Chromium pill supplement for blood sugar control 200 mcg, benefits and dosage use, are there toxic effects with overdose?
Research including side effects and the proper dosage for benefits including as a mineral for diabetes help

By 1948, chromium was recognized as a consistent component of plants and animals. In 1954, it was found to enhance the synthesis of cholesterol and fatty acids from acetate. In 1959, trivalent chromium was identified as the active component of the "glucose tolerance factor," which alleviated the impaired glucose tolerance in rats fed diets inadequate in chromium. In the 1960s, reports indicated that it could help diabetics improve their blood sugar control.

Nature's Way - Buy Chromium Picolinate, 200 mcg each pill
Chromium is an essential part of the GTF (glucose tolerance factor) molecule. GTF is an important cofactor for insulin in the regulation of blood sugar which is necessary for proper metabolism.

Nature's Way Chromium Picolinate is 100% natural and patented. It contains no artificial ingredients or preservatives.

 

You can find chromium in an excellent doctor-formulated multivitamin product.
 

Function and metabolism
Chromium is generally accepted as an essential mineral that enhances insulin action and thus influences carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism.


Benefits for diabetic patients and those with high blood sugar
Chromium supplements may help some individuals who have diabetes, particularly for people living in non-Western countries. A National Institutes of Health study indicates that chromium picolinate supplements significantly enhanced insulin sensitivity. However, other studies dispute the claims of benefit for diabetes or blood sugar control. For a natural sugar alternative, see stevia information.
Fenugreek is an herb touted to benefit as a blood sugar control agent.

Investigators tested whether chromium supplements were useful in combination with a sulfonylurea medication -- an older class of diabetes drugs that often promote weight gain. Diabetics took either the medication plus 1,000 micrograms of chromium picolinate daily or the drug plus a placebo. After several months, those who took the mineral showed better improvements in insulin sensitivity and long-term blood sugar control. They also gained less weight and body fat than those on the drug alone.

Depression and mood disorders
Effectiveness of chromium in atypical depression: a placebo-controlled trial.
Biol Psychiatry. 2003.
Chromium picolinate has been reported to benefit patients with symptoms of atypical depression. A placebo-controlled, double-blind, pilot study of CP was conducted in 15 patients with DSM-IV major depressive disorder, atypical type. Patients received 600 micro g of CP or matching placebo for 8 weeks. Seven (70%) CP and zero (0%) placebo patients met responder criteria. Other outcomes were consistent with greater effect of CP. Chromium picolinate shows promising antidepressant effects in atypical depression. Its mechanism of action may relate to 5HT2A downregulation, increased insulin sensitivity, or to other effects.

Diabetes and high blood sugar
Dr. Nanno Kleefstra from Isala Clinics in Zwolle, and colleagues investigated the effects of chromium in people with type 2 diabetes residing in a northern region of the Netherlands. Fifty-seven patients were randomly assigned to take 400 micrograms per day or a placebo. After 3 and 6 months of treatment, there were no differences between the chromium group and the placebo group for fasting blood glucose levels, long-term control of glucose levels as measured by A1c, blood pressure, body fat percentage, weight, lipid profile, and how well they responded to the insulin their bodies produced, the investigators report in the medical journal Diabetes Care. Diabetes Care, 2007.

To investigate chromium status of the adult population in the western region of Saudi Arabia and the possibility of using serum status measurement as indicator of this status. The effect of chromium supplement on glucose tolerance and lipid profile was studied in 44 normal, free living adults. 200mg chromium / day as CrCL3 or a placebo was given in a double blind cross-over study, with 8 weeks experimental periods. Improved glucose control, and lipid profile following supplement suggests the presence of low status in the studied population. However, serum chromium could not be recommended for use as an indicator of status as subjects with widely varying levels responded favorably to the supplement.

Dr. Richard Anderson, USDA researcher from the Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, MD comments, "Based on decades of extensive scientific research, I believe that consumers can continue to use chromium picolinate with confidence. In fact, many of those with insulin resistance are likely to benefit from chromium supplementation in the picolinate form."

High insulin levels
Is chromium helpful in treating hyperinsulinism.
    We are not sure of the exact influence on insulin levels, but it appears that some studies show chromium supplement to be helpful in supporting healthy blood sugar levels.

Combination of Chromium Picolinate and Biotin may Improve Blood Sugar in People with Type 2 Diabetes
January 8, 2007 -- Nutrition 21, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXXI) today announced the results of a recent placebo controlled, double-blind, randomized, single center study that demonstrated that Diachrome, a patented combination of chromium picolinate and biotin, safely improves blood glucose levels and cholesterol metabolism in people with type 2 diabetes. The study supports the role of this combination as a safe and effective nutritional adjunct therapy in diabetes care.

Weight loss
How confident are you of
chromium research helping with weight loss?
    It's difficult to say when research studies show conflicting results but most do not show a benefit in turns of burning fat and losing weight.

Availability of pills
Chromium is available in a variety of dosages and forms, most commonly in 100 or 200 mcg. A dosage of 100 to 200 mcg could be taken by healthy individuals a couple of times a week, while those with diabetes may benefit from taking it 3 to 5 times a week. A combination of chromium picolinate and biotin is found in a patented formula called Diachrome.

Chromium caution, risk - what you may may have read in the popular press
Chromium picolinate may damage DNA in fruit flies -
 The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), a trade association of the dietary supplement industry, issued an announcement in response to the publication of the study. "The University of Alabama study, in which fruit flies were given high concentrations of chromium picolinate, provides no meaningful conclusions that change the weight of the strong scientific evidence for safety in humans," said Dr. John Hathcock, CRN's vice president, scientific and international affairs, in the statement.
   Comments:
High doses of a single mineral given to fruit flies gives us little clue of what may occur in the human body. Nevertheless, there is no need to take more than 200 mcg a few times a week, and it's often a good idea to take breaks from use of most supplements.
   Studies
Update: Review of more than 60 human, animal, and cellular studies conducted over the past 30 years confirms that chromium picolinate is safe for use as a nutrient supplement in food. The largest expert review of the complete body of research on the safety is published in the June 2004 issue of Food and Chemical Toxicology. The review was conducted by senior toxicologists and food science experts at the ENVIRON Health Sciences Institute and describes how chromium picolinate was determined to be a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)** ingredient in nutritional bars and beverages. The authors cite the significant body of evidence conducted by scientists at leading academic institutions, as well as USDA and the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Toxicology Program. “The collective research indicates that chromium picolinate is a safe nutritional supplement,” said study co-author Ronald S. Slesinski, PhD, DABT, president-elect of the Regulatory & Safety Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology and senior science manager at ENVIRON.  “The accepted safety trials, including Ames Tests and chromosome studies conducted by NTP and at independent testing laboratories, show no evidence of genetic toxicity.”

Hair loss
Due to recent hair loss / thinning, I have been doing some research on the newer supplements I have been taking. One of the supplements I have started taking has high levels of chromium picolinate in it so I started to do my research there; before long discovered that high ingested levels can cause the adrenals to produce higher levels of DHEA so I started to research DHEA as well. When I found your website, I learned that high levels of DHEA can cause hair loss and concluded that the 500 mcg a day may be causing my hair loss due to probable increases in DHEA production in my body. The hair loss is starting to become significant, as I am able to see through my hair and find more than normal clumps in the drain after a shower. Do you know any correlation between high levels of chromium relating to DHEA production increase? I truly believe the dosage on the Green Tea Diet supplement 500 mcg-1000mcg chromium a day is the contributing factor to my sudden hair loss and have decided to stop taking the supplement.
    We are not aware of the clinical significance of the relationship between excess chromium consumption and DHEA levels and hair loss. Perhaps high levels of chromium are influencing hair follicles directly? We are not sure at this time.

Hexavalent chromium toxicity
A type of chromium highlighted in the film Erin Brockovich causes cancer in lab animals when they drink it in water and it could be harmful to people. Hexavalent chromium, also called chromium 6, already has been shown to cause lung cancer when inhaled and is controlled by the Environmental Protection Agency as well as by states. It is best known as the contaminant exposed by campaigner Erin Brockovich, whose battle against a polluter was dramatized in the May 2000 movie of the same name. High doses of chromium hexavalent given to rats and mice in drinking water caused malignant tumors, the two-year study by the NIH's National Toxicology Program or NTP found. The animals were given much higher doses of chromium than people would ever encounter in drinking water, which is the usual practice in testing chemicals for cancer-causing potential. Hexavalent chromium compounds are often used in electroplating, leather tanning and textile manufacturing and have been found in some drinking water sources. year. But she said there were potentially dozens more toxic sites around the country. The lowest doses given to rats and mice in the study were 10 times higher than what humans could consume from the most highly contaminated water sources identified at Hinkley.

Use with herbal remedies and dietary supplements
Does chromium interfere with yohimbe herb or tongkat ali? I am trying this supplement for weight loss since I have diabetes and I just don't want to have chromium side effects.
    We don't think the occasional use of these aphrodisiac herbs will interfere with the mineral supplement.

Are there any obvious interactions between boron mineral supplement and chromium supplement using them the same day?
    Not that we know of, but we don't suggest taking these minerals daily, so you can alternate their use.

I recently read that niacin can raise blood sugar levels. Keeping that in mind, the Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF) chromium has niacin or polynicotinate. I thought that chromium was supposed to help with blood sugar not raise it. What are your thoughts?
    We are not sure we understand the question well, when niacin is given in supplement form to lower triglyceride levels, it is given in dosages that are many times the daily need.

Use with prescription medications
Actos is used for blood sugar control, is it okay to a small amount of the mineral with it?
   We don't think the use of Actos will interfere with small amounts of the mineral supplement.