Per Julia Ross's book The Diet Cure, I started taking 200 mcg Chromium Picolinate with every meal. I have hypoglycemia but haven't noticed much of a difference. And, I read a few internet sites that suggest it's dangerous.
Anyone know anything more?
|
1
1
|
||||
|
|
1
|
I seem to be the lone voice in support of chromium picolinate... I've been taking 200-400mcg/day for years. (Not every day, but at least a few times a week.) You really have to make an effort to "OD" on chromium, and there's no reason to even approach the levels that would be toxic. Chromium is required for proper functioning of the insulin receptor, and chromium deficiency mimics some of the hallmarks of metabolic syndrome. (But I think that has more to do with flooding the system with refined CHO and overwhelming what little chromium someone is getting in their diet, than with actually being overtly deficient in it. So it's not that people are deficient in it, but rather that a higher refined sugar diet probably requires more chromium just to handle all the insulin.) All that being said, if you're already hypoglycemic, chromium is probably not necessary for you, as it seems like the point of taking chromium is the opposite effect -- it's supposed to help lower blood glucose. (And then again, hypoglycemia tends to be a result of too much insulin, so maybe helping your cells to become better able to use insulin would eventually result in normalizing levels and your body wouldn't secrete as much in the first place.) I dunno. It's complicated stuff. I don't think chromium is dangerous at reasonable supplementation levels. Just don't know if it's suitable for you or not. |
||
|
|
|
0
|
It's a metal isnt it? That alone made me wary. |
|||||
|
|
0
|
Take minerals together? |
||
|
|
|
0
|
Chromium picolinate has been directly implicated with disease, whether its the chromium or the picolinic acid that causes symptoms is not known but either way I would avoid both unless you are actually deficient in chromium. You body will be really hot on making sure its got the current amounts of these micro nutrients. You are more likely to do harm than good by taking them. |
||
|
|
|
0
|
The main point is that chromium can be hypoglycemic. As for toxicity, it isn't toxic at your dose; you have to take close to 900mcg daily to feel toxic. If you have hypoglycemic tendencies, why take chromium? Diabetics take it to lower their BG. |
||
|
|
|
0
|
I seem to recall reading some bad press about Chromium Picolinate quite a while back. But I have never been able to find the articles/studies again. Anyway, i came to the conclusion at the time that it may be prudent to avoid the Chromium Picolinate form or at least limit it to equiv Chromium 50 mcg (200 mcg Chromium Picolinate). Note, if you take equiv Chromium 200 mcg per day in the form of Chromium Picolinate, that works out at approximately 1600 mcg of Chromium Picolinate. I'm not a chemist, but i guess this works out at something like 1400 mcg picolinic acid (on top of the 200 mcg chromium). Another chromium supplement form is Chromium Amino Acid Chelate, i have not found any 'bad press' on this form, tho may be its due to a lack of studies? & may be the particular amino acid (or acids) used for chelation is also important....? |
||
|
|
