Archive for year: 2013
How Are Your Chromium Levels?
Chromium is an important mineral that you've probably not paid much attention to, but with its links to glucose – it’s crucial.
What Does Chromium Do?
The main use within your body is to help metabolise fats and carbohydrates in the digestive system. It boosts fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis, which are vital for healthy brain function. Chromium is also involved in the metabolism of insulin, and scientists have found links between low levels of chromium in the blood and type 2 diabetes. Low levels of chromium are also associated with several factors for cardiovascular disease.
People with chromium deficiency have limited glucose tolerance, and you often find it in people with type 2 diabetes. This is particularly common in older people or infants with protein-calorie malfunction. Supplements can help to manage these conditions, but they are not a substitute for other forms of treatment.
Fortunately, it is difficult to overdose in chromium due to the low absorption and high excretion rates.
Food Sources of Chromium
Out of all the different sources of chromium, the best is undoubtedly brewer’s yeast. However, foods made from yeast, such as vegemite and marmite, are very processed – and not exactly Paleo!
Many meats are also good sources of chromium, particularly chicken and beef, as well as eggs. Liver also has high concentrations – another reason to get more offal into your diet!
Certain fruit and vegetables are also high in chromium. These include:
- Green capsicum (bell peppers)
- Black peppers
- Apples
- Bananas
- Grapes
- Broccoli
- Spinach
In general, foods that have high concentrations of simple sugars, such as sucrose and fructose, are usually low in chromium.
Problems with Chromium Intake
As low chromium levels link to diabetes, it is important for any diabetics following the paleo diet to ensure they have a sufficiently high intake. If you are concerned about your chromium intake, you can improve the absorption rate on the body by consuming vitamin C and vitamin B3 (niacin). High consumption of simple sugars will increase the excretion rate from the body – so it’s great that a Paleo diet is naturally low in sugars.
Infection, exercise and stress can all reduce levels of chromium in the body and potentially lead to deficiency. When this happens, the body is unable to use glucose efficiently to meet all its energy requirements and more glucose is required.
How Chromium Supports Weight Management and Energy
Chromium plays a subtle yet important role in maintaining energy levels and body composition, especially if you follow a nutrient-dense lifestyle like Paleo. By assisting insulin in moving glucose from the bloodstream into cells, chromium helps to stabilise blood sugar levels. This stabilisation can prevent the dramatic spikes and crashes in energy that are common when your diet is high in refined carbs.
Balanced blood sugar levels also mean fewer sugar cravings, which can lead to more consistent appetite regulation. If you’ve ever noticed feeling ravenous soon after eating, especially meals heavy in carbohydrates, inadequate chromium intake could be a contributing factor. Although it’s not a magic bullet for weight loss, ensuring optimal chromium levels can support better metabolic function, making it easier to maintain a healthy weight and energy balance.
Chromium’s Role in Mood and Brain Function
There’s emerging research linking chromium to mood regulation and mental health. Some studies have explored its impact on depressive symptoms, suggesting that chromium supplementation may help improve mood in people with atypical depression or insulin resistance-related depression. This effect could be due to the mineral’s involvement in serotonin and norepinephrine activity, both of which are key neurotransmitters that influence mood and emotional well-being.
On a practical level, this means that ensuring adequate chromium intake might not only help you physically but also emotionally. If you’re prone to mood swings or struggle with stress, fatigue or anxiety, checking in on your micronutrient intake — including chromium — could be worthwhile.
Is Chromium Supplementation Necessary?
For most people eating a whole food, Paleo-style diet, it’s entirely possible to meet your chromium needs through food. However, there are a few exceptions where supplementation might be worth discussing with a healthcare professional. People at higher risk of deficiency include:
- Those with blood sugar dysregulation or diagnosed type 2 diabetes
- Older adults, especially those with a limited diet
- Individuals with high levels of physical stress or chronic illness
- Those consuming a very restricted diet without variety
If you’re considering supplements, it’s essential to choose a high-quality form such as chromium picolinate, which is often better absorbed than other types. But again, always check with a qualified practitioner before adding any new supplement — particularly if you are on medication or managing a chronic health condition.
Why Chromium Matters for Paleo Athletes
Active individuals and athletes following a Paleo lifestyle may benefit even more from paying attention to chromium. Since high-intensity exercise can deplete chromium stores, replenishing them through food becomes crucial. Chromium supports better recovery by ensuring your muscles have access to the glucose they need post-workout.
Combining chromium-rich foods with adequate protein and healthy fats post-exercise can help optimise muscle repair, reduce fatigue and maintain stable energy throughout the day. If you’re regularly strength training or engaging in endurance sports, this trace mineral deserves a place in your post-workout nutrition strategy.
Cooking Tips to Maximise Chromium Intake
To make the most of the chromium in your diet, consider how you prepare your meals. Chromium is water-soluble, which means it can leach into cooking water and be lost if you boil vegetables for long periods. Instead, opt for quick-steaming, sautéing or roasting vegetables like broccoli and green capsicum to retain more of their trace mineral content.
Here are a few simple, Paleo-friendly ideas to include more chromium-rich foods in your meals:
- Beef stir-fry: Toss strips of grass-fed beef with green capsicum, garlic and black pepper in coconut oil for a simple mid-week dinner.
- Roasted broccoli and garlic: A great side dish that’s rich in both chromium and sulphur-based compounds to support detox.
- Liver pâté: Serve with raw veggie sticks or paleo seed crackers to make the most of this mineral powerhouse.
- Banana and almond butter snack: A satisfying combo of natural sugars, healthy fats and a chromium boost.
How Lifestyle Impacts Chromium Status
While food is your first line of defence, lifestyle habits can also influence how well your body retains and uses chromium. Chronic stress is one of the most overlooked factors that can deplete your chromium levels. Stress triggers the release of cortisol, which increases blood sugar and leads to higher chromium excretion via the urine.
Additionally, diets high in processed foods and refined sugars place extra demand on chromium because the mineral is used up in the process of metabolising sugar. The more sugar you eat, the more chromium you need — and unfortunately, the less of it you’re likely to be getting from nutrient-poor food sources.
Tracking Your Micronutrient Health
If you’ve never had your micronutrient levels tested, it might be time to check in. While chromium testing isn’t routinely offered in standard blood panels, some functional medicine practitioners offer more advanced testing to assess your overall mineral balance. This can help you identify subtle deficiencies before they become more serious issues.
Another great strategy is to track your meals over a week or two using a food diary or nutrient tracker to assess how varied and mineral-rich your diet really is. Even if you eat whole foods most of the time, it’s easy to fall into repetitive patterns that may overlook certain micronutrients.
Final Thoughts
While it may not get the same attention as magnesium or zinc, chromium is undeniably important for anyone wanting to support blood sugar stability, metabolism, brain health and long-term wellbeing. The good news? If you’re already following a real food, low sugar, Paleo-based lifestyle, you’re likely getting a solid foundation of chromium in your diet.
Keep prioritising variety in your meals, include chromium-rich foods regularly, and stay mindful of stress and sugar intake. Small, consistent dietary tweaks often lead to the biggest gains in health over time.
Have you ever had your blood levels tested?
Is Your Bed Bad For Your Health?
Sometimes the simple things that we use in our everyday routine are things that we don’t think twice about – but can be very dangerous. Even more frustrating, when you follow an otherwise health Paleo lifestyle. Have you ever given any thought to the mattress that’s beneath you as you sleep each night?
Mattresses are often made with ployurethane foam (petroleum based material that emits formaldehyde), formalize (which is linked to asthma and lung cancer), and boric acid (roach killer). Formaldehyde is highly toxic and classified as a probable carcinogen. If you have a mattress like this, when you go to bed at night, you are lying in these chemicals. Mattress companies often claim that they have the best mattress – and they mainly focus on comfort. You will see several commercials advertising that their mattress will adjust to your back and help you get a better night sleep, but they never really mention just how clean and non toxic their mattress is, do they?
In 2005 a memory foam mattress was sent in to be inspected and the lab was able to find 61 different chemicals used in the mattress. Comfort doesn’t mean anything if you are lying in a pile of dangerous chemicals.
What are some of the things that these harmful chemicals can cause?
It has been reported that a toxic mattress can cause respiratory problems, reproductive toxicity, allergies, asthma, SIDS, and many more complications. It’s scary to think that going to bed could be a dangerous activity!
Why would companies add these chemicals? They add them because they are flame retardants. In the 60’s, governments insisted that mattresses had to include flame retardants – and they had to pass flammability tests. It wasn’t such a huge problem when they first passed the law, but now companies are using more and more dangerous chemicals. Arlene Blum, a biophysical chemist stated “Instead of adding new fire retardant chemicals that may ultimately be shown to cause health problems, we should be asking whether we need to use these chemicals or if there are other ways to achieve equivalent fire safety.”
The mattresses that are being made today, especially some of the popular memory foam mattresses are considered to be more dangerous than the ones that were made within the past 50 years.
So what can you do about you mattress?
There are some companies that make organic natural mattresses. Before purchasing a mattress you want to triple check what exactly is in it. Some companies claim that they have a natural organic mattress – but are not willing to back it up. Companies have slowly started to realise the dangers that their mattresses are causing and are changing the chemicals that they are putting in mattresses – but this is not happening fast enough.
You are far better off getting a safe organic mattress. There are companies that sell mattresses that are completely natural and toxin free. Organic wool has natural fire resistant properties and it has been successfully used to pass flammability tests.
When you lie down to sleep at night the last thing you need to worry about is if it is safe or not. Night time is when you need to relax both mentally and physically. Don’t let your mattress ruin your health!
What type of mattress do you sleep on? Will you buy an organic mattress when you replace yours?
Are You Eating GMO’s?
What are GMO products?
They are foods that are made from genetically modified organisms, specifically genetically modified (GMO) crops. It first began in 1994 when a tomato was produced with an alteration that prevented it from ripening quickly.
What are the concerns with altering the natural growing process?
The first concern is not just what it necessarily does to your body, but what it can do to the entire crop that is being altered. If one of the plants is effected by a virus, then modifying the plant can spread the disease to the rest of crops. On a large scale this could be devastating not only for the farmer who is harvesting the crops, but it can be devastating on a larger scale.
Another genetic alteration that chemists and farmers make, is to change their crop so that it will stand conventional herbicides and pesticides.
Some countries have raised their awareness of the harmful alterations that have been made to crops that they have banned it. New Zealand doesn’t allow the production of GMO crops. In 2005 Switzerland banned GMO crops and animals, however the ban only lasted 5 years. Australia has not yet banned GMO crops. Countries that have embraced GMO crops are the United States, China, South Africa, Britain, Spain, and Canada. Not only have they embraced the concept of altered foods but they seem to have tried to get the public to support it and see that it is healthy.
An area of big concern is the lax labelling laws in some countries – it’s very probable that you could unwittingly eat GMO’s, where the law does not require them to be labeled as such. Worrying, don’t you think?
What should you do?
The best thing you can do is make sure you pay attention to what you are buying. Read labels, shop at farmers markets. Get to know the farmer who grew your produce. You can even grow your own fruits and vegetables.
Marketing companies are sneaky. Don’t let them convince you that you are purchasing good quality foods that went through a potentially dangerous growing process.
Why GMO Foods Are at Odds with a Paleo Lifestyle
At its core, the Paleo diet is all about getting back to basics — eating food in its most natural, unprocessed form, as our ancestors would have. Genetically modified organisms, by definition, are the result of laboratory interference, not evolution or traditional agricultural practices. This makes GMO foods fundamentally incompatible with the philosophy of Paleo. The aim of Paleo is to nourish the body with foods that work with our biology, not against it. GMOs represent a modern shortcut that often prioritises profit, shelf life and convenience over nutrition and long-term health.
Health Risks: Are GMOs Safe for Humans?
One of the major criticisms of GMOs is the lack of long-term human studies. While many governing bodies claim GMOs are safe, there remains an absence of conclusive evidence to determine what effects, if any, these modified foods might have on human health over decades. Concerns raised by independent researchers include the potential for allergic reactions, antibiotic resistance, and digestive issues, particularly in people who already experience gut sensitivity.
Moreover, many GMO crops are specifically designed to be resistant to chemical herbicides such as glyphosate, a controversial chemical linked to several health concerns. While the crop itself may be modified, the real issue often lies in the pesticide residue that comes with it. With mounting concerns around endocrine disruption and carcinogenic effects, this presents another compelling reason to avoid GMOs wherever possible.
Environmental Impact of GMO Agriculture
The problems with GMO farming extend far beyond the plate. Intensive GMO agriculture often leads to monocultures — large-scale plantations of a single genetically identical crop. This reduces biodiversity, makes the entire crop more vulnerable to pests and disease, and forces farmers to become increasingly reliant on synthetic fertilisers and chemicals.
In addition, the use of herbicide-resistant crops has led to a dramatic increase in herbicide use, contributing to environmental degradation. These chemicals can contaminate soil, waterways and harm beneficial insects, such as bees and butterflies. Over time, this results in an ecosystem imbalance that has far-reaching consequences beyond a single season’s yield.
The Patent Problem: Corporate Control of the Food Chain
Another concern surrounding GMOs is the issue of intellectual property. Many GMO seeds are patented by large biotech corporations, meaning farmers are not allowed to save seeds for the next growing season. Instead, they must buy new seeds each year, creating a dependency on multinational corporations. This dynamic threatens traditional farming practices and food sovereignty, particularly for smallholder farmers trying to maintain sustainable, independent operations.
This corporate control extends into lobbying and influence over labelling laws, research funding and public education campaigns. It’s important to question the motivations behind GMO promotion when so much of it is driven by profit rather than public health.
How to Avoid GMOs on a Paleo Diet
Fortunately, there are practical ways to minimise or avoid GMOs while still enjoying a varied and nutrient-rich Paleo diet:
- Buy certified organic: In many countries, certified organic standards prohibit the use of GMO seeds or ingredients. While not all organic food is perfect, it’s a reliable starting point for avoiding genetic modification.
- Shop local: Farmers markets and community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs often involve smaller-scale farmers who don’t use GMOs. Talk to your farmer and ask about their growing methods.
- Grow your own: Even a small garden can give you control over what goes into your food. Choose heirloom or open-pollinated seeds, which are not genetically modified.
- Read labels carefully: Look out for common GMO crops like soy, corn, canola and sugar beet, especially in processed foods. If you see these ingredients and they’re not marked organic or non-GMO, they are likely to be genetically modified.
Hidden GMO Ingredients to Watch Out For
While whole GMO foods are easy to spot (think corn and soy), it’s the hidden ingredients in processed items that often trip people up. Many packaged foods contain derivatives from GMO crops, such as:
- High fructose corn syrup
- Soy lecithin
- Canola oil
- Citric acid (often derived from corn)
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
These ingredients show up in everything from salad dressings and protein bars to non-dairy milk and sauces. Even supplements and medications can contain GMO-derived fillers. Staying Paleo helps you naturally avoid these additives by focusing on whole, unprocessed foods — but it’s still important to double-check anything that comes in a package.
The Labelling Debate: Transparency or Obfuscation?
In some countries, such as Australia, GMO labelling laws are inconsistent or weakly enforced. Products containing genetically modified ingredients might not be clearly labelled, leaving consumers in the dark. This lack of transparency erodes consumer trust and makes it difficult to make informed food choices.
There has been a strong push from consumer advocacy groups around the world to implement stricter labelling requirements. Until legislation catches up, the best defence is personal education. Get familiar with the most commonly modified crops in your region, research your favourite brands, and support businesses committed to clean, transparent practices.
Final Reflections on GMOs and Your Paleo Lifestyle
Ultimately, the choice to avoid GMOs aligns with the deeper goals of a Paleo lifestyle — nourishing your body with food that supports long-term health, while respecting nature’s rhythms and integrity. Whether your focus is gut health, fertility, autoimmune conditions or simply energy and wellbeing, steering clear of GMOs helps you keep your food as close to its original, intended form as possible.
As with many aspects of health, awareness is the first step. You don’t need to be perfect or paranoid, but the more you learn, the more empowered your choices will become. Choosing real, whole, unmodified foods may take a bit more effort at first — but the long-term rewards for your health, the environment and food independence are well worth it.
Are GMO foods allowed where you are? I’d love to hear your views on GMO’s, in the comments, below.
