When most people think of the metal chromium they think of its use to make gleaming bathroom taps and shower fittings. In various compounds with other elements, chromium is also used as a trace element by the human body.
It has not been as well studied as other trace elements but it is known to exist in two forms. When its ion has a charge of 3+, the compounds are biologically active. This is the type of chromium found in food. When the ion has a charge of 6+, the compound is toxic – this form of the chromium ion occurs in compounds that are industrial pollutants.
In the body, chromium helps the hormone insulin to have its normal role in the metabolism and storage of carbohydrate. It is described as a glucose tolerance factor, and its role in sugar metabolism was discovered in 1959. It also seems to have a separate, independent role in the metabolism of food, but this has not yet been worked out fully.
It has not been as well studied as other trace elements but it is known to exist in two forms. When its ion has a charge of 3+, the compounds are biologically active. This is the type of chromium found in food. When the ion has a charge of 6+, the compound is toxic – this form of the chromium ion occurs in compounds that are industrial pollutants.
In the body, chromium helps the hormone insulin to have its normal role in the metabolism and storage of carbohydrate. It is described as a glucose tolerance factor, and its role in sugar metabolism was discovered in 1959. It also seems to have a separate, independent role in the metabolism of food, but this has not yet been worked out fully.
