Chromium in refined and unrefined sugars-possible nutritional implications in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases

Abstract It has recently been discovered that chromium is an essential element, particularly in relation to carbohydrate metabolism. Food refinement leads to a loss of chromium as well as of other trace elements. The nutritional significance, particularly in relation to cardiovascular diseases, of the excessive consumption ofrefinedfood,poor in trace elements, is not well understood. The first results of a WHO study on the chromium content of different brands of refined and unrefined sugars obtained from various countries are described here. Flameless atomic absorption was used for chromium analysis. Molasses have the highest chromium content (0.266 mg/kg), followed by unrefined (0.162) and brown (0.064) sugars. Refined sugar has the lowest chromium content (0.020 mg/kg). No differences associated with the geographic origin of the sugars were observed. Within the framework of WHO activities aimed at investigating the possible roles of trace elements in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases, studies were initiated to assess the concentration of chromium in sugar samples from different countries