NUTRIENT LIBRARY

Nutrient Library - Chromium

Chromium

What does it do?
How much do you need?
What are the best food sources?
What happens if you don’t get enough?
What happens if you get too much?
What are some recipes that are good sources of chromium?
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What does it do?

Chromium is a mineral that helps to maintain normal blood glucose levels by enhancing the effects of insulin. Your body also needs chromium for healthy carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism.

How much do you need?

The following table lists the recommended intake for healthy people based on current scientific information.

Life Stage Group	Recommended Dietary Allowance / Adequate Intake (see note below)	Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)
Infants	(micrograms/day)
0-6 mo. 7-12 mo.	0.2* 5.5*	Not determinable due to lack of data on adverse effects and concern about inability to handle excess amounts. Source should be from food only to prevent high levels of intake.
Children
1-3 yr. 4-8 yr.	11* 15*
Males
9-13 yr. 14-18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr. 51-70 yr. > 70 yr.	25* 35* 35* 35* 30* 30*
Females
9-13 yr. 14-18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr. 51-70 yr. > 70 yr.	21* 24* 25* 25* 20* 20*
Pregnancy
< 18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr.	29* 30* 30*
Lactation
< 18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr.	44* 45* 45*

NOTE: The table is adapted from the Dietary Reference Intakes reports. Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), when available, are in bold type; Adequate Intakes (AIs) are followed by an asterisk(*). RDAs and AIs may both be used as goals for individual intake. RDAs are set to meet the needs of almost all individuals (97 to 98 percent) in a group. For healthy breastfed infants, the AI is the mean intake. The AI for other life stage and gender groups is believed to cover the needs of all individuals in the group, but lack of data means the percentage of individuals covered by this intake cannot be specified with confidence.
UL = The maximum level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse effects. Unless otherwise specified, the UL represents total intake from food, water and supplements.

What are the best food sources?

Rich sources of chromium include processed meats, broccoli, green beans, mushrooms and whole-grain products, particularly bran cereals. Refined grains have been shown to have less chromium content than whole grains. And, if you need another reason to choose whole-grain products: foods high in simple sugars have been shown to cause chromium loss. If you are interested in determining the chromium content in your diet, you should know that it’s hard to measure the chromium in foods, so that information is not available for all foods. It is likely that you’ll meet the recommended intakes just by including chromium-rich foods in your diet, especially because chromium is widespread (in small amounts) in our food system. See more food sources and calculate your daily intake.

What happens if you don’t get enough?

Chromium deficiency has only been reported in a handful of individuals on tube or intravenous feedings that didn’t include chromium. Their signs and symptoms were unexplained weight loss, increased insulin requirements, impaired glucose tolerance and abnormal functioning of the nerves.

What happens if you get too much?

Because chromium is poorly absorbed, it is highly unlikely that excess intake from food or supplement sources will cause harmful effects. However, the National Institutes of Health note that chromium supplements have not yet been proven safe or effective, so stick to the recommended intakes.