Chromium may help to lower your blood pressure
Added 03.07.2008
If you have high blood pressure, you are not alone; as many as 1 billion people worldwide suffer from high blood pressure. High blood pressure is one of the greatest risk factors for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in Europe. But don't despair because current research may have found a way to help you lower your blood pressure naturally.
How chromium can help you
In recent animal trials, chromium supplements reversed increases in blood pressure and returned blood pressure back to normal levels. Supplementation with chromium also improved blood flow (acts as a natural ACE inhibitor).You may be wondering how animal trials are significant to us. In fact, they are very significant because most often the results from animal trials mirror the results that would be obtained on human trials. The main reason why studies are conducted on animals first is that results can be obtained in a much shorter period of time than in human studies.
Are you getting enough chromium?
Chromium is an essential mineral that is vital for proper insulin function, healthy blood sugar levels and carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. Foods rich in chromium include meat, whole grains and some fruits and vegetables. The problem is today's agricultural and manufacturing processes significantly affect chromium's content in food, so chances are, you are not ingesting sufficient amounts of this mineral. To ensure you are getting the right dose of chromium, you should resort to taking natural mineral supplements on a daily basis.References:
Dr. Bo Nielsen's comments:
Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a fast growing problem for millions of people. Unfortunately, most traditional pharmaceutical drugs do not treat the underlying cause of hypertension and have unpleasant side effects. On top of that you have to take these drugs for the rest of your life. Several recent studies have found a correlation between low chromium intake and high blood pressure and type II diabetes. Several studies have demonstrated that taking supplements with chromium can lower hypertension without side effects. Chromium is also essential for normal glucose metabolism (as GTF (Glucose Tolerance Factor)) and it is my clinical experience that supplementation with 200 mcg of chromium polynicotinate in conjunction with a healthy diet and lifestyle and relevant vitamins and minerals is often able to cure type II diabetes. Remember that dosage and biochemical form are essential for these effects. Look for 200 mcg of either chromium polynicotinate or chromium picolinate. Most cheap supplements do NOT contain 200 mcg of these biochemical forms.
