Some Individual Ingredient Highlights:
Chromium Picolinate is a combination of the essential mineral chromium and picolinic acid. Trace amounts of chromium are found in everyday foods like meat, poultry, fish, and whole-grain breads. When foods containing chromium are processed, they are stripped of this essential mineral, making typical American diets deficient in chromium. Studies estimate that the average daily intake of chromium to be around 33 micrograms (1,000 micrograms = 1 milligram, 1,000 milligrams = 1 gram).
A 1968 research study demonstrated that when animals didn't receive adequate levels of chromium, insulin was not optimally effective, and damage to insulin-dependent systems can occur (Schroeder, 1968). This finding led the FDA to recommend a daily chromium intake of approximately 130 mcg, as infinitesimal amounts of chromium are needed to aid the transport of blood glucose across cell membranes. Combining chromium with picolinic acid simply aids in efficient chromium absorption, and it is this combined form that is popular with athletes and dieters alike.
L-Carnitine, an amino acid derivative, is found in nearly every cell of the body. L-carnitine transports long-chain fatty acids across the inner mitochondrial membranes in the mitochondria, where they are processed to produce biological energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate or ATP.
Supplemental L-carnitine may have cardio-protective activity in addition to beneficially affecting cardiac function. It may have a triglyceride-lowering effect in some as well as help to elevate HDL-cholesterol levels. L-carnitine may also have antioxidant properties.
Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin that exists in three major chemical forms: pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and pyridoxamine [1,2]. It performs a wide variety of functions in your body and is essential for your good health. For example, vitamin B6 is needed for more than 100 enzymes involved in protein metabolism. It is also essential for red blood cell metabolism. The nervous and immune systems need vitamin B6 to function efficiently, [3-6] and it is also needed for the conversion of tryptophan (an amino acid) to niacin (a vitamin) [1,7].
Hemoglobin within red blood cells carries oxygen to tissues. Your body needs vitamin B6 to make hemoglobin. Vitamin B6 also helps increase the amount of oxygen carried by hemoglobin. A vitamin B6 deficiency can result in a form of anemia [1] that is similar to iron deficiency anemia.
Vitamin B6 also helps maintain your blood glucose (sugar) within a normal range. When caloric intake is low your body needs vitamin B6 to help convert stored carbohydrate or other nutrients to glucose to maintain normal blood sugar levels.
[1] Leklem JE. Vitamin B6. In: Shils ME, Olson JA, Shike M, Ross AC, ed. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 9th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1999: 413-421.
[2] Bender DA. Vitamin B6 requirements and recommendations. Eur J Clin Nutr 1989; 43:289-309.
[3] Gerster H. The importance of vitamin B6 for development of the infant. Human medical and animal experiment studies. Z Ernahrungswiss 1996; 35:309-17.
[4] Bender DA. Novel functions of vitamin B6. Proc Nutr Soc 1994; 53:625-30.
[5] Chandra R and Sudhakaran L. Regulation of immune responses by Vitamin B6. NY Acad Sci 1990; 585:404-423.
[6] Trakatellis A, Dimitriadou A, Trakatelli M. Pyridoxine deficiency: new approaches in immunosuppression and chemotherapy. Postgrad Med J 1997; 73:617-22.
[7] Shibata K, Mushiage M, Kondo T, Hayakawa T, Tsuge H. Effects of vitamin B6 deficiency on the conversion ratio of tryptophan to niacin. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 1995; 59:2060-3.
