Chromium Picolinate For Athletic Performance

Chromium is a popular and widely-used supplement, with estimated sales of $85 million in 2002, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. It's often sold as chromium picolinate and marketed to athletes who want to lose body fat and build muscle and strength. The many studies investigating such claims have found little to back them up and also note there are possible side effects.

Identification

Chromium is an essential trace element and found in foods like whole grains, cheese, nuts, mushrooms, meat and spices. The recommended daily allowance is 50 to 200 microgram per day. Although all of chromium's health benefits aren't known, it has been shown to enhance the action of insulin and the metabolism of carbohydrate, fat, and protein. Chromium is often combined with picolinic acid, which boosts maximum chromium absorption, and sold in pills and sports drinks.

Body Building

Chromium picolinate is marketed to body builders as a way to promote lean mass by increasing the uptake of amino acids in muscle and helping form glycogen, the energy source your body uses during exercise. However, in 1996, the Federal Trade Commission cracked down on companies claiming chromium picolinate was a muscle-building substance, due to studies like one conducted at California State University-Fullerton. Researchers in that study, published in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning" in May 2001, found no significant improvements in muscular strength or body composition in athletes taking chromium picolinate during resistance training compared to a control group.

Chromium Deficiency

True chromium deficiencies are rare, although older people are more vulnerable to chromium depletion than younger adults. A 2003 University of Alabama study published in the journal "Sports Medicine" suggests that athletes like male runners and bodybuilders have increased urinary chromium loss during endurance exercise and strength training. However, exercise also increases chromium absorption, so there is effectively little net loss or gain. Still, if you are exercising on a competitive level, you may need to monitor your chromium levels.

Weight Loss

Athletes hoping to maximum performance by losing those extra few pounds of fat often take chromium picolinate supplements. J.B. Vincent of the University of Alabama conducted a review of 24 studies looking at how using 200 to 1,000 micrograms per day of chromium picolinate affected body mass or composition. The results, published in 2003 in the journal "Sports Medicine," found that a decade of human studies with chromium picolinate have not been able to demonstrate any effects on body composition, even when taken along with an exercise training program.

Considerations

There are no regulations for supplements like chromium picolinate, and some supplements have been found to be contaminated with toxic metals or other drugs. If you do decide to take chromium picolinate, avoid a diet high in sugar that may interfere with the effectiveness of the supplement, and don't take it together with antacids, for the same reason. The University of Alabama study suggested that chromium picolinate could cause sterility in a user's children and grandchildren.