The National Advertising Division (NAD), an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation that is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, has recommended that InterHealth Nutraceuticals, Benecia, CA, discontinue certain claims for the company’s Zychrome chromium, promoted for the management of insulin levels.

Print and Internet claims made by InterHealth for its Zychrome chromium compound, also known as chromium dinicocysteinate (CDNC), were challenged by Nutrition 21, LLC, the manufacturer of a competing product, Chromax, a chromium picolinate product.

Key challenged claims included: “The only form of chromium clinically shown to be twice as effective as chromium picolinate for managing insulin levels; 2x more effective than chromium picolinate in improving insulin function; 2x more effective than chromium picolinate in managing insulin resistance; and clinically studied to be twice as effective as chromium picolinate for maintaining healthy insulin function,” among others.

In this case, the advertiser’s primary source of claims support was a single preliminary study, in which differences between the Chromax and Zychrome groups did not reach statistical significance for any variable measured. The advertiser, NAD noted, did not rely on head-to-head test results to support its comparative efficacy claims.

Following its review of the evidence in the record, NAD recommended that the advertiser discontinue all claims at issue, with one exception: CDNC is a new form of chromium compound, a fact that the advertiser is free to promote.

InterHealth Nutraceuticals, in its advertiser’s statement, said the company “will modify advertising for Zychrome in accordance with the NAD’s recommendations.”