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CHROMIUM
Description
Chromium is an essential mineral found in concentrations
of 20 parts of chromium per 1 billion parts of blood. It
has functions in both animal and human nutrition. Organic
chromium is an active ingredient of a substance called GTF
(glucose tolerance factor); niacin and amino acids complete
the formula.
Chromium stimulates the activity of enzymes involved in
the metabolism of glucose for energy and the synthesis of
fatty acids and cholesterol. Chromium appears to increase
the effectiveness of insulin and its ability to handle glucose,
preventing hypoglycemia (too much insulin) or diabetes (too
little insulin). In the blood it competes with iron in the
transport of protein. Chromium may also be involved in the
synthesis of protein through its binding action with RNA
molecules.
Measuring chromium content of food can be misleading because
of the different dorms in which it occurs and their varying
absorption rate by the body. Inorganic chromium is only
1 percent or less absorbable. The chromium in eggs is in
a form that cannot be completely utilized. The chromium-containing
foods most biologically available to the body are brewer’s
yeast (the best), liver, beef, whole-wheat bread, beets
and beet sugar molasses, and mushrooms.
ABSORPTION AND STORAGE
Chromium is difficult to absorb. Only about 3 percent of
dietary chromium is retained in the body. The mineral is
stored primarily in the spleen, kidneys, and testes; small
amounts are also stored in the heart, pancreas, lung, and
brain. Chromium has been found in some enzymes and in RNA.
Excretion occurs mainly through urination, with minor amounts
lost in the feces. The amount of chromium stored in the
body decrease with the age.
DOSAGE AND TOXICITY
There is no Recommended Dietary Allowance for chromium.
The daily chromium intake of humans is estimated to range
from 80 to 100 micrograms.
DEFICIENCY EFFECTS AND SYMPTOMS
Even a very slight chromium deficiency will have serious
effects on the body. Tests indicate systematic deficiency
of chromium to be common in the United States, although
it rarely occurs in other countries. Americans tend to be
deficient because their soil does not contain an adequate
supply and thus chromium cannot be absorbed by the crops
or reach the water supply. The refining of foods is another
probable cause of chromium loss.
A chromium deficiency may be a factor that will upset the
function of insulin and result in depressed growth rates
and severe glucose intolerance in diabetics. It is also
believed that the interaction of chromium and insulin is
not limited to glucose metabolism but also applies to amino
acid metabolism. Chromium may inhibit the formation of aortic
plaques, and a deficiency may contribute to atherosclerosis.
Pregnant women are particularly susceptible to chromium
deficiency because the fetus uses so much. Postoperative
patients receiving glucose intravenously for nourishment
need extra chromium. Studies have shown that blood chromium
drops greatly when 60 grams of glucose are administered.
If the patient also has a virus infection, the blood chromium
drops even more.
BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON AILMENTS
Chromium helps to regulate sugar levels in the blood. Infants
suffering from kwashiorkor (a disease caused by protein
deficiency) have benefited from oral administration of chromium.
Schizophrenics need extra niacin and have impaired glucose
tolerance; therefore it is possible they may greatly benefit
from chromium supplementation, creating the formation of
more GTF.
CHROMIUM MAY BE BENEFICIAL FOR THE FOLLOWING AILMENT
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| Body Member: |
Ailments |
| Blood/Circulatory
system: |
Diabetes |
| General:
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Heart Disease
Hypoglycemia
Kwashiorkor |
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