nutrient
Chromium
A trace element discussed in carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism, with unresolved evidence about essentiality in healthy humans.
Educational draft · Human scientific and editorial review pending. About review status
Trivalent chromium is the nutritional form discussed here; hexavalent chromium is a toxic industrial form. EFSA did not derive a DRV because the evidence for human essentiality was uncertain.
How it works
What is established
Chromium may potentiate insulin action, but the proposed mechanism and the essentiality of dietary chromium in healthy humans remain uncertain. EFSA’s opinion did not establish a dietary reference value.
Where it comes from
Chromium is present in many foods, but intake data are limited and no definitive deficiency syndrome has been established in healthy populations. Supplement trials for glucose outcomes are mixed and often use pharmacological doses, so they cannot be read as routine nutrition guidance.
Related topics
Chromium has uncertain supplemental effects on Glucose
EFSA found the basis for chromium essentiality uncertain, and NIH ODS describes chromium supplementation effects on glucose as uncertain or mixed.
Evidence: Not established · Source checked 2026-09-05 · Sources: European Food Safety Authority: Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for chromium; NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Chromium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals
Worth knowing
EFSA reference-value status. The absence of an EFSA PRI or AI is evidence of insufficient basis for a reference value, not evidence that chromium has no biological interactions.
Nutrition and industrial chromium are different. Trivalent chromium is the form discussed in nutrition. Hexavalent chromium is an industrial toxicant and is not a dietary nutrient form.
A closer look
Essentiality and supplement effects remain uncertain
EFSA did not establish a dietary reference value for chromium because evidence for an essential role in healthy humans was insufficient. NIH ODS describes supplementation findings for glucose and insulin-related outcomes as mixed or uncertain.
References
Source-checked local draft.
Human editorial review pending.