Re: Chromium Appears Safe, Even in Large Amounts

April 23, 2005

Have you perceived a benefit from supplementing Chromium? Is your belief that

you benefit based on an estimate of deficiency, or are you operating from

some other assumption?

I used to take Chromium and tons of other random " good for you " supplements

before I started eating better. I had to stop reading the LEF literature

since their recommended supplements would wipe out my bank account.

JR

-----Original Message-----

From:

[mailto: ]On Behalf Of Rodney

Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2005 11:38 AM

Subject: [ ] Chromium Appears Safe, Even in Large Amounts

Hi folks:

For some years I have been supplementing once a week with 200 mcg

chromium in the form of picolinate. I believe I see benefit from

it. Some have raised questions about the safety of chromium

picolinate. While looking for something else I tripped over the

following, at a USDA, Agricultural Research Service, website. It

certainly suggests it is safe, at least in rats!

" Chromium Supplements Safe

People concerned about the safety of chromium supplements can breathe

far more easily. Every day during a 20-week study, rats consumed more

than 2,000 times the estimated safe limit of chromium for people. The

animals showed no signs of toxicity as assessed by body weight, blood

chemistry and tissue analyses. Twenty weeks is about one-seventh of a

rat's normal life span.

Researchers tested two widely used formulations of the mineral--

chromium picolinate and chromium chloride. While neither produced

toxicity, the animals stored more of the picolinate in their tissues,

indicating that they absorbed more. The findings, reported in the

Journal of the American College of Nutrition (vol. 16, pp. 273-279),

support earlier reports of very low toxicity in animals. And they

question the relevance of a study done two years ago using cultured

human cells that reported DNA damage. Cultured cells are far more

vulnerable than body cells because they lack the body's normal

protective mechanisms.

For example, people generally absorb less than 2 percent of the

chromium in the diet; 98 percent passes in the stool. By contrast,

the cultured cells were given increasingly larger doses of chromium

formulations until an effect was observed. Years of ARS chromium

studies with animals and people have not identified any toxic

symptoms, even when the chromium given was several times above the

suggested daily upper limit of 200 micrograms (mcg). In fact, the

highest daily exposure considered safe over the course of a lifetime

is 350 times this upper limit. This reference dose was established by

the Environmental Protection Agency.

For more information, contact A. , (301) 504-8091,

Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, MD "

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/fnrb/fnrb1097.htm#chromium

I am not advocating other people take chromium supplements. Rather

just reassuring any who do that some previous adverse publicity

apeears not to have been justified.

Rodney.

April 23, 2005

Hi JR:

This is going to be a very unscientific post about chromium. But

since you ask, here is the answer. You all should know, based on the

section in Walford's 'Beyond' on the nature of different types of

evidence, how much credence to give to this type of stuff. (Not

much!)

A friend who is a Type I diabetic pointed out to me years ago that Cr

was essential in the process by which insulin helps glucose get into

cells (or something like that, I am no authority on insulin). He

believed quite a few people's diets were Cr deficient.

So, knowing he took health issues pretty seriously, I bought a jar of

capsules of the picolinic compound (banned in Canada - a sure sign it

is likely beneficial) and, not wanting to overdo it, took one a

week. I started with 90 capsules so they lasted a long time.

Periodically I would notice, say on a Tuesday, that I wasn't able to

get my brain around some tricky software programming problem. After

a while when this happened I started asking myself whether I had

taken my Cr supplement the previous weekend. And there did seem to

be a connection. It seemed that, if I noticed I was having trouble

getting my mind into gear, I realized that, Yes, I had forgotten to

take my weekly Cr capsule. And sometimes twenty-four hours later,

after taking it, I found myself wondering why I hadn't seen the

programming solution earlier.

I still think I can see that if I forget to take my (tiny) 200 mcg of

this comparatively very absorbable form of chromium, (the advantage

of picolinate is supposed to be its much enhanced absorption) that

when my body (seems to) run out of Cr my brain acuity suffers.

Now this was not ABSOLUTELY obvious. But there does seem to be a

connection. And I do not think it its psychosomatic because I have

never thought I could see any overt benefit to any other supplement I

have taken. And I had no idea when I started taking the chromium

what kind of benefit I might see. If any. Also, I have not noticed

such effects from other chromium supplements. Perhaps because of the

absorbability issue?

I do not know what my Cr status is without the supplement. I have

been using Fitday which does not break out chromium content.

So, there it is, fwiw wmnbm. My original post was simply to note

that it is good to know that the consumption of even large quantities

of this product does not seem to be harmful. I have probably been

taking 200 mcg of Cr per week for six or seven years, and plan to

continue to do so.

Rodney.

--- In , " " <crjohnr@b...>

wrote:

> Have you perceived a benefit from supplementing Chromium? Is your

belief that

> you benefit based on an estimate of deficiency, or are you

operating from

> some other assumption?

>

> I used to take Chromium and tons of other random " good for you "

supplements

> before I started eating better. I had to stop reading the LEF

literature

> since their recommended supplements would wipe out my bank account.

>

> JR

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From:

> [mailto: ]On Behalf Of Rodney

> Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2005 11:38 AM

>

> Subject: [ ] Chromium Appears Safe, Even in Large

Amounts

>

> Hi folks:

>

> For some years I have been supplementing once a week with 200 mcg

> chromium in the form of picolinate. I believe I see benefit from

> it. Some have raised questions about the safety of chromium

> picolinate. While looking for something else I tripped over the

> following, at a USDA, Agricultural Research Service, website. It

> certainly suggests it is safe, at least in rats!

>

> " Chromium Supplements Safe

>

> People concerned about the safety of chromium supplements can

breathe

> far more easily. Every day during a 20-week study, rats consumed

more

> than 2,000 times the estimated safe limit of chromium for people.

The

> animals showed no signs of toxicity as assessed by body weight,

blood

> chemistry and tissue analyses. Twenty weeks is about one-seventh of

a

> rat's normal life span.

>

> Researchers tested two widely used formulations of the mineral--

> chromium picolinate and chromium chloride. While neither produced

> toxicity, the animals stored more of the picolinate in their

tissues,

> indicating that they absorbed more. The findings, reported in the

> Journal of the American College of Nutrition (vol. 16, pp. 273-

279),

> support earlier reports of very low toxicity in animals. And they

> question the relevance of a study done two years ago using cultured

> human cells that reported DNA damage. Cultured cells are far more

> vulnerable than body cells because they lack the body's normal

> protective mechanisms.

>

> For example, people generally absorb less than 2 percent of the

> chromium in the diet; 98 percent passes in the stool. By contrast,

> the cultured cells were given increasingly larger doses of chromium

> formulations until an effect was observed. Years of ARS chromium

> studies with animals and people have not identified any toxic

> symptoms, even when the chromium given was several times above the

> suggested daily upper limit of 200 micrograms (mcg). In fact, the

> highest daily exposure considered safe over the course of a

lifetime

> is 350 times this upper limit. This reference dose was established

by

> the Environmental Protection Agency.

>

> For more information, contact A. , (301) 504-8091,

> Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, MD "

>

> http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/fnrb/fnrb1097.htm#chromium

>

> I am not advocating other people take chromium supplements. Rather

> just reassuring any who do that some previous adverse publicity

> apeears not to have been justified.

>

> Rodney.

>

April 23, 2005

Hi Rodney,

Your observation about the effect of supplements on mental sharpness

is something that is normally not evaluated in drugs or supplements.

Most evaluations are based on animal testing, blood analysis, and

post-mortem organ examinations. Also, animals do not need great brain

power to run around in their cages, and it is not possible to notice

small deviations of behavior due to the effect of drugs on the brain.

Back in the late 1970's, I had the reverse of the experience that you

described. It was winter, and I had caught a cold and had a

persistent cough. I had been programming a tough problem, but the

ideas and the code were flowing out of my head like poetry. Not being

able to stand the cough any more, I took a Vicks cough suppressant

tablet with dextromethorphan. In less than 15 minutes, I was reduced

to the intellectual level of a caveman. I could not program the rest

of the day.

I have not tried chromium supplementation specifically, but I seem to

get enough from brewer's yeast, a Centrum daily vitamin/nineral

supplement, and my diet.

Tony

==============

From: " Rodney " <perspect1111@...>

Date: Sat Apr 23, 2005 5:01 pm

Subject: Re: Chromium Appears Safe, Even in Large Amounts