Trivalent chromium bound to picolinic acid, the most common supplemental form. It is marketed for blood sugar control, appetite and body composition, and is a standard ingredient in weight-loss and "blood sugar support" blends.
Chromium's status as an essential nutrient is less settled than its market implies — the evidence rests largely on cases of glucose intolerance during long-term parenteral nutrition, and EFSA concluded there was no convincing evidence for an essential role in humans and declined to set a requirement. The supplement literature is large, heterogeneous and mostly disappointing: meta-analyses of chromium in type 2 diabetes find small, inconsistent effects on glycaemic markers that reviewers do not consider clinically meaningful, and trials for weight loss find changes on the order of a kilogram at best. The FDA permitted a qualified health claim for insulin resistance while explicitly noting the evidence is highly uncertain.
Sold as
Capsule, Tablet, Component of weight-loss and glucose-support blends, Chromium yeast
Regulation: The Adequate Intake is 25 µg/day for women and 35 µg/day for men; no Tolerable Upper Intake Level has been set because there was insufficient data. The FDA allows a qualified claim about chromium picolinate and insulin resistance that states the existing evidence is highly uncertain. EFSA concluded there is no convincing evidence chromium is essential in humans.
What the research used
The amounts, forms and durations published trials of Chromium picolinate actually administered.
These are the amounts published trials administered — not a recommendation, and not a dose to copy. Trial participants were screened, supervised and given a characterised preparation. What is in a retail bottle is frequently not what was studied, and the amount that suits one person is not general advice.
Studied for Adequate Intake, adults
25–35 µg
Limited
An Adequate Intake based on observed intakes rather than a measured requirement. Supplements typically supply 200–1,000 µg, six to forty times this figure.
Studied for Type 2 diabetes trials
200–1000 µg
Limited
Chromium picolinate, daily · 8 weeks–6 months
Trials are numerous, small and highly heterogeneous, with the largest reported effects coming from a few centres. Meta-analyses find small and inconsistent changes in HbA1c and fasting glucose that reviewers regard as clinically marginal.
This is general information about food, not medical advice. It cannot diagnose, treat or replace guidance from a clinician who knows your history.
When it was taken
Each window says whether a trial compared it against an alternative, or whether it is convention and pharmacology. Most timing advice is the second kind.
None of the timings below were directly compared in a trial. They reflect how the research happened to dose, or what the pharmacology implies — which is not the same as a timing being better.
🍽️With food
Limited
Usually taken with meals in trials. Antacids and calcium carbonate reduce chromium absorption, and vitamin C increases it — absorption findings rather than an outcome comparison.
Timing was not directly compared. This reflects convention or how the compound behaves in the body, not a trial showing this window works better.
The evidence in depth
Best supported: Not enough
What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how promising the supplement sounds. How we rate evidence.
Meta-analyses of chromium supplementation in type 2 diabetes report small and inconsistent reductions in fasting glucose and HbA1c, with substantial heterogeneity and evidence of publication bias. Reviewers generally conclude the effect is not clinically meaningful, and guidelines do not recommend it.
What may be going on: Chromium is proposed to enhance insulin receptor signalling through the peptide chromodulin. The mechanism remains poorly characterised and its physiological importance is disputed.
Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.
Trials of chromium for weight loss find differences of around a kilogram at most, within the range that reviewers describe as of doubtful clinical relevance. Effects on lean mass in resistance-training studies have generally been null.
Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.
A few small trials report reduced food cravings, particularly in people with atypical depression or binge eating. The studies are small, the outcomes are self-reported, and replication is limited.
Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.
Randomised controlled trial · Journal of psychosomatic research · 2013 · PMID 23751236
Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.
Things to know
Interactions, contraindications and dose limits, most serious first. Concentrated extracts interact with medication in ways the whole plant does not, so this section carries more weight here than it does on a food page.
Anyone taking insulin or a sulfonylurea alongside chromium should watch for lower blood glucose readings, since any glucose-lowering effect adds to the drug. Chromium may also interact with levothyroxine absorption.
Worth knowing
No upper limit exists, and picolinate raises specific questions
No Tolerable Upper Intake Level was set because the data were insufficient — an absence of information rather than a clean safety record. Picolinate specifically has produced chromosomal damage in some laboratory systems, and isolated case reports describe kidney and liver injury at high supplemental doses.
Worth knowing
Kidney disease
Case reports of kidney injury have followed high-dose chromium picolinate, and anyone with existing kidney impairment is generally advised to avoid supplemental chromium.
Worth knowing
Not a substitute for diabetes management
Chromium is widely sold as "blood sugar support" beside products with real evidence. Substituting it for prescribed medication, dietary change or monitoring is the practical risk in this category.
In the food catalogue
The whole-food form, where one exists. The evidence for a concentrated extract rarely transfers to the food, or the other way round — these are cross-links, not equivalents.