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The most common form of dietary chromium, chromium picolinate, assists insulin in processing sugar in the body. In addition to this, it is often marketed as a weight loss supplement. However, does the evidence support this? Is it really one of the "magic pills" of dieting? In this article, we'll look at some of the latest research in addition to users actually using chromium to determine if it is an effective supplement or not.
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Chromium - Weight Loss Information You Need to Know
By Alan Glender
The most common form of dietary chromium, chromium picolinate, assists insulin in processing sugar in the body. In addition to this, it is often marketed as a weight loss supplement. However, does the evidence support this? Is it really one of the "magic pills" of dieting? In this article, we'll look at some of the latest research in addition to users actually using chromium to determine if it is an effective supplement or not.
Let's take a look at an older study, published in 1997. Young obese women were put on a dieting program, some with chromium picolinate supplementation, some without, and some with exercise, and some without. In addition, one portion of the group was given the supplement chromium nicotinate instead of the picolinate form.
The conclusion reached was that women taking chromium picolinate, even with exercise, actually gained weight instead of losing it. Interestingly, the group taking chormium nicotinate along with exercise lost the most (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 29(8):992-998, August 1997).
Does this mean this so-called weight loss pill is actually the opposite? A weight gain pill, instead?
Before we conclude that, let's look at some other evidence. In fact, let's find out what "the street" thinks about chromium.
On the discussion board soulcysters.net, one woman "accidentally" took chromium picolinate with her vitamin supplementation, not realizing it was marketed as a weight loss pill. She lost seven pounds in three weeks. Not a lot, and who know what else she was doing that may have contributed? On alt.support.diet discussion forum, a woman trying to lose weight was taking a chromium supplement, and reported she had far less food cravings. However, she did admit this could be due to the placebo effect.
Admittedly, this doesn't tell us much. Weight loss is one of the more difficult factors to judge, even in an anecdotal setting. Who's to say you didn't slightly alter your eating habits, or activity levels? So let's look at another published study.
A 2003 review, in Sports Medicine, looked at previous research studies to see if a common pattern could be discovered. The conclusion was there was no difference between chromium and placebo groups across several studies. So here again is more non-anecdotal evidence against chromium's positive effects on weight loss (Sports Medicine. 33(3):213-230, 2003).
As you can see, there is no clear-cut answer. Most scientific studies don't seem to show a relation between the ability to lose weight and chromium supplementation. On the other hand, at least one did show an improvement in taking chromium nicotinate instead of the picolinate form. And anecdotally (keep that grain of salt handy), some users seem to believe their appetites are suppressed while taking the supplement. Since chromium does chemically affect the blood sugar, this is not entirely outside the realm of possibility, although currently not supported by hard evidence. We recommend trying chromium along with your weight loss regime, as it is considered safe, especially in the short term. However, don't expect significant, if any, results.
Did you know that chromium nicotinate is more difficult to find than the picolinate form? Read more about chromium supplementation [http://www.supplementzone.org/chromium] at [http://www.supplementzone.org/chromium]. Alan Glender is one of the editors and regular contributors to SupplementZone.org, a website devoted to telling you the truth about supplements before taking them.