Trace element nutrition in developing countries

Trace element status in humans is often poorly established in developed, let alone developing, countries. There have been assumptions about inevitable adequacy, especially for ultra-trace elements, like chromium, with varied diets. However, new pressures on trace element adequacy are emerging, like developments in food technology with the new formulated foods and element pollutants (toxic metals) with potential interactions with essential elements. Improved, more sensitive methods for trace element measurements in foods and biological specimens, functional indices of trace element status, with application to nutritional epidemiology, and the pursuit of clinical trials, should allow appropriate revision of current views. This process is likely to more consequential in developing countries.