolinate is used in conjunction with weight loss programs. "It's purpose is to control the appetite, preserve lean muscle mass, spare protein, and stimulate metabolism." (Http://www.west.net/-sbarb) "It aims to reduce the cravings for sweets and help the body maintain proper blood sugar levels so the typical energy level ups and downs normally associated with dieting are greatly reduced." (http://www.mindspring.com/bobatlga/shapedex.html) "Chromium picolinate works to make it easier to burn more calories every minute and to keep excess pounds off forever." (http://users.aol.com/lpvitamins/shapepls.html) "While most dieters who lose a significant amount of weight lose too much muscle and organ tissue, chromium picolinate can accelerate fat loss while helping to preserve or increase muscle." (http://www.nutrition-warehouse.com/chromium.picolinate.html). How Does Chromium Picolinate Work? Overall, chromium picolinate works to control hunger, spare protein and stimulate metabolism. "In order to control the appetite, especially reduce sugar cravings, chromium picolinate sensitizes the 'glucostat' in the brain that monitors blood sugar availability and tells the body when it's hungry or not hungry. In order to spare protein, chromium picolinate 'sensitzes' muscle to insulin, and helps to preserve muscle in dieters so that they burn more fat and less muscle. This preservation of lean body mass has an important long-term positive effect on metabolic rate. This process helps dieters keep off the fat that they lose. It works because insulin directly stimulates protein synthesis and retards protein breakdown in muscles. During low calorie diets, as insulin levels decline , the 'protein sparing' process also declines. Chromium picolinate also stimulates metabolism. In order to do this, chromium picolinate aides the heat producing effects of insulin .

Open Document