Beneficial effects of chromium in people with type 2 diabetes, and urinary chromium response to glucose load as a possible indicator of status

No reliable method for the estimation of chromium (Cr) status is available yet. The aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of using urinary Cr response to glucose load as an indicator of Cr status. Seventy-eight non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients, were divided randomly into two groups and given Cr supplements as brewer's yeast and CrCl3 sequentially with placebo in between, in a double-blind, crossover design of four stages, each lasting 8 wk. At the beginning and end of each stage, subjects were weighed, their dietary data and drug dosage recorded, and blood and urine samples collected for analysis of glucose and urinary chromium (fasting and 2 h post-75-g glucose load) and fructosamine. The mean urinary Cr after the glucose load was significantly higher than the fasting mean at zero time (p