Vanadium

Vanadyl sulfate

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Glycemic control^{1, 2} Insulin sensitivity³ Anthropometric indices³ Metabolic syndrome⁴	Long-term high-dose use⁵ Occupational or environmental exposure

Vanadium is a trace mineral supplemented mainly as vanadyl sulfate and related salts, which act as insulin mimetics and insulin enhancers in glucose metabolism⁶. Supplementation follows from that effect: glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in obese adults with type 2 diabetes, and lipid levels. Metabolic syndrome is a further target⁴. Bodybuilders also use vanadium derivatives for performance⁷.

The evidence is limited in certainty. A 2017 review judged the evidence for vanadium, chromium, and selenium supplements weak. In a 2022 observational study of patients with type 2 diabetes, whole-blood vanadium was higher than in healthy subjects yet correlated inversely with glycated hemoglobin; no trial has tested whether supplementation changes this. Products listing vanadium are sold as tablets, capsules, and liquids, often combined with chromium; see Form comparison.

Dose-limiting side effects were reported in human studies of vanadyl sulfate at therapeutic doses⁷. Inorganic vanadium is a toxic occupational and environmental pollutant, with toxicity tied to oxidative stress⁸. Reviewers of vanadium supplementation note that adverse effects are a concern in studies of it⁶.

Last updated October 15, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

40 sources, 38 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources