Side-Effects of Chromium

1. Toxic reactions have been associated with chromium picolinate at significantly higher doses:

a. Renal failure

b. Interstitial nephritis

c. Liver and kidney damage

d. Thrombocytopenia

e. Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis

f. Rhabdomyolysis

g. Clatogenic/mutagenic reactions

2. Chronic exposure to airborne or waterborne hexavalent chromium (chromium dust is metal-working, printing, textile, etc) is associated with dermatitis and increased risk for lung cancer.

3. Toxicity is greater in those with pre-existing liver or kidney disease.

4. Tedious monitoring of patients taking chromium together with other anti-diabetic drugs is required.

Chromium Food Supplements

Nutrilite Chrompic Extra

You need chromium because it helps your body metabolize carbohydrates, fats and protein. It plays important role in activating key enzyme involved in fat metabolism. This unique blend combines the minerals chromium and vanadium with a special blend of herbs to help your body metabolize carbohydrates, fats and protein. Give your weight management program some extra help. Chrompic Extra is the support you need!

It is recommended that Nutrilite ChrompicExtra be taken three times a day, 30-45 minutes before meals, to realize the most beneficial effects. No more than four capsules per day are recommended.

Nature's Way Blood Sugar

The perfect herbal blend to support healthy blood sugar levels. Features Gymnema sylvestre, GTF chromium, carotenoids and more. Fortified with bilberry, fenugreek, and bitter melon momordica. Contains GTF Chromium, part of the glucose tolerance molecule that is an important cofactor for insulin. The perfect blend of traditional herbal wisdom and modern scientific research, this unique formula combines a standardized extract of the Ayurvedic "sugar destroyer," Gymnema sylvestre, with GTF chromium, mixed carotenoids, and supporting herbs known for their ability to promote healthy blood sugar levels. Contains 300 mcg of Chromium.

Pharmanex Metabotrim

Cell-Tech Hardcore

Cell-Tech Hardcore and it’s scientifically engineered, patent-pending formulation is designed to trigger a rapid insulin spike for maximized creatine delivery and uptake. It is powered by Nano-molecular Hyperdispersion Technology. Cell-Tech Hardcore’s rapid diffusing ingredients saturate the muscles with it’s potent, revolutionary creatine formula for explosive muscle and strength bulding results. Contains 300 mcg of Chromium

Nature's Way Alive! Multivitamins

Contains 120 mcg of Chromium

Food Sources of Chromium

The best source of chromium is true brewer's yeast. Nutritional yeast and torula yeast do not contain significant amounts of chromium and are not suitable substitutes for brewer’s yeast. Chromium is also found in grains and cereals, though much of it is lost when these foods are refined. Some brands of beer contain significant amounts of chromium.

Table was lifted from:

Office of Dietary Supplements

National Institutes of Health

Bethesda, Maryland 20892 USA

Web: http://ods.od.nih.gov

From the Experts

Candy Drilon

Medical Student

Former chromium supplement consumer

1. Have you ever heard of chromium supplements (e.g. chromium picolinate)?

YES

2. What do you know of its benefits?

It’s suppose to help with weight loss

3. What is it primarily marketed for?

For weight loss

4. Have you ever tried chromium supplements? Please specify exact preparation.

Yes

1. If yes, for what purpose?

To speed up my weight loss

2. Was it beneficial?

Not really. I tried it for 2 months with diet and exercise. Then I stopped it and continued my diet and exercise regimen. I lost the same weight with and without chromium in the same amount of time.

3. Did you experience any side effects?

No side effects for me.

5. Will you ever recommend this to your future patients? Kindly elaborate.

Possibly. It depends on what results they’re looking for. Some studies have shown that chromium supplementation can help with weight maintenance in the long run. But if they’re looking for fast weight loss effect, I wouldn’t recommend chromium.

Dr. Stephanie Fay Cagayan

OB-GYN

Associate Professor at the UP College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Lecturer (Pharmacology) Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health

1. Have you ever heard of chromium supplements (e.g. chromium picolinate)?

Yes

2. What do you know of its benefits?

It is a naturally occurring trace element in the body needed for varied physiologic functions.

3. What is it primarily marketed for?

Dietary supplement for weight loss and muscle building

4. Have you ever tried chromium supplements? Please specify exact preparation.

No

5. Have you ever recommended chromium supplements to your past patients?

No. As of now because there is not enough body of evidence supporting its claim of efficacy for varied conditions and the body produces it in sufficient amounts that there is rare occurrence of deficiency of this element

Dr. Leticia Ibanez-Guzman

Gastroenterologist

Active Consultant, UP-PGH Department of Medicine, Gastroentorology

Lecturer (Gastroentorology) Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health

1. Have you ever heard of chromium supplements (e.g. chromium picolinate)?

Yes

2. What do you know of its benefits?

It improves the efficiency of insulin

3. What is it primarily marketed for?

Weight loss

4. Have you ever tried chromium supplements? Please specify exact preparation.

No

5. Have you ever recommended chromium supplements to your past patients?

No. I need to get more information on the drug and evidence of effectiveness

Dr. Manuel Cuenca, Jr.

Anesthesiologist

Lecturer (Pharmacology) Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health

1. Have you ever heard of chromium supplements (e.g. chromium picolinate)?

Yes, but not too familiar with it.

2. What do you know of its benefits?

It is supposed to increase your metabolism, stimulate and promote weight reduction. But I know that these “facts” are not conclusive, and may even be controversial.

3. What is it primarily marketed for?

For weight loss and to “improve” body composition.

4. Have you ever tried chromium supplements? Please specify exact preparation.

No.

5. Have you ever recommended chromium supplements to your past patients?

No. Most researches done are not conclusive. Chromium supplements may even do more harm to our bodies.

Chromium Users Speak Up!

Testimonial

Chromium plus exercise plus medical school made me lose 15 pounds in 7 year! Amazing! -John Francis Lee Hok (medical student)

Chromium? I never heard of it… Is it the new web browser from google? - loss child

*** Apparently, chromium use as a diet agent is not that widely used in the Philippines as compared to other substances.***

Chromium? Isn’t that a heavy metal? It can lead to weight loss? Really? - Rose Ann Palma

Chromium and weight loss? Never heard of it. I would rather take green tea and L-carnitine, sounds more natural - Cristal Laquindanum

I lost 10 pounds with chromium supplementation. It really works! - Pauline Mae

Just Take a Look at How

Chromium Has Helped Others:

“I seriously couldn’t believe it worked. I hurt my back and was in bed for nearly 2 months. During that time I couldn’t workout or do even the easiest exercises. I could barely walk.

With nothing to do ­ besides watching daytime Soaps and Oprah ­ I starting taking BetaFuel in the morning for the quick burst of energy and to get my day started. Then I took Chromium right after Lunch and before dinner. Those are the times I get the worst cravings, so instead of taking Chromium before bed, I took it when I could use the help. I couldn’t believe how fast the weight came off."

Brock & Jessie

“I can now honestly admit I was 30-35lbs overweight when discovering Marqi Life’s Daytime Fat-burner product BetaFuel and Night-time Fat-burner product Chromium on the internet. At first I was very skeptical because there are so many weight-loss scams online, who can you really trust? Well as you can see by viewing my before and after pictures I ended up trying both products for a 3 month period and lost 42.7lbs and decreased my body fat by 7.4%.

Plus I have a huge secret to tell you and it maybe hard to believe this but I NEVER CHANGED MY DIET and by no means do I eat healthy. After using these products and seeing a dramatic change, it gave me the motivation to get back into the gym and live a healthier life style. I’m a firm believer in what Marqi Life offers and will be a dedicated client for life!"

Rick & Joanny

“When I first started taking Chromium I was 141 lbs and 25 pounds overweight. It was depressing no matter what I did or ate I couldn't lose any weight. Then I started taking the Chromium 3 pills before I went to bed with a big glass of water. That first night did something. I woke up the next morning feeling totally refreshed. I had actually had a great night sleep for once and on top of that I had lost 3 lbs OVERNIGHT!! I've been on the Chromium for only 3 weeks now and I'm down to 125 lbs and lost 2 inches. I feel more energized and refreshed than I have in a long time. I'm very happy to have found a product that actually worked and was so well priced. Now I tell everyone what I'm using it because people are actually starting to comment on how good I look. Thank you so much!"

What is chromium for anyway??

Pros for Chromium

Likely effective

• To address chromium deficiency in the body

Possibly effective

• For type 2 diabetes mellitus, which can lower fasting blood sugar
• For insulin resistance which can help insulin work better

Insufficient evidence

• For obesity where chromium is found to make people lose weight
• For decrease of cardiovascular events due to claims of reduced LDL levels

References:

• Cefalu W, Lindermann M, Lukaski H, Anderson R, Stoecker B. Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Chromium. 5 August 2005. 22 September 2009 .
• WebMD. CHROMIUM: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions and Warnings. 22 September 2009 .

Let's Get Serious: How Does Chromium Work?

The Mechanism of Chromium

The evidence for chromium (Cr) as an essential trace mineral in animals was obtained in rats fed a Torula yeast-based diet which developed abnormal glucose tolerance that could be reversed by supplements of brewer's yeast. It was reported that chromium formed a complex with insulin that enhanced insulin's activity (Beers, et al. 2006). However, the relevance of animal studies of chromium deficiency to the effects of chromium in humans remains controversial.

Glucose tolerance factor has never been isolated nor its structure determined. The insulin receptor has been purified and characterized without finding any evidence of chromium as a component of its subunits, as an accessory chromoprotein for insulin binding, or as a second messenger in mediating the effect of insulin on cells. Unlike iron, zinc, copper, molybdenum, and selenium, chromium has not been found in a metalloprotein with biologic activity. Therefore, the apparent biologic activity of chromium in promoting glucose tolerance remains unexplained (Beers, et al. 2006).

One study suggests that chromium potentiates the action of insulin possibly by increasing insulin binding, insulin binding receptor number, improving insulin internalization and increasing insulin sensitivity. (Volpe, et al. 2001) Insulin functions in transporting glucose and amino acids into muscle cells, regulating protein metabolism and synthesis. In another study, researchers suggest that improvements in insulin utilization should theoretically lead to increased muscle mass and reduced body fat (Mertz 1994). The link between these contradictory changes in body composition may be due to chromium’s ability to potentiate insulin’s effects on converting glucose to carbon dioxide or lipid (JB 2000).

According to a review done by Cefalu, chromium, once absorbed, is distributed to various tissues of the body mostly concentrated in the kidney, muscle, and liver by a carrier protein - transferrin. Chromium inhibits phosphotyrosine phosphatase that leads to decrease in insulin sensitivity. The balance between kinase and phosphatase activity may facilitate the role of insulin in rapidly moving glucose into cells (Cefalu and Hu 2004).

References:

• Beers, Mark H MD, Robert S MD Porter, Thomas V MD Jones, Justin L MD Kaplan, and Michael MD Berkwits. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. New Jersey: Merck Research Laboratories, 2006.
• Cefalu, William T MD, and Frank B MD PHD Hu. "Role of Chromium in Human Health and in Diabetes." Diabetes Care, 2004: 2741-2751.
• JB, Vincent. "The biochemistry of chromium." Journal of Nutrition, 2000: 715-718.
• Mertz, M. "Chromium in human nutrition: a review." Journal of Nutrition, 1994: 117-118.
• Volpe, Stella L. PhD, RD, Hui-Wen MS Huang, Kanokwan MS Larpadisorn, and Ingrid I. Lesser. "Effect of Chromium Supplementation and Exercise on Body Composition, Resting Metabolic Rate and Selected Biochemical Parameters in Moderately Obese Women Following an Exercise Program." Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2001: 293-306.