Dietary Needs

The typical American diet, high in refined foods such as flour and sugar, supplies little chromium. In addition, foods containing chromium, such as organ meats, mushrooms, broccoli, brewer’s yeast, brown oysters and brewer’s yeast are not especially popular with many people in the US. And the amount of chromium in these foods can vary, depending on where they are grown, or how they are sourced and processed.


It may be difficult to eat enough chromium-containing foods to meet your body’s recommended dietary intake of chromium, and even more difficult to measure if you your body can utilize the chromium you are getting. More importantly, your body’s ability to absorb certain minerals can be affected by a wide range of factors like food combinations, drug interactions, age, stress or other lifestyle factors. If your personal needs for chromium are even higher than average, it makes it even harder to get enough chromium through your diet.


USDA research indicates that average American’s diet provides only about 35 mcg a day of chromium. However, the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) or Recommended Daily Value for chromium is 120 mcg. A person would need to eat as many as 12 turkey legs or 50 egg bagels each day to get 100% of the RDI.


Recent research at Harvard and Johns Hopkins Universities suggests that low chromium levels are linked with a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease. The body of clinical evidence suggests that, for healthy individuals, taking 200 to 500 mcg of chromium as chromium picolinate daily can improve health markers associated with insulin resistance. Insulin resistance increases risk for diabetes, cardiovascular complications and obesity.

Food

Serving Size

Chromium
Content (mcg)

onions, raw

1 cup

24.8

broccoli

1 cup

22.0

turkey leg

3 oz.

10.4

tomatoes, raw

1 cup

9.0

Romaine lettuce

1 cup

7.9

grape juice

1 cup

7.5

ham

3 oz.

3.6

potatoes

1 cup

2.7

green beans

1 cup

2.2

beef

3 oz.

2.0
     

How much chromium do we need?
The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for chromium picolinate has been set at 120 mcg by the Institute of Medicine. Clinical research suggests, however, that 200–400 mcg is needed for achieving optimal health benefits. Learn More