Craving, tired and blue: do you recognize this cycle? You're craving carbs, gaining weight, fighting fatigue and mild depression. Duke University takes a look at the root conditions within this cycle of atypical depression and finds hope in nutritional therapy - Research

American Fitness, Jan-Feb, 2004 by Meg Jordan

A typical depression, a type of mild depression, is characterized by carbohydrate cravings, weight gain and lethargy. Growing at alarming rates in the past decade, it is thought to be associated with metabolic disturbances, acute exercise, physical trauma and a growing pattern of insulin resistance resulting from high sugar intake. People with atypical depression are confounded by a lethargy that isn't eliminated by eating a bagel or bowl of rice--something many fitness instructors have noted when trying to re-energize after vigorous workouts or unrelenting fatigue.

Carb cravings occur about every two hours. Much of the problem stems from eating highly refined carbs which do not provide the satiety or other nutritional benefits of low glycemic index carbohydrates (i.e., whole grains). If you "load up" with poor-quality carbs (e.g., cookies and refined flours) instead of complex carbs (e.g., brown rice and oats), you can expect to experience fatigue, some mood swings and reduced physical activity. In turn, less activity affects metabolism and leads to chronic weight gain, which can refuel the cravings and fatigue cycle. Serious mineral deficiencies also result from poor-quality carbohydrate diets. Duke Medical Center's Dr. Johnathan Davidson decided to shed some light on this metabolic-depression cycle. He recently presented the results of a pilot clinical study at the 41st Annual Meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). The study, which is to be published in the Journal of Biolagical Psychiatry, tested a chromium picolinate-based supplement as a proprietary nutrition therapy for atypical depression.

Chromium Confusion

Fitness professionals have known about chromium's benefits for some time. Recognized for its importance in energy metabolism, chromium is a mineral you can't live without, but has a history of being misunderstood and possibly misused. In the past, people thought it could aid in weight loss, but were confused by conflicting studies. They took the wrong kind or insufficient amounts of chromium and didn't always see results.

However, chromium picolinate--not just any chromium compound--has resurfaced due to a concerted research agenda from Comprehensive NeuroScience, Inc., which operates the largest network of clinical research sites for central nervous system trials in the United States. The work is a result of the inspired efforts of Nutrition 21, Inc.'s forward-thinking CEO, Gail Montgomery. She aims to substantiate nutritional approaches to health challenges with the highest-quality clinical research. The growing obesity, Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance epidemics disturb Montgomery. She considers our over-reliance on drugs and surgery for chronic health problems a public health tragedy and is determined to bring about a new scientific exchange on nutritional approaches that can serve as the basis for treatment as well as cure.

Chromium picolinate has an impressive safety record in well over 280 studies. An early study which involved isolated DNA cell cultures featuring abnormally high, unrealistic chromium concentrations is now dismissed as speculative and inapplicable to living organisms. Any mineral, vitamin or nutrient tested in ridiculously high concentrations and introduced to animal cell cultures could create toxic results. However, the media exaggerated news of a possible danger from this unusual study. Since then, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended safety studies and a critical review including the Ames Test, a Chromosonal Aberration Study and a Six-Month Toxicity Study conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture. The results validated the broad safety of chromium picolinate, "even at several thousand times the upper limit of estimated adequate daily dietary intake for humans."

According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, over 18 million Americans have a depressive disorder. A federally sponsored campaign launched in 2002 informed the public that depression is a treatable illness. Mental health professionals have been quick to insist treatment should be a combination of talk therapy and drug intervention, when appropriate. Taking a pill to alter moods has been one of the most successful pharmaceutical drives in history and, consequently, the anti-depressive therapeutic market has soared to over $12 billion, it penetrates newly defined targets, such as young adults who feel they don't "fit in," hyperactive teens and kids, women with PMS or too few orgasms, post-partum moms and midlifers with "empty nest" syndrome. There is no end in sight for people who supposedly need anti-depressive drugs.

So before you think about mood-lifting drugs, consider what some leading researchers are uncovering about nutrition, mood and metabolism. We need chromium for a smooth-running mind and body, but may be suffering from a growing deficiency of it. Some suspect this deficiency is rooted in the depleted soil, while other researchers have found high sugar intake or low-quality carbs can deplete chromium levels. In addition, you may be taking the wrong kinds of chromium supplements.