Type 2 diabetes is a complicated metabolic disease that affects 24 million Americans (Marrero 2009). In Canada, it is one of the more rapidly developing disorders, with over 60,000 new cases diagnosed annually (Health Canada 2005). While current research encourages the use of prescription medications and lifestyle changes in the management of this disorder, emerging scientific evidence strongly suggests that nutraceuticals and functional foods have an important role to play in the both the primary management and adjunctive treatment of Type 2 diabetes.

TYPE 2 DIABETES AND MINERALS
Chromium
Chromium is an essential trace element whose primary function is to enhance the effectiveness of insulin. It is also present in foodstuffs as trivalent chromium (Cr 3+). Trivalent chromium along with nicotinic acid and an oligopeptide (i.e. chromodulin), together form an organic compound called glucose tolerance factor (GTF), which in turn mediates the effects of insulin and supports transport of glucose across cellular membranes (Jamison 2003).

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