This article first appeared in the October/November, 1995 issue of VRP's Nutritional News
It has recently come to our attention that Jane Brody's N.Y. Times' health column indicated that chromium picolinate may be dangerous to your health. This conclusion is based on a research brief that was published in the March FASEB (Federation of American Society of Experimental Biology) Journal and presented at a FASEB conference this spring. The full report, not yet published, will appear in the December issue of the FASEB Journal.Dr. D.M. Stearns of Dartmouth College and her associates at George Washington University found that chromium picolinate, when added to Chinese hamster eggs at a concentration which produced saturation of the media to which these eggs were confined, produced chromosome damage. Brody, in her column, implied that chromium picolinate may be carcinogenic and also asserted that no in-vivo (within live animals) tests on the carcinogenic potential of chromium picolinate have been done. It is our opinion that these assertions are irresponsible and contradicted by the evidence.
First, hamster eggs in a petri dish constitutes a chemical milieu which is completely artificial, the chromium picolinate not having been previously processed by the organs. A study which uncovered detrimental effects of an orally administered chromium picolinate supplement would be far more valuable in the assessment of this supplement's safety. But this study, due to its experimental protocol, precludes it from producing results which are immediately applicable to complex vertebrate systems in the real world. Without supporting data from in-vivo studies the conclusions drawn must be quite limited.
Second, the hamster eggs were exposed to an incredibly high concentration of chromium picolinate. Dr. Stearns found that the minimum concentration of chromium picolinate necessary to produce chromosome damage was 100 micromoles. Blood concentrations of those taking a 200 microgram dose of chromium picolinate is known to be about 16 nanomoles. Therefore, the hamster eggs were exposed to a level 6,000 times higher than ordinary physiological levels. Also, many ordinary food substances and half of all essential minerals have demonstrated mutagenic or clastogenic (causing chromosome damage) activity at such high concentrations.
Third, chromium and chromium picolinate have been investigated for years and found to be safe for human consumption at modest doses. Chromium picolinate is approved by the FDA and has GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status. Furthermore, Dr. Richard Anderson, Ph.D., of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center and one of the world's leading authorities on chromium metabolism, has endorsed the use of a daily chromium picolinate supplement of 50 micrograms to 200 micrograms to replenish the average daily loss of 7-11 micrograms (intensive exercise greatly increases losses) of this essential trace mineral which is poorly absorbed, rapidly excreted, and vital for glucose metabolism. Aside from Dr. Anderson's objection, Dr. B. Leibovitz, Editor-in- Chief of the Journal of Optimal Nutrition, and Dr. C.L.Broadhurst, visiting scientist at the Nutrient Requirements and Functions Laboratory, are also on record as rejecting the conclusions drawn by Stearns' group for the reasons given above.
Fourth, in animal studies, the LD50 (dose proving lethal for 50% of the subjects) for oral chromium picolinate is estimated to be greater than 2.2 grams per kilogram, and rats tolerated the highest solubilized oral bolus that could be feasibly administered. No doubt, chromium is safer than either iron or copper supplements. Also, when fed chromium picolinate at a concentration of 1 ppm, rats lived 25% longer than controls. In addition, chromium picolinate was shown not to be mutagenic in the Ames test, a standardized microbiological test done on all substances before FDA approval. Both of these results are inconsistent with the conclusion that chromium picolinate is carcinogenic.
In conclusion, until future studies show a greater percentage of chromosomal abnormalities in either humans or lab animals subjected to chronic and reasonable doses of chromium picolinate via oral administration, the results of Stearns' study should be considered only in light of what is already known and not taken out of context nor unjustifiably extrapolated from in-vitro studies to in-vivo supplementation. We will continue to monitor research developments in this area and should further research justify changes, we will respond to them. This does not appear to be the case at present.
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