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Chromium: Friend or Foe?
David J. Porter, MD;
Lawrence W. Raymond, MD, ScM;
Geraldine D. Anastasio, PharmD, BCPS
Arch Fam Med. 1999;8:386-390.
Chromium is an essential nutrient with many natural sources, but several investigators have presented evidence that healthy persons often have an inadequate intake of this metal. Advocates of its use as a dietary supplement believe that people with diabetes, lipoprotein abnormalities, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease may benefit from such supplementation. Others suggest a therapeutic role for chromium in obese people and in those who seek to improve their body composition for other reasons, but research provides little support for these uses. For the general public, current data do not warrant routine use of chromium supplements, whose risk-benefit function has not yet been adequately characterized.
From the Departments of Family Medicine, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
RELATED ARTICLE
The Archives of Family Medicine Continuing Medical Education Program
Arch Fam Med. 1999;8(5):383-385.
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