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Table 1: Selected food sources of chromium
| Food |
Chromium (mcg) |
| Broccoli, ½ cup |
11 |
| Grape juice, 1 cup |
8 |
| English muffin, whole wheat, 1 |
4 |
| Potatoes, mashed, 1 cup |
3 |
| Garlic, dried, 1 teaspoon |
3 |
| Basil, dried, 1 tablespoon |
2 |
| Beef cubes, 3 ounces |
2 |
| Orange juice, 1 cup |
2 |
| Turkey breast, 3 ounces |
2 |
| Whole wheat bread, 2 slices |
2 |
| Red wine, 5 ounces |
1-13 |
| Apple, unpeeled, 1 medium |
1 |
| Banana, 1 medium |
1 |
| Green beans, ½ cup |
1 |
What are the recommended intakes of chromium? Recommended chromium intakes are provided in the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) developed by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Dietary Reference Intakes is the general term for a set of reference values to plan and assess the nutrient intakes of healthy people. These values include the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and the Adequate Intake (AI). The RDA is the average daily intake that meets a nutrient requirement of nearly all (97 to 98%) healthy individuals. An AI is established when there is insufficient research to establish an RDA; it is generally set at a level that healthy people typically consume.
In 1989, the National Academy of Sciences established an "estimated safe and adequate daily dietary intake" range for chromium. For adults and adolescents that range was 50 to 200 mcg. In 2001, DRIs for chromium were established. The research base was insufficient to establish RDAs, so AIs were developed based on average intakes of chromium from food as found in several studies. Chromium AIs are provided in Table 2.
Table 2: Adequate Intakes (AIs) for chromium
| Age |
Infants and children (mcg/day) |
Males
(mcg/day) |
Females
(mcg/day) |
Pregnancy
(mcg/day) |
Lactation
(mcg/day) |
| 0 to 6 months |
0.2 |
|
|
|
|
| 7 to 12 months |
5.5 |
|
|
|
|
| 1 to 3 years |
11 |
|
|
|
|
| 4 to 8 years |
15 |
|
|
|
|
| 9 to 13 years |
|
25 |
21 |
|
|
| 14 to 18 years |
|
35 |
24 |
29 |
44 |
| 19 to 50 years |
|
35 |
25 |
30 |
45 |
| >50 years |
|
30 |
20 |
|
|
mcg = micrograms
Adult women in the United States consume about 23 to 29 mcg of chromium per day from food, which meets their AIs unless they're pregnant or lactating. In contrast, adult men average 39 to 54 mcg per day, which exceeds their AIs.
The average amount of chromium in the breast milk of healthy, well-nourished mothers is 0.24 mcg per quart, so infants exclusively fed breast milk obtain about 0.2 mcg (based on an estimated consumption of 0.82 quarts per day). Infant formula provides about 0.5 mcg of chromium per quart. No studies have compared how well infants absorb and utilize chromium from human milk and formula.
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