Vanadium is a trace metal. Vanadyl sulfate, a vanadium salt, has been sold for blood sugar and to bodybuilders, based on early studies of insulin-like effects.
Also known as: vanadyl sulfate, sodium metavanadate, vanadium sulfate.
Diabetes trials used 100 mg a day of vanadyl sulfate for 3 to 4 weeks (Cohen 1995, Boden 1996). A lifting trial used 0.5 mg per kg a day for 12 weeks (Fawcett 1996). These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
What studies show: in 6 people with type 2 diabetes, 3 weeks of vanadyl sulfate lowered fasting blood sugar (from about 210 to 181 mg/dL) and HbA1c (9.6% to 8.8%) and improved insulin sensitivity (Cohen 1995). In 8 people with type 2 diabetes, 4 weeks lowered fasting blood sugar by about 20% (Boden 1996). In 31 weight-training volunteers, 12 weeks did not change body composition (Fawcett 1996). These were very small, short studies.
Safety: 6 of 8 people had gut side effects in the first week (Boden 1996), and 2 people left the lifting trial because of apparent side effects (Fawcett 1996). The authors said the safety of larger doses and longer use is uncertain (Boden 1996). The sources here do not describe drug interactions.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for vanadium that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one.
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