Go to any health food store and you’ll find plenty of chromium products ranging from body-building powders, slimming shakes, and tablets.

A lot of people are excited about this trace element and who wouldn’t be? This little-known mineral is touted as a muscle-builder, slimming agent, and will supposedly cut your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

For overweight people who have given up on diet and exercise, it is the miracle pill they’ve been looking for, the reason perhaps why 10 million Americans take it, many swallowing 200 micrograms (mcg) daily and spending over $150 million yearly in chromium supplements.

But chromium’s picture wasn’t always rosy. Before the 1950s, it was regarded as a toxic substance and for a good reason. Long-term exposure to hexavalent chromium from electroplating, steel making, cement manufacturing, and glass making can lead to skin problems, lung cancer and damage the liver and kidneys.

All that changed in the mid-fifties when scientists reported that rats suffering from glucose intolerance (the decreased ability to remove sugar from the blood) improved when they took brewer’s yeast. Its active ingredient turned out to be chromium.

“Chromium-deficient animals, in addition to having glucose intolerance, suffer from impaired growth, elevated blood cholesterol, fatty deposits in arteries, decreased life span, and decreased sperm count and fertility,” reported Dr. Sheldon Saul Hendler in “The Doctors’ Vitamin and Mineral Encyclopedia.”

As part of the glucose tolerance factor (GTF), it regulates the metabolism of glucose or sugar in the body. It increases the action of insulin and helps this hormone remove sugar from the blood. Lack of it, researchers say, affects the way insulin controls blood sugar levels. This deficiency leads to a diabetes-like condition.

If chromium supporters had their way, we should all be taking 50 to 200 mcg a day. For diabetics and those at risk for heart disease, the recommended dosage is even higher at 600 mcg daily. The reason? Chromium blood levels supposedly decrease with age and deficiencies are likely to affect those who consume mostly refined or processed foods.

Does it follow then that taking chromium supplements can help diabetics and cure a host of diseases? Although preliminary evidence is encouraging, the chromium-diabetes connection remains unclear at present. The other miraculous claims made for it are even harder to prove.

Previously, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) forced three California companies to stop making unsubstantiated claims for chromium picolinate. The companies earlier claimed that most people lacked it in their diets and that supplementation could help them burn fat, reduce weight, regulate blood sugar levels, and treat or prevent diabetes. The FTC said no evidence exists that it can aid any of these conditions.

Contrary to what supplement manufacturers say, it isn’t hard to get chromium. Normally men consume 33 mcg while women get 25 mcg daily from foods like apples, chicken, peanuts, beer, cheese, whole grains and broccoli.

For good health, don’t take more than 200 mcg of chromium daily. And remember, natural is better. You’re less likely to experience side effects from food sources of chromium. To lose weight, take Zylorin, the safe and natural way to a better body.

Janet Martin is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premiere online news magazine http://www.thearticleinsiders.com

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