What is chromium good for? Blood glucose and the daily amount

Ingredient spotlight · Chromium in Health Royals’ Peak Performance, multivitamin for women with omega 3 · 6 min read

Chromium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels and to normal macronutrient metabolism, the way the body handles carbohydrates, fat and protein. The reference intake is 40 µg a day, and wholegrains, broccoli, meat and nuts all contain it. In Peak Performance Formula, Health Royals uses chromium picolinate, a defined form of trivalent chromium, at 20 µg a day: half the reference intake, a nutritional amount chosen to sit alongside food.

Chromium is one of the smallest numbers on a multivitamin label, and one of the most talked about, often in terms of cravings and weight. Its authorised role is more precise and more useful to understand: chromium belongs in how the body handles the carbohydrates, fat and protein that food provides.

This article covers what chromium is good for, how it connects with blood glucose, how much you need, and why we at Health Royals chose chromium picolinate at 20 µg a day for Peak Performance, our daily multivitamin for women with omega 3 from algae. For us, the dose matters as much as the raw material, and chromium is a clear example of why.

Chromium at Health Royals

Peak Performance contains 20 µg of chromium per daily dose as chromium picolinate, 50 per cent of the nutrient reference value, a nutritional amount chosen to sit alongside food. Chromium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels. Chromium contributes to normal macronutrient metabolism.

See Peak Performance, multivitamin for women with omega 3

What is chromium good for?

Chromium is good for two things the EU has authorised in precise wording. Chromium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels. Chromium contributes to normal macronutrient metabolism.

Chromium is a trace mineral, needed in microgram amounts and found in small quantities in many foods. It exists in more than one chemical form. The form in food and supplements is trivalent chromium, sometimes written chromium III. It should not be confused with hexavalent chromium, chromium VI, an industrial form with entirely different and toxic properties that is not used in food or supplements.

The word chromium names the mineral. Chromium picolinate names the specific form, and it is the form we chose.

How is chromium connected with blood glucose?

After a meal containing carbohydrates, glucose enters the bloodstream, and the hormone insulin signals the tissues to take it up and use or store it. Chromium has long been studied in relation to insulin signalling and glucose metabolism.

The precise mechanism is still being investigated, and the trials in people with impaired glucose regulation or diabetes used far higher supplemental doses than a daily multivitamin, so they answer a different question. What we do know is the authorised role: chromium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels. The word normal matters. It describes a nutritional function in a healthy body, not a way to lower raised blood glucose or a replacement for treatment.

If you take insulin or other glucose-lowering medication, talk to your doctor before adding a chromium supplement, since the combination may affect blood glucose management.

What does macronutrient metabolism mean for everyday energy?

Macronutrients are the nutrients the body needs in large amounts: carbohydrates, which provide glucose; fats, which provide concentrated energy and form part of cell membranes; and proteins, which provide the amino acids used throughout the body.

Chromium contributes to normal macronutrient metabolism. That means chromium has a recognised place in the systems that let the body handle these nutrients normally.

Chromium's role lies in the background, in the steady processing of food into fuel and building material, which is why it sits naturally beside the B vitamins involved in energy-yielding metabolism, such as thiamin and niacin.

How much chromium do you need, and where does it come from?

The EU nutrient reference value for chromium is 40 µg a day, the figure used on supplement labels. Wholegrains, meat, nuts, broccoli and some other vegetables contain chromium, although the amount varies with the food and the conditions it was grown in, and a normal varied diet usually covers a good part of the need.

When food already provides chromium, the sensible addition is a nutritional amount, not a large one.

Why did we choose chromium picolinate at 20 µg?

Because it is a defined form at an amount with a clear reason behind it.

In chromium picolinate, trivalent chromium is bound to picolinic acid. It is a defined and widely used form, with a known identity and a predictable chromium content in every daily dose. Its value is that the label says exactly what is in the capsule.

The dose follows the same logic. Food usually covers much of the need, so Peak Performance adds 20 µg, half the reference value, rather than one of the high doses used in intervention studies. A higher number is not automatically a better dose. For us, the dose matters as much as the raw material, and for chromium the right dose is a nutritional one.

That principle runs through Peak Performance. Where a branded raw material has its own human study, as with Hytolive® and Extramel®, the product carries the daily amount that was studied. Vitamins and minerals such as chromium sit at a nutritional level, chosen to complement food. Health Royals works with specialist manufacturers, researchers and supplier networks when raw materials are chosen, as we explain in branded and non-branded ingredients.

Why is chromium part of Peak Performance rather than a tablet on its own?

Chromium can be bought on its own. Our question was a different one: which nutrients belong together in one daily dose for a woman in Sweden, and at what level?

The answer started with intake data. In Riksmaten, Livsmedelsverket's national dietary survey, the nutrients where intakes often fall below the recommendation are vitamin D, folate and iron, with selenium as a fourth, as we set out in what Riksmaten shows. Omega 3 is the other gap, since ordinary multivitamins leave it out. So chromium sits in Peak Performance with:

• OMEGATEX® algal oil, 500 mg, providing 375 mg of omega 3, of which 300 mg DHA and 50 mg EPA.
• Vitamin D3, 25 µg, as Quali-D® from dsm-firmenich, and vitamin K2, 90 µg, as MenaQ7®.
• Folate, 200 µg, as Quatrefolic® 5-MTHF, and vitamin B12, 10 µg, as MecobalActive® methylcobalamin.
• Thiamin, 1.1 mg, and niacin, 16 mg.
• Chromium, 20 µg, as chromium picolinate, zinc, 5 mg, as L-OptiZinc®, and selenium, 27.5 µg, as L-selenomethionine.
• Hytolive® olive fruit extract, 150 mg, providing 15 mg of hydroxytyrosol, with 450 mg of extra virgin olive oil, and Extramel® melon extract, 10 mg.

Chromium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels. Thiamin contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism and to the normal function of the nervous system. Folate and vitamin B12 contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

That is what we mean by fewer jars, more thought: one jar instead of several, each ingredient there for a reason, the doses published. The jar is amber glass with a scented core, made to stay out on the shelf, and a subscription sends refill pouches after the first jar.

We have done the selection so that you do not have to. Peak Performance gives you chromium as chromium picolinate at 20 µg a day, together with vitamin D3, folate, selenium and omega 3 from algae, at doses we can explain. You can stop looking.

See Peak Performance, multivitamin for women with omega 3

Further reading

• Guide: wellbeing from within
• Nutrient deficiency in Sweden: what Riksmaten shows
• Vitamin B12 and the methylcobalamin form
• Folate or folic acid
• Selenium, the thyroid and immunity
• Healthy ageing and everyday metabolism
• Branded raw materials and what the name guarantees
• Peak Performance, multivitamin for women with omega 3

Frequently asked questions

What does chromium do in the body?
Chromium is a trace mineral that belongs in the normal metabolism of carbohydrates, fat and protein. The authorised wordings are that chromium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels and to normal macronutrient metabolism.

Which form of chromium is in Peak Performance?
Chromium picolinate, a defined and widely used form of trivalent chromium, at 20 µg per daily dose. Chromium contributes to the maintenance of normal blood glucose levels and to normal macronutrient metabolism, and that is the role it has in Peak Performance.

Can you take chromium alongside diabetes medication?
Raise it with your doctor first. The combination may affect blood glucose management, and a food supplement does not replace medical assessment or prescribed treatment.

Do you get chromium from food?
Yes. Chromium occurs in small amounts in wholegrains, meat, nuts and certain vegetables, although the content varies with the food and the growing conditions. A supplement is a complement to the diet.

Why 20 µg of chromium in Peak Performance?
20 µg is 50 per cent of the nutrient reference value, a nutritional amount meant to sit alongside the chromium in food. Studies of chromium in impaired glucose regulation used far higher doses and answer a different question.

References

European Commission. EU Register of nutrition and health claims made on foods: authorised health claims for chromium.

European Food Safety Authority. Scientific opinion on dietary reference values for chromium. EFSA Journal. 2014;12(10):3845.

National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Chromium: fact sheet for health professionals.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. It summarises nutrient functions and published scientific information. Individual needs and experiences may vary. Consult a qualified healthcare professional with questions about blood glucose, supplementation, medication or personal health.