Why Chromium is Important for Your Metabolism and Mind

A tiny mineral with a big impact can change how you feel during the day -from steadier energy to clearer thinking and fewer snack attacks. So, what is this important mineral? Chromium, the quiet cofactor that helps your body process carbs, fats, and proteins more efficiently. 

Speaking of Women's Health Podcast Host Dr. Holly L. Thacker explains why “food first” beats a crowded supplement shelf, and how easy wins—broccoli, green beans, quinoa, lean proteins, dairy, and even stainless steel cookware—can boost chromium naturally.

Dr. Thacker shares how much chromium we need daily, highlights who might be at risk for deficiency, and explains why more isn’t better with trace minerals.

Chapters

• 0:00 Meet Chromium’s Big Role
• 2:35 Metabolism, Insulin, And PCOS Links
• 5:30 Appetite, Weight, And GLP-1 Context
• 7:00 Brain, Bones, And Aging Considerations
• 9:00 Food Sources And Cooking Tips
• 12:00 How Much Chromium Do You Need
• 14:00 Supplements, Deficiency, And Special Cases
• 15:45 Practical Takeaways And Closing

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Welcome to the Speaking of Women's Health podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Holly Thacker, and I am back in our Sunflower House for a new edition. And today we're going to talk all about chromium. Now we've talked a lot about food as medicine, antioxidants, weight loss, exercise, how to maintain muscle mass. It doesn't seem like a day goes by that I'm not asked about creatine for women wanting to build some muscle. I just got off the golf course and I like to hit them long and strong. And so micronutrients are getting more attention along with macronutrients. So today we're going to shine a light on a very incredibly important mineral, chromium. You probably don't hear about as much as you do creatine, which I previously already covered, or even taurine, which is in some workout products, which we've previously covered. If you missed that podcast, you can go back and listen to that. But chromium does play a vital role in your overall health, especially when it comes to metabolism and blood sugar regulation, as well as cognition. So I did a podcast on September 8th, 2023. I know that exact date because I recommend it to a lot of women to listen to about the mind diet and protecting the brain. And uh in season three, I also went into anti-aging with the brain, protecting cognitive function, because one in two women by age 85 have dementia. And increasingly, I'm seeing now in my practice compared to in the past, a lot of women wanting to be very, very proactive about their brain function and protecting what it is that they have. So grab a cup of tea, maybe put a little milk in it, settle in, and let's dive into the world of this powerful trace mineral, chromium. So chromium is an essential trace mineral. We certainly need this uh in our diet because our bodies cannot produce chromium. It's actually a heavy metal, and it's found naturally in soil. Plants absorb chromium through their roots, and the animals absorb it when the animals eat the plants. So when we consume plant-based foods or animal products, we're also getting some important chromium. In the body, chromium acts like a cofactor in various enzymatic reactions, particularly those involved with blood sugar regulation. Think of it as a helper uh substance that makes your body process nutrients more efficiently. And blood sugar metabolism is critically important. Uh, we have done podcasts on uh the problem of obesity, weight loss, weight loss uh products and methods, as well as how to be less sweet, because too many people are too sweet. Uh, and as I am well known to say, there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. There is essential fats and there are essential proteins. So you might ask, well, why should I care about chromium? I have so many other things to think about. Well, it's an energy boost, and not a day goes by that I don't hear someone complain about brain fog and fatigue. So, chromium helps your body metabolize carbohydrates, but also fats and proteins, which are essential building blocks for energy. Blood sugar control. There are some studies that show chromium can reduce insulin resistance, which lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Now, many young women's first indication of insulin resistance is a diagnosis of polycystic ovarian condition, which might be because they're having uh absent or irregular menstrual cycles, or perhaps fertility problems, or perhaps skin and hair problems, and they're found to have higher levels of androgens. Certainly any woman with a family history of diabetes or a personal history of PCOS or a history of gestational diabetes should really be paying attention to chromium. And another potential critical function of chromium that's emerging is in appetite management. There's emerging evidence that chromium might help curve cravings and regulate appetite while supporting weight management. And this is really important before you just dive off the cliff and spend all this money on these expensive GLP1 and GIP injectables, uh, which are all the rage. Um it's really important that you kind of hit all the bases. Now, in my area of interest, I'm a bonehead, I'm an osteoporosis expert, uh, so I care about bone health, and I help my patients try to not outlive their brain or their bones, because those two areas seem to fail a lot of women in their senior years. And preliminary research hints at chromium's role in maintaining bone density and possibly enhancing cognitive function. But we do need more studies, that is for sure. In terms of anti-aging and cognitive function, certainly estrogen plays a key role. Brain magnesium, and we've got a nice list of magnesium rich foods. So many women don't get enough magnesium uh in their diet. And I'm a big fan of an acylteal cysteine to promote brain glutamate, um, which is good for the brain. It also helps the liver uh produce glutathione. And um, maybe you never heard of glutathione until recently, with things in the news about acetamenopin and how it depletes the liver's glutathione, and that's why the therapeutic dose of acetamenophil and the toxic dose of acetamenophen is pretty narrow. Um, and it's it's a not uncommon cause for the need for liver transplant, which is actually treated with N acyltialcysteine. And it's one of the reasons why the FDA has recently urged caution in uh pregnant uh women and babies in terms of using acetamenophen unless it's under a doctor's supervision and it's absolutely necessary as opposed to just some minor, you know, tension headache or something that you could use a heating pad for or massage or a cold pack or even dry needling or acupuncture or other things that we have to deal with some minor discomforts. And if you didn't hear my prior podcast with an excellent acupuncturist uh earlier in season three, that's a great one to listen to. So not outliving your brain and having dementia is so important, and not outliving your bones, and and one in two women can have an osteoprotic fracture. And we've done lots of podcasts on calcium and vitamin D, and uh podcasts on details related to different osteoprocessed medicines, the anti-resorptives, as well as the osteoanabolics that build bone. Um, so chromium, I think we're gonna learn more about and its role, uh, just like other trace um substances in bone health. So let's talk about chromium-rich foods because, in general, for most things, it's so much better to get things from your diet rather than taking a supplement. So we mentioned plants, the plant roots absorb chromium in the soil. And uh vegetables such as broccoli, green beans, potatoes are good sources, whole grains like whole wheat bread, uh, assuming that you don't have any gluten intolerance or celiac disease. Quinoa, which is pretty good protein content, as well as chromium. And then your proteins, lean meat like turkey and beef and eggs. I'm a real fan of eggland eggs or the eggs that the chickens have been fed the flax. So there's about 120 milligrams of omega-3s per serving, because most of the patients that I check uh for omega ratios are not optimal. And that is important for brain health and cardiac health. So it's kind of good to know what some of these superfoods are that have a lot of important nutrients, minerals, and vitamins. Now, dairy, that's why I said add a little milk to your tea if you're sipping on tea while you're listening to this. Milk and other uh dairy products are really good for chromium. Now, nuts, Brazil nuts really pack a huge punch. They have like one of the richest sources of selenium, and we've talked about selenium before and how selenium deficiency can cause subtle problems with your thyroid. So you don't want subtle chromium deficiencies with your blood sugar going up, or subtle selenium uh deficiencies affecting your thyroid function. And one in eight women have thyroid problems. If you didn't listen to that podcast I did earlier with Dr. Ula Abed, who is our Center for Specialized Women's Health endocrinologist on thyroid conditions and disorders and treatments in women, that's a great one. So, a pro tip is cooking in a stainless steel uh container can also increase the chromium content in your food. Certainly, we recommend cooking with a cast iron pot if you're low in iron or ferritin, which so many women are. And in season one, I went uh into all about iron and why various stages in a woman's life she may be low in iron. So you have been listening to the Speaking of Women's Health podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Holly Thacker in the Sunflower House, and we are talking all things chromium. So you now know about chromium, you know why it's important. So now you may ask, how much do I need? Well, you only need it in very tiny amounts, but those micrograms matter. So here is kind of a little quick breakdown. Women ages um 18 to 50 need about 25 micrograms per day, whereas women over age 50, 20 micrograms per day. You know, the metabolism does slow down with age, and that's one reason why you need less calories. Um, in fact, you have to eat less and exercise more just to kind of stay the same. Now, men that are ages 18 to 50 need 35 uh micrograms of chromium per day, and men over 50 need 30 micrograms per day, which is still more than a younger adult woman. Now, teens and children vary by age. It's about 0.2 micrograms a day for infants, uh, and then teens pretty much approach what a woman uh or a young man needs 25 to 35 micrograms per day. And luckily, most of us do get enough chromium through a balanced diet, but certain adults that have very poor dietary habits, which unfortunately is many people, uh, might be at risk for deficiency. Most people don't need chromium supplements, but you'll sometimes see them marketed in weight loss products or muscle gain products along with creatine. Um, probably the group that I see it the most in are people that have kind of borderline sugars and they're already doing intermittent fasting, cutting out the carbs, exercising. Maybe they've added alpha lopoic acid, another uh substance we're going to talk about. And sometimes adding and making sure they're getting the amount of chromium they need might just put them into the normal category of blood sugar. And certainly I think a pregnant woman who has gestational diabetes, and we've uh talked about pregnancy-related problems and how they relate to other things as a woman, other conditions uh in midlife and beyond. That's why, even though childbearing might be a distant memory to you, it's still important to know what your medical conditions were during pregnancy and bring that to the attention of your health team. So, some final thoughts is that chromium might not be the star of the supplement aisle, but it really is a powerhouse when it comes to supporting your health. So if you're looking to boost your energy and manage your blood sugar, which might be creeping up with age, please eat a balanced diet because your knowledge and awareness of chromium deserves a spot on your radar. That being said, these trace minerals, I have seen people take too many and have much elevated levels of both chromium and selenium. And in general, um, if you're eating fruits, plants, vegetables, a healthy diet, some dairy, lean meats, uh, generally speaking, unless there's some sort of GI disturbance or unusual nutritional requirements, most people don't need a chromium supplement, but if you have problems in these areas, it might be something to talk to your healthcare team about. Remember, this is not medical advice, this is just information to empower you to be strong, be healthy, and be in charge. So thank you so much for joining me again in the Sunflower House. And if you've enjoyed this podcast, share it with your friends and family. Give us a five-star rating, and don't forget to subscribe anywhere you listen to podcasts. Apple iTunes, Tune In, Spotify. And until next time, from all of us in the Sunflower House, be strong, be healthy, and be in charge.