NutriDex

The Supplement Research Compendium
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Chromium

Cr

A trace mineral marketed for blood sugar and weight loss, where the evidence is modest at best and absent in healthy people.

Mixed evidence 🧂Mineral

✚ Updated · How we grade evidence

Evidence tier
Mixed
Research weight
Citations
8 verified / 8
Classification
Mineral
❝
What the evidence says. Conflicting results across studies; benefit uncertain.

What is Chromium?

Chromium (Cr) is a mineral used for modestly improves glycemic control (hba1c, fasting glucose) in some people with type 2 diabetes, though results are inconsistent across trials. NutriDex grades the human evidence as Mixed. Chromium (as trivalent Cr3+) is thought to potentiate insulin action, and a 2001 expert panel set an Adequate Intake on the assumption it is essential — though overt deficiency has never been documented in healthy people eating a normal diet, and a 2001 review found the data insufficient even to estimate a requirement. In people with type 2 diabetes, supplementation produces a small reduction in HbA1c (about -0.6%) and fasting glucose, but trials are heterogeneous and inconsistent, and in non-diabetic individuals chromium has no measurable effect on glucose or insulin. The popular weight-loss claim is largely unsupported: meta-analyses and a Cochrane review find only ~1 kg of weight loss versus placebo, an effect driven by single trials and judged clinically trivial and low-quality.

Purported Benefits

✓Modestly improves glycemic control (HbA1c, fasting glucose) in some people with type 2 diabetes, though results are inconsistent across trials
✓May offer small benefits in insulin resistance / PCOS in some studies, but evidence is weak and mixed
✓No proven benefit for glucose or insulin in non-diabetic, healthy people
✓Weight-loss effect is minimal (~1 kg vs placebo) and not clinically meaningful per Cochrane
✓Corrects the (theoretical) deficiency state seen historically only in patients on long-term chromium-free intravenous nutrition

Evidence by outcome

The same supplement can be well-proven for one use and unproven for another — here is the human evidence graded outcome by outcome.

OutcomeEvidenceEffectStudies
Improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetesMeta-analyses show small HbA1c (~-0.6%) and fasting glucose drops, but trials are heterogeneous and inconsistent. Mixed ↔ mixed · small 3
Glucose/insulin effect in non-diabetic healthy peopleReviews consistently find no measurable glucose or insulin effect in non-diabetic individuals. Moderate — no effect · negligible 2
Weight lossCochrane and meta-analyses show only ~1 kg vs placebo, low-quality and clinically trivial. Moderate — no effect · negligible 2
Insulin resistance / PCOS benefitSome studies suggest small benefit, but evidence is weak and inconsistent. Preliminary ↔ mixed · small 1

Dosing & Compounds

Typical Dose
No RDA — only an Adequate Intake (AI): 35 mcg/day (men 19-50), 25 mcg/day (women 19-50); 30/20 mcg over age 50; 30 mcg pregnancy, 45 mcg lactation. Typical supplement doses range 200-1000 mcg/day. No Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) has been established because data were insufficient to set one.
Active Compounds
Chromium picolinate (most common supplement form)Chromium chlorideChromium nicotinate / polynicotinateBrewer's yeast (chromium-rich)Dietary sources: broccoli, whole grains, grape juice, meat, nuts, some beers

Safety & Cautions

No UL has been set. Trivalent chromium (Cr3+, the supplement form) is considered low-toxicity, and doses up to ~1000 mcg/day have been used for months without consistent serious harm; this is distinct from highly toxic, carcinogenic hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), which is not used in supplements. High-dose chromium picolinate has shown DNA damage/chromosomal aberrations in vitro and in animal cells, but mainly under non-physiological conditions, and human studies have not confirmed genotoxicity. Rare case reports link high-dose chromium picolinate to kidney and liver injury. May lower blood glucose, so monitor for additive hypoglycemia with insulin/antidiabetic drugs; may affect levothyroxine absorption (separate dosing). Educational only — always check with your doctor or pharmacist before combining Chromium with any medicine.

Chromium drug interactions

Known or theoretical interactions between Chromium and common medications — educational, not exhaustive. Always check with your doctor or pharmacist before combining Chromium with any medicine.

Monitor
Insulin & oral antidiabetics
May lower blood sugar, potentially adding to diabetes drugs; monitor for hypoglycemia.
May potentiate insulin action and glucose uptake, additive with antidiabetic medication. NIH ODS — Chromium

Key Studies

meta-analysis Asbaghi et al. 2020 (meta-analysis of RCTs) ✓ PubMed
In type 2 diabetes, chromium supplementation significantly reduced fasting plasma glucose (WMD -19.0 mg/dL, 95% CI -36.15 to -1.85, P=0.030).
systematic review Costello et al. 2016 (ODS review) ✓ Source
Concluded chromium supplements offer only limited evidence of glycemic benefit in type 2 diabetes (5/20 RCTs improved fasting glucose, 5/14 lowered HbA1c >0.5%) and no benefit on glucose/insulin in non-diabetic people.
Cochrane review Tian et al. 2013 (Cochrane CD010063) ✓ Full text
Across 9 RCTs (n=622) in overweight/obese adults, chromium picolinate produced ~1 kg greater weight loss than placebo but evidence was low-quality and provided no reliable basis for firm efficacy/safety conclusions.
meta-analysis Balk et al. 2007 (Diabetes Care meta-analysis) ✓ Source
In type 2 diabetes, chromium supplementation reduced HbA1c by -0.6% (95% CI -0.9 to -0.2) and fasting glucose by -1.0 mmol/L (-1.4 to -0.5), with no effect on lipids; no effect on glucose/insulin in non-diabetic subjects.
meta-analysis Pittler et al. 2003 (Int J Obesity meta-analysis) ✓ PubMed
10 double-blind RCTs gave a weighted mean weight difference of -1.1 kg vs placebo; the effect was small, of debatable clinical relevance, and dependent on a single trial.
authoritative body NIH ODS Fact Sheet (2022) ✓ Source
Sets an Adequate Intake (35 mcg/day men, 25 mcg/day women 19-50) but no RDA or UL; states the FNB found data insufficient to set an EAR and that chromium deficiency has not been reported in healthy people.
experimental study Stallings et al. 2006 (Drosophila genotoxicity) ✓ PubMed
Nutritional chromium picolinate generated chromosomal aberrations and impeded progeny development in Drosophila, raising genotoxicity concern at high exposure.
experimental study Komorowski et al. 2008 (genotoxicity assessment) ✓ PubMed
Found no in vivo genotoxicity for chromium picolinate in mammalian cells; DNA damage occurred only at high in vitro/non-physiological concentrations.
8 sources cited · 8 verified Search all studies on PubMed ↗

Common questions about Chromium

What is Chromium used for?

Chromium is most often taken for Modestly improves glycemic control (HbA1c, fasting glucose) in some people with type 2 diabetes, though results are inconsistent across trials, May offer small benefits in insulin resistance / PCOS in some studies, but evidence is weak and mixed, No proven benefit for glucose or insulin in non-diabetic, healthy people, Weight-loss effect is minimal (~1 kg vs placebo) and not clinically meaningful per Cochrane. A trace mineral marketed for blood sugar and weight loss, where the evidence is modest at best and absent in healthy people.

Does Chromium work — what does the evidence say?

Mixed evidence. Conflicting results across studies; benefit uncertain. Chromium (as trivalent Cr3+) is thought to potentiate insulin action, and a 2001 expert panel set an Adequate Intake on the assumption it is essential — though overt deficiency has never been documented in healthy people eating a normal diet, and a 2001 review found the data insufficient even to estimate a requirement. In people with type 2 diabetes, supplementation produces a small reduction in HbA1c (about -0.6%) and fasting glucose, but trials are heterogeneous and inconsistent, and in non-diabetic individuals chromium has no measurable effect on glucose or insulin. The popular weight-loss claim is largely unsupported: meta-analyses and a Cochrane review find only ~1 kg of weight loss versus placebo, an effect driven by single trials and judged clinically trivial and low-quality.

What is the typical dose of Chromium?

No RDA — only an Adequate Intake (AI): 35 mcg/day (men 19-50), 25 mcg/day (women 19-50); 30/20 mcg over age 50; 30 mcg pregnancy, 45 mcg lactation. Typical supplement doses range 200-1000 mcg/day. No Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) has been established because data were insufficient to set one.

Is Chromium safe? Any cautions or side effects?

No UL has been set. Trivalent chromium (Cr3+, the supplement form) is considered low-toxicity, and doses up to ~1000 mcg/day have been used for months without consistent serious harm; this is distinct from highly toxic, carcinogenic hexavalent chromium (Cr6+), which is not used in supplements. High-dose chromium picolinate has shown DNA damage/chromosomal aberrations in vitro and in animal cells, but mainly under non-physiological conditions, and human studies have not confirmed genotoxicity. Rare case reports link high-dose chromium picolinate to kidney and liver injury. May lower blood glucose, so monitor for additive hypoglycemia with insulin/antidiabetic drugs; may affect levothyroxine absorption (separate dosing).

How many studies support Chromium?

NutriDex cites 8 sources for Chromium, graded "Mixed".

Does Chromium interact with any medications?

Yes — known or theoretical interactions include: Diabetes drugs (insulin, metformin) (monitor). This is educational and not exhaustive; always check with your doctor or pharmacist before combining Chromium with any medicine.

Cite this page
APA

Peh, D. (2026). Chromium (Cr): Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects & Evidence. NutriDex — The Supplement Research Compendium. Retrieved 26 Jun 2026, from https://nutridex.info/s/chromium

BibTeX
@misc{nutridex_chromium,
  author       = {Peh, Daryl},
  title        = {Chromium (Cr): Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects \& Evidence},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {NutriDex --- The Supplement Research Compendium},
  url          = {https://nutridex.info/s/chromium},
  note         = {Reviewed by Dr Daryl Peh, MBBS Singapore, MMed FM. Accessed 2026-06-26}
}

For medical claims, citing the underlying primary studies linked above is preferred. NutriDex is an educational reference, not medical advice.

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