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Frequently Asked Question: Should I take a chromium supplement?
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Contents: Answer Number 1 - from the editorial board of the ADA
          Answer Number 2 - from an article in _Diabetes Forecast_
          Answer Number 3 - from an endocrinologist
          List of foods that contain chromium
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Answer Number 1:
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In the May 1994 issue of _Diabetes Forecast_ (p. 73), the editorial 
board of the American Diabetes Association says:

    Some popular books on diabetes have claimed that chromium, which is
    found in many common foods such as animal meats, grains, and
    brewer's yeast, is good for people with diabetes. Not so. Though
    chromium supplements may benefit people who are significantly
    malnourished and have an actual chromium deficiency, there is no
    significant evidence that consuming extra chromium helps people
    with diabetes who are even close to being well nourished.
 
    Taken at the dosages listed on the bottle, however, chromium is not
    likely to be harmful. But your money is better spent on more useful
    items!


Answer Number 2:
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In the April 1996 issue of _Diabetes Forecast_ (pp. 25-26), Tami S.
Critchfield and Allen Burris write about chromium supplements. Excerpts:

    Although chromium does play a role in the way the body processes
    glucose, it does not necessarily follow that chromium supplements
    work the same as chromium found in food.
    
    And chromium supplements can use up a part of the budget that might 
    be better spent on healthful foods. After all, we do know which 
    foods provide chromium as well as other necessary vitamins and 
    minerals. And they have no extra cost and no added uproven 
    ingredients.

    To sum up: Although chromium is an important mineral in the human 
    body, there is no way to measure exactly how much chromium we need,
    how much we have, how much we are getting from our regular foods, 
    whether the body can use any of the chromium it receives in the 
    form of supplements, and even whether an otherwise healthy person 
    is chromium deficient or not.

    Further, there is no way of knowing the effects of other ingredients 
    contained in chromium supplements.

    According to the Association's Nutrition Recommendations and 
    Principles for People with Diabetes Mellitus (_Diabetes Care_ 19 
    [Suppl. 1]:S18, 1996), "...it appears that most people with diabetes 
    are not chromium deficient and, therefore, chromium supplementation 
    has no known benefit."

    If you are not poorly nourished or on long-term intravenous feeding, 
    and you do not want to spend money that may not be doing you any 
    good, your best bet is to get your chromium from chromium-rich foods 
    you enjoy as part of a regular nutritious, well-balanced diet.


Answer Number 3:
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Endocrinologist Arturo Rolla says:

    The benefit of chromium in the utilization of glucose was found 
    mostly in rats that were made chromium deficient on purpose for the 
    experiment. The effect of chromium in humans is questionable and 
    inferential.

    There is no data to support that giving large doses of chromium to 
    humans is of any benefit to persons with or without diabetes.

    More recent information seems to indicate that large doses of 
    chromium may affect peripheral nerves - already in jeopardy in 
    persons with diabetes - and may cause mitochondrial damage.


Foods that Contain Chromium:
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American cheese
Bran
Brewer's yeast
Grains
Certain fruits
Liver
Oysters
Peanuts, peanut butter
Potatoes with skin on
Certain vegetables