chromium & diabetes

[Jhanon]

Chromium increases the sensitivity of insulin for it to carry the sugar into your tissues hence less blood sugar. It is by no means a cure for diabetes.

Protein in eggs as with any other proteins can turn into glucose in your blood stream. Furthermore, biotin in egg white reduces the absorption of B vitamins.

Brewer's yeast does not have vitamin B12.

Thank-you Sam, for the response.  I am currently speculating that eggs are just plane bad for everyone's health and especially mine.

As for Brewer's Yest not having vitamin B12. It just does not make sense, because fermentation tends to lead to vitamin B12 production.  So, I checked and found that yest supposedly does have B12.
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/custom/1323569/2

Try eating egg yokes only. Maybe there's an ingredient in egg white that is the culprit.

Thanks, Michel.  I think I am just going to forgo the egg as soon as I have consumed the last one in the refrigerator.  Trying to separate the yoke from the white is just more trouble that I am willing to go to.

For the last four years, in exploring the healthiest and most aware individuals I can find, and myself, I've found animal products in general are inferior to plants. I just can't find anything showing they have more positive/negative than plants.

Of course there are plenty of "studies" that say otherwise, but so is the case with meditation and government. I consider animal products to be sensuous food. Eating them has repeatedly and consistently spoiled my state of mind and body, regardless of any variables I can think to observe. However, it does appear that water-animals like fish aren't as bad, but still not superior to plant alternatives.

I am young, but because I have grown up with such a sensitivity to the pains of subtle suffering, especially in the digestion and nutrition of food; I felt it was reasonable to make my comment.

[Jhanananda]

You might be correct, Jhanon, because I was mostly vegan for 37 years, then a few years later I was diagnosed with diabetes; whereas, before that I consistently had good blood tests.  So, what changed?  I stopped eating nutritional yeast, and started eating eggs.  So, if I go back to my original diet, then I might find better health. 

Certainly taking nutritional yeast again has dropped my blood sugar significantly, and reducing the egg consumption has also shown to lower my blood sugar.  So, the question is, will my blood sugar stay normal, and get more normal, and will my health improve if I completely remove eggs from my diet?  I am willing to try it.

[Jhanon]

37 years without any (or hardly any) animal products; that is most encouraging, friend Please do let me know how your experiment turns out.

I wonder if kombucha contains nutritional yeast? I know very little about kombucha.

[Jhanananda]

37 years without any (or hardly any) animal products; that is most encouraging, friend Please do let me know how your experiment turns out.

Yes, I consumed very few animal products for 37 years.  My diet was very high in raw, fresh, organic produce; almost no eggs, definitely no meat, and very few eggs.  Also, no refined anything, and I preferred low sweetened, whole grain bakery items. 

My health was good on the above diet.  Nonetheless, my health was not sustained for more than a few years after leaving the diet system, so I remain unconvinced of a very high in raw, fresh, organic produce; almost no eggs, definitely no meat, and very few eggs diet system.

I wonder if kombucha contains nutritional yeast? I know very little about kombucha.

I have drunk kombucha.  I found it much too sweet for my pallet.  I believe fermented foods, and no eggs, are part of the puzzle of coming to a wholesome, and sustainable diet system.

Continuing to use up the eggs that I have, and pursuing this study of egg-reduction, 2 days ago, I had 2 eggs, and my blood sugar level yesterday morning was 188, which surprised me quite a bit.  That morning I had just 1 egg and 2 table spoons full of yeast, and my blood sugar level this morning was 146, which is more confusing. 

My hypothesis is that, while eggs lead to diabetes, they nonetheless, contain more chromium than an equal mass of yeast, so I added 1 more tablespoon full of yeast to my daily food regimen today.  We will see what my blood sugar is tomorrow morning.

[Jhanananda]

Continuing to use up the eggs that I have, and pursuing this study of egg-reduction, yesterday I had just 1 egg and 3 table spoons full of yeast, and my blood sugar level this morning was 169, which is just getting more confusing. 

I also added a cup of cream, and a cup of cottage cheese to my diet.  So, perhaps they are supplying more carbs than the 2 eggs I was eating that they are replacing in my diet, but it can't be much.

Cottage cheese
Nutrition Facts
Amount Per 1 cup, small curd (not packed) (225 g)
Total Carbohydrate 8 g   2%

cream
1 cup (120 g)
Total Carbohydrate 3 g   1%

Nutritional values for nutritional yeast vary from one manufacturer to another. On average, two tablespoons provides 60 calories with 5 g of carbohydrates (of which 4 g is fiber). A serving also provides 9 g of protein and is a complete protein, providing all nine amino acids the human body cannot produce.

It does not look like I have added a significant amount of carbs to my diet by replacing eggs with nutritional yeast, cream and cream cheese.  So, the best explanation that I can continue to support is eggs have so much chromium in them that just replacing one egg with 1 table spoon full of nutritional yeast is not enough chromium.  So, I added 4 table spoons full of nutritional yeast to my diet today.  I will check my morning blood sugar tomorrow to see what the results are.

[Jhanananda]

I used the last of the eggs that I had this morning, and pursuing this study of egg-reduction, yesterday I had just 1 egg and 4 table spoons full of yeast, and my blood sugar level this morning was 145, down 15 points, which is not enough to make any conclusions without more data.  With a possible reduction in my blood sugar due to eating 4 table spoons full of yeast, I then added 5 table spoons full of yeast to my diet today.

Today I have been pondering the replacement of eggs with nutritional yeast, and realized that eggs have 1.6 times as much chromium per unit mass as nutritional yeast has, and 1 large egg weighs (50g), so only 2 large eggs provide 183 micrograms of chromium; whereas, 160g of nutritional yeast is needed to provide the same amount of chromium, which is a phenomenal 22 tablespoons (1.375 cups). 

However, two tablespoons (9g) of nutritional yeast provides 5g of carbohydrates, so 22 times that is 110g of carbohydrates, which is too much for a diabetic.  The conclusion is eggs are a better solution for a diabetic, if they do not lead to worsening diabetes.  So, I could dump nutritional yeast and add 1 more egg to get the chromium that this body apparently needs.

nutritional value of egg

Amount Per 1 large egg (50 g)
Total Carbohydrate 0.6 g

CHROMIUM CONTENT OF SOME FOODS

(micrograms per 100 grams of food) Egg yolk 183 Brewer's yeast 112

[Jhanananda]

I only ate 1/2 of the last egg 2 days ago, while pursuing this study of egg-reduction; so I had just 2.5 table spoons full of yeast. My blood sugar level yesterday morning was 159.

Yesterday I ate the other 1/2 of the last egg, and I had just 2.5 table spoons full of yeast again. My blood sugar level this morning was 149, which means fewer eggs have resulted in a lower blood sugar level, which seems to have stabilized, but I would like to get my blood sugar level lower. 

[Sam Lim]

I think your body is still producing glucose, hence the higher blood glucose count. Once it stabilizes, then you can have a better or lower blood glucose count.

[Jhanananda]

I think your body is still producing glucose, hence the higher blood glucose count. Once it stabilizes, then you can have a better or lower blood glucose count.

Yes, I agree that my body must be creating the sugar that my meter is detecting, because my diet is just so low in carbs, which has been a source of frustration for me in trying to find a diet that will keep my blood sugar level within normal.  This morning my blood sugar level was 130, which is not bad, but has been better. 

For the last 2 days I have been eating a small pot of soup with 1 cup of nutritional yeast in it.  The soup tastes fine, and comes out thickened, like a cream of soup. 

I have had lower blood sugar eating 3 eggs plus 2 tbl spoons full of yeast, so I am going to go back to that regimen and hope my blood sugar level lowers further.

[Jhanananda]

This morning's blood sugar level was 131, so my blood sugar seems to have leveled out at about 130 on 1 cup of yeast per day with no eggs.  Yesterday I had said that I was going to go back to 3 eggs, plus 2 tbl sps of yeast; however, the food bank gave me a 15lb turkey, and since it is a sunny day, then I plan to cook it with excess solar gain, and eat turkey until it is gone.  We will see what it does to my blood sugar.

[Jhanananda]

This morning's blood sugar level was 125, which suggests that my blood sugar might be dropping with a reduction of nutritional yeast, because yesterday I only had 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast.  Today I will not eat nutritional yeast, and plan only to eat turkey.

I have been trying to understand why chiken eggs and nutritional yeast are high in chromium.

Chromium is a chemical element with symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard and brittle metal[2] which takes a high polish, resists tarnishing, and has a high melting point. The name of the element is derived from the Greek word χρῶμα, chrōma, meaning colour,[3] because many of its compounds are intensely coloured.

Chromium oxide was used by the Chinese in the Qin dynasty over 2,000 years ago to coat metal weapons found with the Terracotta Army. Chromium was discovered as an element after it came to the attention of the western world in the red crystalline mineral crocoite (lead(II) chromate), discovered in 1761 and initially used as a pigment.

Since Vauquelin's first production of metallic chromium, small amounts of native (free) chromium metal have been discovered in rare minerals, but these are not used commercially. Instead, nearly all chromium is commercially extracted from the single commercially viable ore chromite, which is iron chromium oxide (FeCr2O4). Chromite is also now the chief source of chromium for chromium pigments.

Chromium metal and ferrochromium alloy are commercially produced from chromite by silicothermic or aluminothermic reactions, or by roasting and leaching processes. Chromium metal has proven of high value due to its high corrosion resistance and hardness. A major development was the discovery that steel could be made highly resistant to corrosion and discoloration by adding metallic chromium to form stainless steel. This application, along with chrome plating (electroplating with chromium) currently comprise 85% of the commercial use for the element, with applications for chromium compounds forming the remainder.

Trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) ion is possibly required in trace amounts for sugar and lipid metabolism, although the issue remains in debate.[4] In larger amounts and in different forms, chromium can be toxic and carcinogenic. The most prominent example of toxic chromium is hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). Abandoned chromium production sites often require environmental cleanup.

Occurrence
Chromium is the 22nd most abundant element in Earth's crust with an average concentration of 100 ppm.[8] Chromium compounds are found in the environment, due to erosion of chromium-containing rocks and can be distributed by volcanic eruptions. The concentrations range in soil is between 1 and 300 mg/kg, in sea water 5 to 800 µg/liter, and in rivers and lakes 26 µg/liter to 5.2 mg/liter.[9] Chromium is mined as chromite (FeCr2O4) ore.[10] About two-fifths of the chromite ores and concentrates in the world are produced in South Africa, while Kazakhstan, India, Russia, and Turkey are also substantial producers. Untapped chromite deposits are plentiful, but geographically concentrated in Kazakhstan and southern Africa.[11]

Biological role
Recently, a paradigm shift has occurred in terms of the status of trivalent chromium (Cr(III) or Cr3+). It was first proposed to be an essential element in the late 1950s and accepted as a trace element in the 1980s. However, scientific studies have continued to fail to produce convincing evidence for this status.[49] Trivalent chromium occurs in trace amounts in foods and waters, and appears to be benign.[50] In contrast, hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI) or Cr6+) is very toxic and mutagenic when inhaled. Cr(VI) has not been established as a carcinogen when in solution, although it may cause allergic contact dermatitis (ACD).[51]

Chromium deficiency, involving a lack of Cr(III) in the body, or perhaps some complex of it, such as glucose tolerance factor is controversial, or is at least extremely rare. Chromium has no verified biological role and has been classified by some as not essential for mammals.[52] However, other reviews have regarded it as an essential trace element in humans.[53]

Chromium deficiency has been attributed to only three people on long-term parenteral nutrition, which is when a patient is fed a liquid diet through intravenous drips for long periods of time.[54]

Although no biological role for chromium has ever been demonstrated, dietary supplements for chromium include chromium(III) picolinate, chromium(III) polynicotinate, and related materials. The benefit of those supplements is questioned by some studies.[55] The use of chromium-containing dietary supplements is controversial, owing to the absence of any verified biological role, the expense of these supplements, and the complex effects of their use.[4] The popular dietary supplement chromium picolinate complex generates chromosome damage in hamster cells (due to the picolinate ligand).[56] In the United States the dietary guidelines for daily chromium uptake were lowered in 2001 from 50–200 µg for an adult to 35 µg (adult male) and to 25 µg (adult female).[57]

No comprehensive, reliable database of chromium content of food currently exists.[58] Data reported prior to 1980 is unreliable due to analytical error.[58] Chromium content of food varies widely due to differences in soil mineral content, growing season, plant cultivar, and contamination during processing.[58] In addition, large amounts of chromium (and nickel) leech into food cooked in stainless steel.[59][60]

Conclusion:
Nutritional yeast containing chromium is most probably cultured in stainless steel vats, from which the yeast organism may extract, or leach chromium.

Chromium might be essential for proper egg production, thus chickens, and other egg laying species, might very well extract significant quantities of chromium from the soil and water.

[Jhanananda]

For the last few days I have been on a turkey only diet, with no nutritional yeast.  My blood sugar had stabilized at 125 for the last few days.  However, this morning my blood sugar was 167.  A possible explanation for that sudden rise in blood sugar can by explained by a decline in chromium, and other components in nutritional yeast.  So, today I will remain on the turkey only diet, with the addition of 2 tblsp of nutritional yeast.

[Jhanananda]

Yesterday I added 2 tbl sps full of nutritional yeast to my, otherwise, turkey only diet.  My blood sugar this morning was 139, which is down about 30 points.  So, 2 tbl sps full of nutritional yeast will be part of my daily diet, and I plan to add in 3 eggs as well.

[Jhanananda]

Trying to get to a solution to my diabetes has been quite a challenge in the preceding 4 years.  Living on a low-carb diet has helped to lower my blood sugar significantly.  Discovering the link to chromium and the metabolism of carbs has turned out to also be significant.  I had hoped that it was the final component needed in my recovery from diabetes; however, the last few days of measurements of my fasting blood sugar have been hard to explain.

After removing nutritional yeast from my diet my blood sugar rose as expected. Then after reintroducing yeast to my diet my fasting blood sugar lowered, and continued to lower the next day down to 128, which was also expected. 

However, the following day my fasting blood sugar rose to 150, which was hard to explain other than as an anomaly.   Then, yesterday I reintroduced 3 eggs back into my diet, and expected my fasting blood sugar would return to 115 as it was a few weeks ago.  Instead it rose to 157.  So, I am confused, and will just remain on the 3-egg plus 2 tbl sp of nutritional yeast each day until I figure this out.

[Jhanananda]

For the next 5 days my fasting blood sugar hovered between 140 and 160.  I am not sure why it has not gone back down to 115, as it had been about a month ago after I introduced nutritional yeast into my diet?

Finding my fasting blood sugar leveled out between 140 and 160, I then added a 3rd tble sp of nutritional yeast 2 days ago.  My fasting blood sugar level was 139 yesterday, and today it is 126, which is the lowest it has been in 10 days.  So, it appears I needed more nutritional yeast in my diet.  I will keep adding nutritional yeast into my diet until I see my blood sugar either stabilize, or begin to rise.