Why Weight Loss Is Important.

Did you know that the average American male consumes nearly 96 grams of fat a day ? That is a whopping 864 calories from fat alone ! The bad news is that 34 of those grams are saturated fat, implicated in heart disease and obesity.

Being overweight is linked to high cholesterol levels, elevated blood pressure and noninsulin-dependent diabetes, as well as being a risk factor for coronary heart disease.

Being overweight also increases the risk for gallbladder disease and some types of cancer, and has been implicated in the development of osteoarthritis.

Insulin resistance is a well-known phenomenon among overweight individuals, and affects insulin's ability to act upon specific tissues.

Insulin resistance is common among obese persons and may also be the main reason for fat storage. 

Research shows that if we can improve the way the  body uses insulin then we can help diabetes and weight loss. 

Insulin resistance is well known in diabetes mellitus, lupus, obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome and other autoimmune diseases.

A study of risk factors for coronary artery disease concluded that healthy persons with hyperinsulinemia and normal glucose tolerance are more likely to develop coronary artery disease,  compared with healthy subjects with normal insulin levels.

But, insulin resistance can also affect people who are superficially healthy and normal, but have underlying pathological factors at work, according to Dr. Gerald M. Reaven.

Dr. Reaven compared plasma insulin levels with blood lipid levels and blood pressure in two groups of 247 healthy, non-diabetic, non-obese subjects with normal glucose tolerance levels. He found that "healthy" persons with elevated insulin levels had:

1. decreased HDL cholesterol levels
2. increased LDL cholesterol levels
3. high blood pressure as compared to "healthy" individuals with normal insulin levels

High blood insulin helps explain why diabetics (Type 2 ) can produce sufficient insulin (sometimes too much) but not use it properly and are two to four times more prone to develop heart disease than nondiabetics.

How do you become insulin resistant ? One explanation for insulin resistance is a deficiency of biologically active chromium caused by:

1. inadequate dietary supply of chromium
2. excessive chromium losses
3. the body's inability to convert this mineral into the biologically active Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF) form. Chromium stimulates the activity of the enzymes that are involved in glucose metabolism 

​In its biologically active form, GTF chromium acts in the body primarily as an insulin cofactor. Researchers believe that, by binding insulin to cell membrane receptor sites, GTF chromium increases insulin's ability to transport amino acids and blood sugar (glucose) inside cells for tissue synthesis and energy production. 

The body tends to compensate by producing more insulin when insulin cannot work efficiently. The result is hyperinsulinemia (or high blood insulin) which can increase cardiovascular disease risk factors such as elevated LDL cholesterol, decreased HDL cholesterol, hypertension, and increased fat storage.

Although not all cases of insulin resistance are chromium-deficient, it appears that individuals who are insulin-resistant due to a chromium deficiency would benefit from chromium supplementation.

You may also increase the chromium rich foods in your diet.

Foods High In Chromium Are:

Brewer's yeast, beef, liver, whole wheat, rye, fresh chilies, oysters, potatoes, wheat germ, green peppers, eggs, chicken, apples, butter, bananas, spinach, black strap molasses