ABSTRACT
Trivalent chromium was identified in 1959 as the active element in a substance needed to potentiate insulin action and to maintain normal glucose metabolism (1). During the 1960s and 1970s, evidence accumulated that marginal or deficient chromium intakes may predispose to maturity-onset diabetes mellitus and atherosclerotic disease (2–5). In 1977, chromium supplementation relieved diabetic signs in a patient receiving total parenteral nutrition (6). Chromium supplementation trials in malnourished children, the elderly, and subjects with abnormal glucose tolerance generally supported the association between chromium and glucose metabolism, but a few did not, resulting in controversy regarding the role of chromium in human nutrition.
