Compound or practice · Supplement
Chromium
A perennial weight-loss and blood-sugar supplement whose effects, on honest review, round to noise.
- Overall grade
- Grade D
- Last revised
- 2
- graded outcomes
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
2 at grade D — 2 graded rows
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Body weightEvidence grade D
Not clinically meaningful
Triviallow
- Glycemic controlEvidence grade D
Inconsistent, tiny
Trivialmixed
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Body weight (grade D); Glycemic control (grade D).
The evidence in words
What it is
Chromium is a trace element marketed heavily for glucose control and fat loss. Whether it is even essential in humans is debated, and dietary deficiency is essentially unseen outside artificial settings.
How it works
It is proposed to enhance insulin action via a poorly-characterized 'chromodulin' pathway. The mechanism has never firmly translated into meaningful clinical effects.
What the evidence shows
Meta-analyses show at best trivial, inconsistent effects on body weight and on glycemic markers, not clinically meaningful. It is a durable example of a supplement kept alive by marketing rather than data.
How to use it
Not recommended as a therapeutic supplement; ordinary diets supply it.
Safety & interactions
Generally safe at supplemental doses; the issue is lack of benefit, not harm.
Bottom line
Skip it. The weight-loss and blood-sugar claims don't hold up on pooled analysis.
How it is used
As the entry records it, from the studies it summarises. Not a recommendation for you — doses that suit a trial population may not suit you.
- n/a
- Not recommended as a supplement.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Apple Cider Vinegar for Weight lossEvidence grade D — NegligibleEvidence grade D
- Chromium for Body weightEvidence grade D — Not clinically meaningfulEvidence grade D
- Chromium for Glycemic controlEvidence grade D — Inconsistent, tinyEvidence grade D
- Chromium: dosage and how to take itNot recommended as a supplement.Evidence grade D
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.