Chromium, The One With A Settled Role

Fourteen ingredients sit inside the GlycoAid blend. Thirteen of them are studied, to varying degrees. One of them is established, which is a different and stronger word.

What established means here. Chromium is an essential trace mineral. It has a published adequate intake figure, a recognised role in normal macronutrient metabolism, and a settled position in nutrition science that is not being argued about. No botanical on this panel is in that position and none is likely to be.

Why that is less exciting than it sounds. Having an established role is not the same as being a treatment. Chromium contributes to normal macronutrient metabolism in the same way that iron contributes to normal oxygen transport: it is required for the machinery to run properly, and supplying more than enough does not make the machinery run better.

Are people short of it? Mostly not. Deficiency is uncommon in populations eating an ordinary varied diet. It is present in broccoli, whole grains, meat and brewer's yeast, and the requirement is measured in micrograms.

The amount question, again. Chromium is one of the few ingredients on this panel where a meaningful amount can genuinely fit inside a 500 mg blend, because the requirement is micrograms rather than hundreds of milligrams. Whether it does fit is not published, for the reason covered in the piece on blends.

The pairing with biotin. Biotin turns up alongside chromium in a great many formulas in this category. Both have settled roles in nutrient metabolism, which makes the pairing sensible rather than marketing. Biotin also carries the one practical laboratory warning on this whole panel: at high doses it interferes with certain blood tests, so mention it before a blood draw.