The short version
- - Chromium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels. It is the nutrient with the most direct authorised role in a blood sugar formula.
- - Zinc contributes to normal carbohydrate metabolism, and magnesium contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
- - Scientists have proposed how chromium works alongside insulin, but the precise mechanism has not been identified.
- - Supplement labels declare elemental chromium, the amount of chromium itself, rather than the weight of the whole compound.
- - Ceylon cinnamon, sometimes called “true cinnamon”, is a different species from the cassia cinnamon found in most everyday food.
- - Cassia contains far more coumarin than Ceylon; Germany’s risk assessment body advises people who use a lot of cinnamon to choose the low-coumarin Ceylon type.
- - For plant extracts, the extract ratio and standardisation tell you far more than a milligram figure on its own.
- - Bigger numbers are not automatically better. Considered nutritional amounts matter more than impressive-looking labels.
- - If you take diabetes medication, GLP-1 medication, thyroid medication or other regular medicines, speak to your GP, pharmacist or practitioner before adding a blood sugar supplement.
Here’s a question most of us never stop to ask: what happens between eating a slice of toast and getting on with your morning? Quite a lot. Carbohydrate is broken down into glucose, glucose moves into your bloodstream, and insulin helps regulate how your cells take it up to use for energy or store for later. Diet, movement and sleep are the foundations of that everyday process, and a handful of nutrients have recognised roles in it too.
This is where supplement shopping gets confusing. Many blood sugar products are built around one headline ingredient, usually cinnamon, with little explanation of which type, how much, or why. Even the cinnamon varies more than most people realise. Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment calculates that an adult weighing 60 kg reaches the tolerable daily intake for coumarin, a natural compound found in cinnamon, from about 2 g of cassia cinnamon a day (BfR, FAQ on coumarin in cinnamon).
So, this piece is a practical guide to reading a blood sugar supplement label. We cover what chromium, zinc and magnesium do, how Ceylon cinnamon differs from cassia, what extract ratios and standardisation mean, and when to speak to a healthcare practitioner first. We use our own formula as a worked example, but the same questions apply to any product you are considering.
What does chromium do in the body?
Chromium is a trace mineral, needed only in very small amounts. It contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels and to normal macronutrient metabolism, the processes your body uses to handle carbohydrate, fat and protein. These are two of the health claims authorised for chromium on the GB Nutrition and Health Claims Register, the official list of claims permitted for foods and supplements in Great Britain.
How chromium does this is still being worked out. One proposal is that chromium binds to a small protein called chromodulin, which then interacts with the insulin receptor, although the precise mechanism has not been identified (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Chromium Fact Sheet). We think that honesty matters: a brand that tells you what is and is not yet known is easier to trust than one that pretends the science is finished.
Where does chromium come from in food?
Chromium is found in meat, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, spices and brewer’s yeast, but the amount varies widely with local soil, water and processing. The chromium content of oatmeal, for example, can vary 50-fold between samples (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements). Foods high in sugar and most dairy products tend to be low in chromium (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements).
Which form of chromium should you look for?
Supplements use several forms of chromium, including chromium picolinate, chromium nicotinate, chromium chloride and chromium histidinate. Absorption from all of them is low: around 1.2% for chromium picolinate and around 0.4% for chromium chloride, figures similar to the chromium absorbed from food (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements). Chromium picolinate is also the form used most often in clinical research (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements).
One detail worth knowing when you compare labels: the figure declared is elemental chromium, the chromium itself, not the weight of the whole compound. Elemental chromium makes up 12.4% of the weight of chromium picolinate (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements). So when a label says 80 micrograms of chromium, that is 80 micrograms of chromium, not 80 micrograms of chromium picolinate. Our formula provides 80 micrograms of chromium from chromium picolinate per daily serving, which is 200% of the Nutrient Reference Value (NRV).
Why do zinc and magnesium appear in blood sugar formulas?
Zinc is best known for its role in the immune system, but its job description is much broader. Zinc contributes to normal carbohydrate metabolism. Once glucose is inside your cells, a series of interconnected metabolic pathways decides whether it is used for energy, stored as glycogen or sent elsewhere, and zinc is involved in many of the enzymes that run them. That is why zinc’s authorised claim relates to carbohydrate metabolism rather than directly to blood glucose levels.
Magnesium contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism, the processes that release energy from the food you eat.
Look at the amounts, too. Our zinc (as zinc bisglycinate) and magnesium each provide 50% of the NRV. These are considered nutritional amounts, chosen to sit alongside a balanced diet, rather than oversized numbers picked to look impressive on the front of a pack.
What is the difference between Ceylon and cassia cinnamon?
“Cinnamon” on a label can mean more than one plant. Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, also known as Cinnamomum zeylanicum) is the mild, sweeter type, which comes largely from Sri Lanka (BfR). Cassia is a group of related species, including Cinnamomum cassia and Cinnamomum burmannii, and it is the type used to spice many everyday foods (Food Control, 2013 survey of the Danish market).
The practical difference is coumarin, a natural aromatic compound. In testing by Austria’s food safety agency, cassia cinnamon contained between 1,880 and 3,260 mg of coumarin per kilogram, while the highest value found in Ceylon cinnamon was 185 mg per kilogram (AGES). European risk assessors have set a tolerable daily intake for coumarin of 0.1 mg per kilogram of body weight (BfR). The BfR advises that people who regularly use large amounts of cinnamon should opt for low-coumarin Ceylon cinnamon (BfR).
For a supplement you take every day, this is exactly the kind of detail to check. A good label gives you the Latin name of the species, not just the word “cinnamon”. Our formula provides 800 mg of Ceylon cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) per daily serving. Ceylon cinnamon may help maintain healthy blood sugar levels and support healthy weight management.*
How do you read extract ratios and standardisation?
A label that simply says “grape seed extract, 150 mg” tells you very little. Two further details make the picture clearer.
Extract ratio tells you how concentrated an extract is. A 15:1 ratio means 15 parts of the original plant went into 1 part of extract, so 150 mg of a 15:1 extract is equivalent to 2,250 mg of the original plant material.
Standardisation tells you that the extract contains a set level of a named compound. Our grape seed extract, for example, is standardised to 95% oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs), so you know what the extract is characterised by, not just how much plant went into it.
A higher ratio does not automatically make an ingredient better. The plant part, the extraction process and the standardisation all matter, which is why a transparent label shows all three. Here are the compounds you are most likely to see on a blood sugar formula, and what the names mean:
- - OPCs (oligomeric proanthocyanidins) are members of the wider polyphenol family, naturally concentrated in grape seeds.
- - EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) is the most abundant catechin, a type of polyphenol, in green tea. Our green tea extract is standardised to 45% EGCG, delivering 67.5 mg of EGCG per daily serving. Green tea may help maintain healthy blood glucose levels and support normal metabolism and fat oxidation.*
- - Hesperidin is a flavonoid found in citrus fruit, including the bitter orange, Citrus aurantium. Ours is standardised to 90% hesperidin. Citrus aurantium may help support the metabolism of lipids and carbohydrates and weight management.*
- - Piperine is the compound that gives black pepper its pungency. It is used in very small amounts; ours provides 3 mg of black pepper extract standardised to 95% piperine. Black pepper is traditionally used to support digestion and may help with nutrient absorption in polyherbal formulations to enhance the effectiveness of other herbal ingredients.*
*Botanical health claims are currently subject to on-hold provisions pending final evaluation.
Can you take a blood sugar supplement alongside medication?
A blood sugar supplement is a food supplement. It is not a treatment for diabetes, high blood glucose or any other medical condition, and it does not replace a balanced diet, regular movement, good sleep or medical care.
Some ingredients can interact with medicines. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements lists insulin, metformin and other diabetes medicines, and the thyroid medicine levothyroxine, among the medications that may interact with chromium supplements (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements). Laboratory research has also shown that piperine inhibits CYP3A4 and P-glycoprotein, two systems the body uses to process and transport many medicines (Bhardwaj et al., Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 2002).
So if you are managing diabetes, taking glucose-lowering or GLP-1 medication, taking any regular medicine, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, speak to your GP, pharmacist or practitioner before adding a new supplement. If you are taking a GLP-1 medication, a nutritionally focused supplement is support alongside your treatment, never an alternative to it.
Common questions
What does chromium do for the body?
Chromium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels and to normal macronutrient metabolism, meaning how your body handles carbohydrate, fat and protein. Scientists think it works alongside insulin, but the exact mechanism has not yet been identified (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements).
What foods are high in chromium?
Meat, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, spices and brewer’s yeast all contain chromium, but amounts vary widely depending on where and how the food was grown and processed (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements).
Is Ceylon cinnamon better than regular cinnamon?
Ceylon and cassia are different species. Ceylon cinnamon contains much less coumarin than cassia (AGES), which is why Germany’s BfR advises people who use cinnamon frequently to choose Ceylon (BfR). Check the label for the Latin name, Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum zeylanicum.
What are OPCs?
OPCs, or oligomeric proanthocyanidins, are naturally occurring compounds in the polyphenol family. They are concentrated in grape seeds, which is why grape seed extracts are often standardised to a percentage of OPCs.
What should I look for on a blood sugar supplement label?
Look beyond the headline ingredient. Check the nutrients and their forms, the amounts and % NRV, the Latin name of any botanical, and, for plant extracts, the extract ratio and what it is standardised to. If a label will not tell you these things, it is fair to ask why.
Is a blood sugar supplement a treatment for diabetes?
No. Food supplements are not medicines and should not be used to treat or manage any medical condition. If you have diabetes or take any regular medication, speak to your GP, pharmacist or practitioner before taking a new supplement.
The bottom line
A good blood sugar supplement should be able to explain itself. Chromium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels, zinc contributes to normal carbohydrate metabolism and magnesium contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism. Beyond those nutrients, the detail is what separates a considered formula from a label built around one fashionable ingredient: the species of cinnamon, the form of chromium, the extract ratios and the standardisation.
That is the thinking behind our Blood Sugar Support, a chromium, zinc and Ceylon cinnamon complex that brings these nutrients together with fully characterised plant extracts, with every amount on the label. Whatever you choose, choose it with the full picture, and talk to a healthcare practitioner if you take any medication.
Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult your healthcare practitioner before use.
