A naturally-occurring mineral, Chromium is found in trace amounts in everyday foods like meat, poultry, fish, and whole-grain breads. However, in recent years there have been many claims made that chromium can help melt fat, reduce appetite, and increase metabolism.

The form most often promoted as a weight loss supplement is chromium picolinate, which is now a common ingredient in many herbal weight-loss concoctions available at local pharmacists or via the internet.

Does it work? The vast majority of research has demonstrated no effects from taking this supplement as an aid to slimming, so if you are considering using it you should bear this in mind.

As a dietary supplement, it may have some merits - we do need it in our diet to aid the transport of blood glucose across cell membranes, and when foods are processed, they are stripped of this mineral. So if you eat a diet that has few natural ingredients and is mostly comprised of processed foods you might consider taking a daily supplement.

There have also been claims that this chemical is a safe alternative to steroids, helping to increase lean muscle mass and reduce body fat, but this appears to be based on flawed research - it has now fallen out of favor as a supplement for athletes.