Chromium ~ Cr+

PROMOTES

Normal Glucose Tolerance

Normal Blood Sugar

Normal Triglycerides

Normal Cholesterol

Balanced Lean Tissue to Fat Ratio

Increased Immunoglobulins

Decreased Cortisol Levels

PROTECTS AGAINST

Insulin Resistance

Abnormal Lipid Levels

Central Obesity

Depressed Mood

There are no Recommended Dietary Allowances for chromium. 50 to 200 micrograms a day is the usual dosing.

Overview

Chromium is a transition metal and was discovered by Vanquelin in 1790. It is number 24 on the atomic periodic table.

Chromium, an essential trace mineral, plays an important role in the effectiveness of insulin. The average healthy adult has only 4-6 milligrams (mg) in their body. It is estimated that it is very frequently deficient in the American diet. Chromium is notorious for it's poor absorption into the body. It is estimated that 90% of the U.S. population consumes less than the adequate amounts of chromium. Also, high sugar consumption can lead to chromium deficiency because sugar raises serum chromium levels, pulling it from other tissues in the body. This prompts the kidneys to excrete the seeming excess and if this is repeated and sustained, deficiency results, particularly when intake does not keep up with output.

Chromium is only active in the body in a trivalent state with which it can combine with other organic compounds. Trivalent chromium combines with niacin, glycine, glutamic acid and cysteine to form glucose tolerance factor (GTF) identified as chromium III dinicotinic acid-glutathione complex.

Chromium is available in a number of compounds including chromium picolinate, chromium polynicotinate, chromium chloride, and chromium enriched nutritional yeast.

Deficiency Symptoms

The effects of chromium deficiency can produce the symptoms of insulin resistance including glucose intolerance, elevated blood sugar levels, numbness and tingling in the extremities, and/or disturbances of protein and lipid metabolism. Sustained low levels of chromium have been associated with cardiovascular disease.

Drugs That Deplete:

There are no chromium depleting drugs identified.

Food Prep To Retain:

Refined and processed foods are low in chromium. Cooking acidic food in stainless steel cookware increases chromium content.

Food Sources:

Chromium is found in:

-Asparagus

-Barley

-Broccoli

-Cheeses

-Lean Meats

-Liver

-Mushrooms

-Nutritional Yeast

-Nuts

-Prunes

-Shrimp

-Some Spices (Black Pepper)

-Thyme

-Whole Grains

Fortified Foods Available:

None Known.

Function in the Body:

Chromium in a complex compound called glucose tolerance factor (GTF) has a role in insulin effectiveness. GTF also seems to have a role in lowering elevations beyond normal of cholesterol and triglycerides. It seems to also have a role in the balance between lean body mass and adipose (fatty) tissue.

Chromium may have a positive effect on the lipid profile in elevating the high density lipoproteins, the "good" cholesterol. It may also benefit the immune response, as it has been shown to decrease serum cortisol and increase immunoglobulins.

Other Facts:

Some manufacturers of chromium supplements made claims that their products "promoted" a magical melt away of body fat without diet revisions or exercise. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cracked down on several of these for their unsubstantiated assertions and for misleading the public. Chromium supplements have been shown effective in helping to maintain lean muscle mass while weight reduction dieters loose fat. This requires caloric restriction, particularly carbohydrate calories, and exercise, both aerobic and weight resistance strength training.

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Consumer Lab, whose mission is to identify the best quality health and nutrition products through independent testing and expose those products that are substandard or tainted, found that one chromium product had less than 5% of it's claimed amount. Another chromium supplement stated it contained the safe trivalent form, chromium III, but in fact was found to contain chromium VI, the form associated with carcinogenicity. This is an unacceptable form for ingestion even in small amounts that could be considered contaminants.

Recommended Dietary Allowance:

There is no established RDA -recommended dietary allowance- for chromium. The Estimated safe and Adequate Daily Dietary Intake (ESADDI) established by the National Research Council in 1989 is 50 to 200 micrograms (mcg) per day for adults. The scientific literature repeatedly reports pharmacological doses of 200 to 400 mcg/day being used.

Table of Adequate Intake (AI*)

Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Science

AGE (YRS) AMOUNT in micrograms

Infants

0.0-0.5: 0.2*

0.5-1.0: 5.5*

Children

1-3: 118*

4-8: 15*

Males

9-13: 25*

14-18: 35*

19-30: 35*

31-50: 35*

51-70: 30*

71+: 30*

Females

9-13: 21*

14-18: 24*

19-30: 25*

31-50: 25*

51-70: 20*

71+: 20*

Pregnant

<19: 29*

>19: 30*

Lactating

<19: 44*

>19: 45*

Toxic Doses:

There are no empirical reports found that describe the occurrence of toxicity from properly manufactured chromium supplements taken within the safe range. One potential effect of excess ingestion is mild gastrointestinal upset. Recent anecdotal reports for products labeled chromium picolinate describe anemia, memory loss and DNA damage. The manufacturing practices of the suppliers were not reported.

Some research has shown supplemental chromium in the picolinate form broke down DNA which is thought to generate mutations and possibly cancer. A Dartmouth University study demonstrated that chromium picolinate was absorbed into the cells in it's intact form within a test tube and caused chromosomal DNA breaks in hamster ovarian cells. Other chromium salts did not do this. Examples of the other forms are nicotinate (chromium polynicotinate) or the chloride version which has a low gastrointestinal absorption rate.