What is DiChrom and what are its effects?

DiChrom is a low-calorie sweetener which can be used to sweeten drinks or meals. The biggest advantage of DiChrom is a special complex of trivalent chromium called the glucose tolerance factor (GTF factor). DiChrom is classified as a fortified food according to the current European legislation. DiChrom has an excellent taste which is very similar to sugar and it doesn't have an unpleasant aftertaste.

 

What makes DiChrom a unique sweetener?

DiChrom contains a special organic complex of trivalent chromium which participates in the processes maintaining normal blood glucose level. In other words, if the blood glucose level rises, the GTF factor helps insulin bind to the insulin receptors and the blood glucose level decreases. Chromium also contributes to normal macronutrient metabolism. Because insulin affects metabolism of fats significantly, we can draw a conclusion that the GTF factor somehow participates in the metabolism of fats and the related transformation and effects of cholesterol in the body.

 

Why do the tables have a larger size?

The larger size is a result of the presence of the biologically active GTF factor. The GTF factor doesn’t taste very good on its own. Because of that, we had to develop a unique formula to achieve the excellent taste of DiChrom.

 

Sweetening ingredient of DiChrom

“Green” DiChrom uses steviol glycosides as its sweetening ingredient. Steviol glycosides are sweeteners obtained from leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. Stevia is a healthy and natural alternative to beet sugar. Its pure extracts are 300 times sweeter than sugar and it is thermally and pH stable. DiChrom with steviol glycosides is suitable for sweetening hot and cool drinks and it can also enhance their taste (especially the taste of coffee).

 

“Blue” DiChrom uses aspartame as its sweetening ingredient. Aspartame consists of two amino acids: aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Both of these amino acids are present in almost every food - especially in meats, milk and eggs. They are also present in fruit, vegetables and grains. Testing of various sweetening ingredients (aspartame, sorbitol, saccharin and acesulfame) showed that aspartame's taste is almost identical to the taste of sugar. Aspartame is still considered by experts to be one of the safest sweeteners. Its safety is also manifested by its high ADI.

 

“Red” DiChrom uses sucralose as its sweetening ingredient. Sucralose is a chemically modified molecule of beet sugar sucrose and experts describe it as a very good sweetener. Unlike aspartame, sucralose has a very good thermal stability and it can be used for cooking and baking.

Glucose tolerance factor

One of the active ingredients of this factor is a cation of trivalent chromium which is mainly present in free-range milk. It is present in some plants as well but its bio-availability is lower. If the trivalent chromium is combined with a suitable organic complex, it is biologically active and it can activate insulin receptors. We must stress that there are many chromium compounds which are not able to activate the receptors effectively and because of that they are not sufficiently effective from the biological point of view.

The organic complex of trivalent chromium used in DiChrom is characterized by high effectivity of insulin receptor activation. Experiments proved that this complex somehow participates in lowering the blood glucose level and stabilisation of physiological concentration of glucose in blood. However, the mechanism of its effects hasn’t been explained completely so far. All we know is, that it affects binding of insulin to its receptors. Consumption of 6 μg of chromium a day (4 DiChrom tablets or 6.6 g of DiChrom in powder form) has beneficial physiological effects.

DiChrom characteristics

DiChrom contains ingredients natural to the body. DiChrom tables can be used for sweetening drinks such as coffee, tea, milk or cocoa. DiChrom in powder form can be used for sweetening salads, fruit, compotes, puddings, cakes, roulades, muffins, cookies… DiChrom with aspartame (blue) shouldn’t be combined with baking powder or baking soda because they cause aspartame to lose its sweetness. This limitation does not apply to DiChrom with sucralose (red) nor to DiChrom with steviol glycosides (green).