From: abulloch@garnet.berkeley.edu (Anthony Bulloch)
Newsgroups: misc.fitness,sci.med
Subject: Re: Body Gold scam product
Followup-To: misc.fitness,sci.med
Date: 17 Aug 1992 02:10:57 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: garnet.berkeley.edu
Keywords: Is it for real?

In article <1992Aug15.193037.16874@henson.cc.wwu.edu>
n9020351@henson.cc.wwu.edu (James Douglas Del-Vecchio) writes:

>lisa@zeppelin.llnl.gov (Lisa Corsetti) quotes:
>
>>       " University studies have identified CHROMIUM PICOLINATE
>>        as a trigger for fat loss and lean muscle enhancement.
>>        200 micrograms taken daily caused a 22% fat loss in only
>>        six weeks."
>>Okay, I saw this in "New Woman Magazine".  Does anyone know what
>>this chemical *really* does.  Are the claims for real?  Thanks
>>in advance!
>
>       No, these claims are not for real.  Exercise causes weight loss,
>dieting causes weight loss.  Food or OTC drug products do not.  
>
>       To save yourself future posting time:   There are, and never
>have been, any food or OTC drug products that "melt away fat", or cause
>fat loss or muscle gain.  The claims are, however, an eternal source
>of revenue for con artists, despite being disproven by science.

I haven't seen the "New Woman Magazine" article, so I may be taking
this discussion even further from its original base, but:

1. The article seems (from Lisa Corsetti's quote) to have been 
reporting something much less ridiculous than Jim infers: not
snake oil that melts away your fat ('while you sleep', doubtless!),
but a form of chromium that's _involved_ in the process of fat
reduction.

2. I had read that recent studies have suggested that chromium
is an essential nutritional ingredient but that most diets are
deficient in it.  More specifically, the National Academy of
Sciences recommends a daily intake of 50 - 200 mcg of chromium,
but the USDA has found that 90% of Americans receive less than
50 mcg, and 25% less than 20 mcg.

3. I had also heard that USDA scientists developed chromium
picolinate as an exceptionally efficient source of chromium.

4. There have been various studies on all this, including several
that suggest that chromium may well be involved in ensuring
efficient body metabolism (and some connecting chromium
deficiency and glucose intolerance and diabetes).

I append a reference to a recent article, along with an abstract,
which seems to be relevant:

Press RI; Geller J; Evans GW.

"The effect of chromium picolinate on serum cholesterol and apolipoprotein
fractions in human subjects"
Western Journal of Medicine, 1990 Jan, 152(1):41-5.
ABSTRACT available.  (UI:  90177279)
Pub type:  Clinical Trial; Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial.

Abstract:

Chromium has been implicated as a cofactor in the maintenance of
normal lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. A deficiency of chromium results
from diets low in biologically available chromium. Picolinic acid, a
metabolite of tryptophan, forms stable complexes with transitional metal
ions, which results in an improved bioavailability of the metal ion
chromium. To determine whether or not chromium picolinate is effective in
humans, 28 volunteer subjects were given either chromium tripicolinate (3.8
micromol [200 micrograms] chromium) or a placebo daily for 42 days in a
double-blind crossover study. A 14-day period off capsules was used between
treatments. Levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B, the principal protein of the LDL
fraction, decreased significantly while the subjects were ingesting
chromium picolinate. The concentration of apolipoprotein A-I, the principal
protein of the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) fraction, increased
substantially during treatment with chromium picolinate. The
HDL-cholesterol level was elevated slightly but not significantly during
ingestion of chromium picolinate. Only apolipoprotein B, of the variables
measured, was altered significantly during supplementation with the
placebo. These observations show that chromium picolinate is efficacious in
lowering blood lipids in humans.

[End of abstract.]

Please note:  I am not a medic or nutritional scientist and claim no
expertise in this field. It would be interesting to hear from Steve
Dyer and Gordon Banks, amongst others, on this....

Anthony Bulloch
abulloch@garnet.berkeley.edu