Do Chromium Supplements Help Diabetics?
Collaborative work between IFR, the Bertram Diabetes Research Unit at the West Norwich Hospital, and the Central Science Laboratory in York suggests not. Chromium is essential for the control of insulin action, so this study investigated whether moderate supplementation with chromium rich yeast improved patients’ control of their blood sugar levels. The study, along with other published work, suggests that further work to understand the action of chromium is needed in order to optimise its effects. The Best of Health: IFR is always looking to reach wider audiences with information on the relevance of science to our society. An article in the current issue of Biological Sciences Review (a magazine for 16-18 year old science students) introduces work on minerals and bioavailability. Linda Harvey and Sue Fairweather-Tait define bioavailability, tabulate recommended mineral intakes, discuss how mineral absorption is measured and describe recent research on iron, selenium and copper. A Powe
