Chromium In GlycoAid

The Research Behind Chromium

The nutrition side is settled and uncontroversial. The supplementation side is not. Trials of chromium supplementation for glucose control in people who are not deficient have produced results that reviews generally describe as inconsistent, and the NIH fact sheet is notably measured about it. Chromium does what nutrition does: it fills a requirement. Where the requirement is already met, filling it again achieves very little.

What Dose The Studies Actually Used

The adequate intake is around 25 to 35 micrograms a day for adults depending on age and sex. Trials have typically used 200 micrograms, sometimes more. Micrograms take up almost no room by weight, which is why chromium sits comfortably in a formula like this and is declared separately with a percent daily value.

Chromium: Cautions Worth Knowing

Trivalent chromium from food and supplements is considered safe at ordinary intakes and has no established upper limit, precisely because toxicity has not been observed at dietary levels. Hexavalent chromium, the industrial form, is an entirely different and genuinely toxic substance that has nothing to do with any supplement.

What Chromium Is Not

Chromium picolinate, chromium polynicotinate and chromium chloride are different salts, and they differ in how well the chromium is absorbed. Picolinate is the most common in supplements and is generally better absorbed than the chloride. None of this has anything to do with the industrial hexavalent form that turns up in environmental news stories.

Finding Chromium Outside A Capsule

Broccoli is the standout dietary source, followed by whole grains, grape juice, meat and brewer's yeast. Because the requirement is measured in micrograms, an ordinary varied diet meets it without effort. On a label the form matters more than the figure: chromium picolinate is better absorbed than chromium chloride, and picolinate is what most trials and most products use.