Chromium picolinate · mineral
Evidence tier: weak
A trace mineral that helps your body respond better to insulin, useful for blood sugar and sugar cravings.
The long standing story is that trivalent chromium makes the insulin receptor more responsive, allowing cells to take up glucose more efficiently, and this is what every chromium picolinate label rests on. EFSA reviewed it and stated that the mechanisms for this role and the essential function of chromium in metabolism have not been substantiated. So the mechanism is a hypothesis that has not been confirmed, and the trials that would show it working in people mostly do not.
Weak. The blood sugar claim is the entire reason chromium is sold and it does not survive review. The most authoritative synthesis is by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements itself (Costello RB, Dwyer JT, Bailey RL, Nutrition Reviews 2016, PMID 27261273), which examined 20 randomised controlled trials of chromium supplementation in type 2 diabetes and found that fasting plasma glucose reached a clinically meaningful goal in only 5 of 20 trials and HbA1c in only 3 of 14. Its conclusion is that chromium supplements have limited effectiveness and there is little rationale to recommend their use for glycaemic control in patients with existing type 2 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association does not recommend chromium supplements for people with diabetes because there is no clear benefit. The essentiality of chromium is itself now contested: EFSA's 2014 Scientific Opinion concluded there is NO EVIDENCE of beneficial effects associated with chromium intake in healthy subjects, that the essential function of trivalent chromium in metabolism has not been substantiated, and that no Average Requirement and no Population Reference Intake can be set. The US Adequate Intake of 35 micrograms daily for adult men and 25 for adult women is an intake observed in the population, not a demonstrated requirement, and there is no Tolerable Upper Intake Level because there is no reliable dose response data. Deficiency in free living people is essentially not seen; the historical cases came from long term total parenteral nutrition.
US Adequate Intake is 35 micrograms daily for adult men and 25 micrograms daily for adult women aged 19 to 50, which is an observed intake, not a requirement. Trials of supplemental chromium in type 2 diabetes typically used 200 to 1,000 micrograms daily and mostly did not reach clinically meaningful glycaemic targets.
200 to 600 mcg daily with food.
Caution with antidiabetic medications. Very safe at standard doses.
Pregnancy: caution
Breastfeeding: caution
Active compounds: trivalent chromium (chromium III)
Remedies using Chromium · Browse by body system · Check it against what you take
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.