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Minerals are an essential part of every diet. And the diabetic needs particular minerals if he is to avoid the complications that always arise as a result of the lack of nutrients. Without minerals, our bodies could not function as efficiently. Sadly, many Americans are woefully deficient in several minerals and because of poor dietary habits. The diabetic is extremely vulnerable to blindness, fatigue, and poor circulation. The best cholesterol lowering minerals are chromium, calcium, magnesium, selenium and zinc.
Chromium: 90% of Americans do not get 50mcg (micrograms) of chromium a day. The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences considers 50 to 200 mcg to be necessary. As a diabetic you need at least 200 to 400 mcg a day. Chromium works with insulin in helping open the cell membranes to accept glucose. Without it, insulin's action is blocked. Its GTF (glucose tolerance factor) is the crucial molecule that helps speed excess glucose into the cells. It not only improves insulin's action to get into the cells, but it has been shown to decrease fasting blood glucose levels, improve glucose tolerance and decrease cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well as the HDL, good cholesterol.
Cheese, legumes, beans, peas, whole grains and molasses are good sources of chromium. The best source is brewer's yeast. However the taste of brewer's yeast makes it hard to take, so sprinkling it with your breakfast cereal or mixed in orange juice is a better way to take it. Chromium comes in may forms; chromium picolinate, chromium GTF and chromium enriched yeast are all suitable in your diet. The soil from most farms have been depleted of this essential mineral. It is crucial for proper blood sugar control. As most Americans are deficient in this nutrient, it explains the high incidents of obesity and the high number of people with Syndrome X whose blood sugars are normal but who have a higher-than-normal rate of insulin production. Chromium GTF or chromium picolinate make good supplements.
Magnesium: Low intake of magnesium is a major risk factor that leads to retinopathy and heart disease in the diabetic. The RDA recommendation for healthy men is 350 mg per day and 300 mg for women. Between 300 to 600 mg ideal. Many peole only get between 143 to266 mg far short of the RDA standard. Our highly refined diet lack magnesium. Magnesium, like chromium is involved in glucose metabolism. Supplementation has been shown to improve insulin response, glucose tolerance and improve the fluidity of red blood cell membranes in diabetic patients. Most magnesium comes from seeds, nuts, legumes, tofu and green leafy vegetables. You should take the highly absorbed form of magnesium such as magnesium aspartate or magnesium citrate. Take at least 25 mg of Vitamin B-6 per day to go along as this vitamin is linked with magnesium content in body cells. Without B-6, magnesium doesn't get into the cells and is otherwise useless.
Potassium: It's the major mineral inside of all cell membranes and its electrical charge generates what is called “membrane potential”. It's believed that the ratio of sodium (which exists on the outside of the cells) to potassium is off kilter and this is one of the reasons why insulin cannot open the cell doors to High potassium diets have been shown to lower the risk of many degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart disease and help improve glucose tolerance. Plant foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains serve as the best sources of potassium.
While a high intake of salt promotes high blood pressure, potassium counteracts this by helping lower blood pressure. Potassium supplementation can lower the systolic and diastolic blood pressure an average of 12 to 16 points. It you want to avoid salt, you can substitute with potassium as a safer alternative. NuSalt or No-Salt both contain potassium chloride and make good salt substitutes. Generally supplementation of potassium is safe unless you have kidney disease.
