The information resource about Nutrients, Probiotics and Food Supplements
Nutrient Details For : Chromium

A nutrient is any element or compound necessary for or contributing to an organism's metabolism, growth, or other functioning. Click name for details Arsenic Biotin Boron Calcium Carbohydrates Carnitine Carotenoids Chloride Choline Chromium Copper Energy Fiber Fluoride Folate Iodine Iron Lipids Magnesium Manganese Molybdenum Niacin Nickel Pantothenic acid Phosphorus Phyto-chemicals Potassium Protein Riboflavin Selenium Silicon Sodium Thiamin Vanadium Vitamin A Vitamin B 12 Vitamin B 6 Vitamin C Vitamin D Vitamin E Vitamin K Zinc Further Trace Elements

Chromium (Cr) is an essential nutrient required for normal sugar and fat metabolism.

Chromium functions primarily by potentiating the action of insulin. Chromium occurs throughout the body with highest concentrations in the liver, kidney, spleen and bone.

Deficiency:

Signs of deficiency include impaired glucose tolerance and elevated circulating insulin.

Rrecommendations:

The Estimated Safe and Adequate Daily Dietary Intake (ESADDI) for adults is 50 to 200 µg. Usual dietary intakes in the U.S. are about 25 µg/day for women and 33 µg/day for men. Breast-fed infants consume less than 1 µg Cr/day and the ESADDI for infants is 10 to 40 µg/day. The current ESADDI for chromium needs to be reevaluated.

Food sources:

Meat, poultry, fish and dairy products are generally low in chromium. Fruits, vegetables whole grains and seeds are better sources but have variable concentrations. Processing foods with stainless steel equipment may increase their chromium concentration, especially if the foods are acidic. In addition, there are differences in bioavailability and biological activity of the different complexes found in foods.

Toxicity:

Both solubility and oxidation state affect the potential for toxicity; furthermore, the type of complex may impact toxicity. Toxic effects are limited primarily to industrial exposure to hexavalent chromium, which is much more toxic than the trivalent form. The acidity of the stomach promotes reduction of hexavalent chromium to the trivalent form. Most of the chromium absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract is trivalent. The Reference Dose (RfD) for trivalent chromium is 1 mg/kg/day. This level is more than 300-fold the upper limit of the ESADDI, making trivalent chromium one of the least toxic nutrients.

Chemical information on Chromium

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