Chromium is a trace mineral that your body needs to regulate your blood-sugar levels. Chromium also appears to promote weight loss by reducing your body fat and increasing your lean muscle mass. You can get chromium from eating certain foods in your diet, but you can also take a chromium picolinate supplement. Before you begin taking a chromium supplement, consult your doctor to discuss the dosage that's right for you.
Function
Chromium's main function is to normalize your blood-glucose levels. Specifically, chromium is the main component of glucose tolerance factor, or GTF, which helps your body to utilize insulin better by enabling insulin to extract glucose from your blood and deliver it into the cells for use as energy, explains the University of Maryland Medical Center. Chromium also appears to regulate the cholesterol and triglyceride levels in your blood. As a weight-loss supplement, chromium picolinate seems to help build muscle tissues and burn fat, says the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Effects
Because of chromium's specific functions in the body, the supplement is sometimes recommended to help treat diabetes and similar conditions like insulin resistance or glucose-tolerance problems, as well as to prevent heart disease, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Another popular use of chromium picolinate supplements is promoting weight loss in overweight or obese individuals. Chromium may also help to treat high cholesterol and high triglycerides, says the University of Michigan Health System. Talk with your physician before taking chromium picolinate for any medical purpose.
Dosage
You can get chromium from your diet, specifically from eating lean and processed meats, cheeses, brewer's yeast, organ meats like pork kidney, whole grains, certain spices and molasses, says the University of Maryland Medical Center. The recommended daily allowance of chromium for men up to 50 years of age is 35mcg, for men 51 years of age and older is 30mcg, for women up to 50 years old is 25mcg, and for women older than 50 years is 20mcg. Pregnant and breastfeeding women need 30 to 45mcg of chromium per day. Therapeutic doses, including those for weight loss, are typically much higher than the recommended daily allowances for chromium. To promote weight loss, you might take 200mcg of the mineral in the form of chromium picolinate, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Although medical studies have used dosages of chromium up to 1,000mcg, these higher doses may be unsafe. Ask your doctor about the dosage that's right for you before you start taking chromium picolinate for weight loss.
Potential
Chromium picolinate supplements might have the potential to help treat depression and improve athletic performance, says the University of Michigan Health System. Chromium has been suggested for treating hypoglycemia and Syndrome X, also called insulin resistance syndrome. Chromium picolinate supplementation could possibly help if you have acne, migraines or psoriasis as well, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. No conclusive, widely-accepted scientific research supports the use of chromium picolinate in treating or preventing any of these medical conditions, however.
Warning
Side effects and health risks associated with taking up to 200mcg daily of chromium picolinate are nearly non-existent, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. However, taking excessive amounts of chromium could potentially cause damage to your liver, kidneys and bone marrow. Taking large amounts of chromium picolinate specifically could interfere with your neurotransmitters, possibly harming people with certain mental health conditions like schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. Chromium supplements may interact negatively with certain medications, such as diabetes drugs including insulin and antacids that contain calcium carbonate, warns the University of Maryland Medical Center.
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