If you’ve eaten meat, you’ve ingested chromium. If you’ve tried potato skins, you’ve had chromium. If you have eaten a large majority of natural foods, such as fruits and vegetables, then the chance is high that you have had chromium. Okay, so what is it, anyway?
Chromium is a mineral that exists in all of our bodies, and helps with processes such as digestion and the regulation of blood sugar levels. More recently, chromium has been discovered as a carb-craving buster; individuals who want to decrease the intensity of their cravings for starchy, carbohydrate foods are encouraged to take a chromium supplement. This is because chromium – as stated above – helps to detect when your blood sugar is low, and when that happens, your body starts to crave the things that are not so good for you. Chromium balances out those levels and kicks your cravings goodbye.
Chromium and Acne
Before delving into the benefits of chromium, we have to get a little science-y here. There is something known as the glycemic index of food – the higher the glycemic index, the more quickly that food product is going to raise the blood sugar in the body. This in turn makes you hungry, and gives you those hunger pangs that you have probably felt after eating a few rounds of processed, relatively unhealthy foods. When glycemic levels are off the charts, and your blood sugar levels follow, then your body experiences a type of hormonal imbalance that leads to acne. Enter chromium, the stuff that can regulate your blood sugar: when your blood sugar decreases, and you mix that with the recommended amount of low glycemic index foods (such as vegetables and grains), studies have shown that your body’s acne will actually decrease.
This is not to say that you can eat all the fatty and processed foods you want and then simply pop a chromium supplement. Chromium will not be able to combat everything you put in your body. You have to take a proactive approach and understand the relationship between your acne and what you ingest.
It has also been proven and published that chromium works to alleviate skin of rashes and other irritations if taken in recommended daily doses. From other articles on this site, you are probably already familiar with the cycle: inflamed skin is unhealthy skin, which triggers your body’s production of lubricants (sebum) to sooth the skin, which in turn clogs the pores. Chromium steps in to break that cycle, and individuals who began taking chromium supplements have noticed a marked decrease in not just their acne, but in the rapid – and unhealthy – fluctuation of their blood sugar levels.
