So
far in this series, you’ve read about essential nutrients
and key antioxidants that play important roles in nutritional
therapy for diabetes and prediabetes. This article focuses on
some “new” kids on the block—a newly developed
nutrient combination and two antioxidant supplements that aren’t
exactly new but aren’t well-known household names like
vitamins C and E.
A New Product: Chromium + Biotin
As you learned in Part 1, chromium
picolinate by itself is very effective for reversing insulin
resistance. However, a new product that seems to be even more
therapeutic for those with diabetes is now available. It’s
a patented composition of chromium picolinate plus biotin called
Diachrome™. It comes in the form of a convenient capsule
that contains 600 mcg chromium (as chromium picolinate) and
2 mg biotin and is taken just once a day. As with chromium picolinate,
supplementation with Diachrome may reduce the need for insulin
or hypoglycemic drugs.The
product was developed after researchers tried to find nutrients
that worked synergistically with chromium to improve glucose
and fat metabolism. They investigated several different nutrients,
including biotin, a B-family vitamin that had been found in
other experiments to aid in managing blood sugar. Researchers
found that biotin worked best with chromium picolinate for improved
effects.
Muscle cell culture studies and Syndrome X animal model studies
conducted at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and
the Chicago Center for Clinical Research have found that the
chromium picolinate-plus-biotin combination leads to enhanced
blood sugar control and improvements in cholesterol profiles.
View Results
Early human studies also have been encouraging. One double-blind,
placebo-controlled (DBPC) study involved people with diabetes
who drank a high-carbohydrate, meal-replacement-type drink twice
daily. In the control group of diabetic patients who did not
receive Diachrome, fasting blood glucose levels and glycated
hemoglobin levels skyrocketed. However, these levels did not
significantly change in the group of diabetic patients who took
the nutrient combination. This means that Diachrome significantly
controlled some of the negative effects of sugar intake in those
with diabetes. In addition to glucose improvements, there was
also a significant improvement in blood lipid profiles in the
group who took Diachrome. View Results
A nutrition intervention program, called the Diachrome Patient
Experience Program (PEP), involved more than 100 participants.
Patients worked with their diabetes educators and received educational
literature, the Diachrome nutritional supplement, and a home
blood glucose monitor. At the end of 12-weeks, fasting and postprandial
blood sugar levels, as well as HbA1c levels, were significantly
improved. The first PEP data have been accepted for poster presentation
at the International Diabetes Federation in August.
Several other controlled human studies using Diachrome –
such as a 600-patient DBPC study with Diabetex, the nation’s
fifth largest diabetes disease management company, and a DBPC
study at Oakland Children’s Hospital involving 90 adult
and pediatric patients with type 2 diabetes -- are currently
being conducted. Results will be presented in 2003 and 2004.
In total, 25 published clinical studies involving more than
1,650 patients with diabetes support the ability of Diachrome’s
active nutrients, alone and in combination, to stabilize blood
sugars safely and effectively.
The Antioxidants Lutein and Coenzyme Q10
In Part 1 of my article series, I discussed
the beneficial effects of the antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin
E and alpha-lipoic acid. The effects of two less-well-known
antioxidants, lutein and coenzyme Q10, also deserve mention.Lutein
Carotenoids are plant pigments in fruits and vegetables that
do double duty as antioxidants. The carotenoid you’re
most familiar with is probably beta-carotene, which can be converted
in the body to vitamin A. But lutein and zeaxanthin (which the
body converts from lutein) deserve special attention. Found
in kale, spinach, other leafy green vegetables and egg yolks,
these nutrients are the dominant carotenoids that protect our
eyes. If consumed regularly from food, the two carotenoids protect
against cataracts and significantly cut the risk for macular
degeneration, a deterioration of central vision that’s
responsible for about one-third of all new cases of blindness
every year.
Studies have shown improvements in vision from supplementation
with lutein in patients with macular degeneration and in patients
with cataracts. People who have diabetes are at higher risk
for developing cataracts and macular degeneration, so they may
get extra benefit from supplementation with lutein (in addition
to eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits). Lutein can
be found as a stand-alone supplement or in some antioxidant
formulas and once-a-day multivitamin/mineral formulas. The standard
dosage is 5 to 20 mg per day.
Coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10, also known as CoQ10, is a free-radical-quenching
antioxidant that also plays a key role in the creation of energy
in cells. All organs with high energy demands need a lot of
CoQ10, and first among these is the heart. CoQ10 is particularly
well-researched as an effective nutritional therapy for cardiomyopathy
and congestive heart failure. But studies have shown that supplementation
with CoQ10 (120 to 200 mcg per day) also significantly decreases
systolic and diastolic blood pressure in both hypertensive and
type 2 diabetic patients. The researchers of one of these studies
suggested that CoQ10 works by quenching free radicals and normalizing
the insulin response to glucose.
Though our cells manufacture CoQ10, they don’t always
do this very efficiently, especially as we age. People who are
at special risk for CoQ10 deficiency are patients who take statins,
one of the most popular classes of cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Statin drugs inhibit the body’s production of cholesterol
at a point that also blocks the body’s production of coenzyme
Q10. A lack of CoQ10 appears to be a primary cause of heart
failure. Therefore, people who take statin drugs to lower blood
cholesterol are in special need of CoQ10 supplementation.
Like lutein, most CoQ10 supplements are best absorbed with a
little fat or oil -- in other words, take them with a meal or
a teaspoon of sugar- and salt-free almond butter or peanut butter.
A small percentage of CoQ10 supplements are water-soluble, and
these are well absorbed with or without food. Dosages commonly
range from 30 mg to 200 mg daily, with the higher amounts most
appropriate for people with heart disease. CoQ10 is extraordinarily
safe, but it can reduce the need for heart medications or diabetes
medications. Be sure to be mindful of this when working with
your diabetes patients and their doctors.
Parts of this article were excerpted and adapted from Chapters
5 and 6 in User’s Guide to Preventing and Reversing Diabetes
Naturally (Basic Health Books, June 2003) by Melissa Diane Smith
and from Chapter 9 in User’s Guide to Chromium (Basic
Health Books, 2002) by Melissa Diane Smith.
Selected References
Bliznakov EG, et a. Biochemical and clinical consequences of
inhibiting coenzyme Q10 biosynthesis by lipid-lowering HMG-CoA
reductase inhibitors (statins): a critical overview. Advances
in Therapy, 1998; 15: 218-228.
Hankinson
SE, Stampfer MJ, Seddon JM, et al. Nutrient intake and cataract
extraction in women: a prospective study. British Medical Journal,
1992; 305: 335-339.
Hodgson JM, Watts GF, Playford DA, et al. Coenzyme Q10 improves
blood pressure and glycaemic control: a controlled trial in
subjects with type 2 diabetes. European Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, 2002; 56: 1137-1142.
Juturu
et al. Chromium with biotin decreases coronary risk lipids and
lipoproteins in people with type 2 diabetes ingesting moderated
carbohydrate nutritional beverages. FASEB Journal, 2003; 17(5):A1098,
Abstr 689.1
Komorowski,
et al. JCR-LA-cp rats show improved lipid profiles in response
to diets containing chromium picolinate and biotin. Society
for the Study of Ingestive behavior, 2001, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
Abs, pp:41.
Komoroski
J, Greenberg D, Maki KC, et al. Chromium picolinate with biotin
attentuates elevation in blood glucose levels in people with
type 2 diabetes ingesting medium carbohydrate nutritional beverages.
Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2001; 20: 580.
Landrum JT, et al. A one-year study of the macular pigment:
the effect of 140 days of a lutein supplement. Experimental
Eye Research, 1997; 65: 57-62.
Olmedilla B, Granado F, Blanco I, et al. Lutein, but not alpha-tocopherol,
supplementation improves visual function in patients with age-related
cataracts: a 2-y double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study.
Nutrition, 2003; 19: 21-24.
Olmedilla
B, et al. Lutein in patients with cataracts and age-related
macular degeneration: a long-term supplementation study. Journal
of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2001; 81: 904-909.
Seddon
JM, Ajani UA, Sperduto RD, et al. Dietary carotenoids, vitamin
A, C, and E, and advanced age-related macular degeneration.
Journal of the American Medical Association, 1994; 272:1413-1420.
Singh RB, Niaz MA, Rastogi SS, et al. Effect of hydrosoluble
coenzyme Q10 on blood pressure and insulin resistance in hypertensive
patients with coronary artery disease. Journal of Human Hypertension,
1999; 13: 203-208.
Wang
ZQ, Zhang XH, Cefalu WT. Chromium picolinate and biotin enhance
glycogen synthesis and glycogen synthase gene expression in
human skeletal muscle culture. Presented at the 17th International
Diabetes Federation Congress, Mexico City, November 9, 2000.
Watts GF, Playford DA, Croft KD, et al. Coenzyme Q(10) improves
endothelial dysfunction of the brachial artery in type II diabetes
mellitus. Diabetologia, 2002; 45: 420-426.
Melissa
Diane Smith is a leading nutritionist, health writer and educator
who counsels clients across the country and specializes in sugar-
and grain-related health conditions. She’s the author
of User’s Guide to Preventing and Reversing Diabetes Naturally
(Basic Health Books, 2003), Going Against the Grain (McGraw-Hill/Contemporary
Books, 2002), and User’s Guide to Chromium (Basic Health
Books, 2002) as well as coauthor of the national bestseller,
Syndrome X: The Complete Nutritional Program to Prevent and
Reverse Insulin Resistance (John Wiley & Sons, 2000). For
more information on her books or her practice, visit www.melissadianesmith.com.
To be notified when her book is off the press and available
for purchase, email info@melissadianesmith.com with a subject
line of “Diabetes Guide Notification.”
