Chromium and Sports Nutrition

Chromium enhances insulin function, which transports glucose, amino acids and fatty acids into cells. It's said that athletes need more chromium than non-athletes, but whether chromium is really a performance enhancing, anabolic mineral is not approved. What is approved is that chromium helps glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism. Endurance athletes burn more energy than average athletes and that's why they need more chromium. Of course enhanced insulin function and fat metabolism is also a good thing in bodybuilding. But it is not approved that chromium is directly related to low body fat. Find more sports nutrition related topics at nutrition main.

Description: Chromium and Sports Nutrition

  • The most important functions of chromium are:
    • Transportation of glucose, amino acids and fatty acids.
    • Fat metabolism and energy metabolism in general.
    • Prevents hardening and thickening of arteries.
    • Cholesterol reduction.
  • Recommended chromium intake:
    • Infants: 5 mcg/day
    • Children and Teenagers: 25 mcg/day
    • Adults: 35 mcg/day

Foods: Chromium and Sports Nutrition

  • Broccoli
  • Grapes
  • Potatoes
  • Oranges
  • Whole wheat bread
  • Bananas
  • Basil

Advice: Chromium and Sports Nutrition

  • A diet rich in vegetables, whole grains, meats, fruits and products should provide enough chromium.
  • Chromium supplements are often claimed to increase lean muscle mass.
  • While some studies have shown that chromium can increase lean body mass and helps burning fat, others claim to have shown the exact opposite. So there is still no proof for that. Anyway, it is proven that chromium is required for insulin to function properly. Therefore the idea that it also helps burning fat is just logic.
  • Overdosing one mineral can lead to functional imbalance of another mineral. Besides, chromium is a heavy metal and can build up and cause health problems if taken in excess. There have been some reports that chromium can harm your kidneys if overdosed over several month (more than 1000 mcg/day).
  • Deficiency symptoms:
    • You get tired very fast when you work out.
    • Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) => a pre-diabetic state of dysglycemia)
    • Weight Loss
    • Confusion
  • Diabetes: Insulin requires chromium for its proper function (in order to assure that sugar is utilized efficiently).