Should I take chromium?

In another of the ‘no effect’ studies, Dr. Anderson noted that the subjects were 19-to-20-year-old male athletes and the amount of chromium given may well have been too little to produce an effect.

Here’s the point: A study is only as good as its methods, and all studies are not created equal. Well-meaning researchers are always reviewing these things, looking at what might have been missed, and re-doing them trying to tease out new information. But if you’ve got an agenda, well, just like in politics – which the nutrition field increasingly resembles – you can pretty much always find some study to prove your point.

What studies do is add to the body of available information.

What they don’t do, necessarily, is increase understanding.

So let’s think about chromium objectively. Chromium helps insulin do its job more effectively. It reduces insulin insensitivity, which is closely connected with obesity, and is profoundly involved with the regulation of blood sugar, insulin and glucose metabolism. It is considered one of the least toxic nutrients. There have been absolutely no confirmed negative effects of chromium in nutritional studies. And most people don’t get nearly enough in their diet.

So, should you take chromium supplements?

Look at the balance sheet. You could wait for more studies, or you could go with a hunch. Downside? Upside?

As always, you be the judge.

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