Chromium is an essential mineral used by our body in small amounts to support bodily functions including digestion and healthy glucose balance, but its mechanism of action is not very well understood. Although chromium is widely found in foods, most of them only provide trace amounts of the mineral, and the actual amount absorbed from the chromium that is consumed from the diet can be as low as 0.4%, making supplementation necessary.

Further, because the body’s chromium supply can be affected by diets high in simple sugars, infection, strenuous exercise, pregnancy, lactation, and physical trauma, relying exclusively on adequate chromium intake from diet can, under some circumstances, actually increase risk of deficiency.

Chromium occurs primarily in two forms, trivalent chromium, which is biologically active and found in food, and hexavalent chromium, which is a toxic form that results from industrial pollution.