Yet, if you're one of those people who don't get enough, your endurance may be suffering. Because oversupplementation can cause diarrhea and can interfere with calcium absorption and metabolism, try to get your magnesium from food sources, such as nuts, molasses, whole grains and dark green, leafy vegetables. Chromium Die-hard believers say this little metallic dynamo burns body fat while it builds muscle. No wonder chromium has become the supplement of choice for so many runners, bodybuilders, even dieters. But before you sprint to the nutrition depot for a truckload, let's take a closer look.
Most minerals work as enzyme helpers during metabolism.
Not so with chromium, which assists the hormone insulin in processing carbohydrates. Insulin also helps manufacture new proteins, which is where the theory of chromium as a muscle-builder originates. As for endurance athletes, research on runners has shown that exercise speeds chromium loss via the urine following exercise. First of all, scientists don't have enough hard information to firmly establish an RDA for chromium. Chromium is difficult to measure in foods, plus we can't even track whether we're getting enough.