Vanadyl Sulfate: Benefits, Side Effects, Best Time to Take It & More

Vanadyl Sulfate

(Vanadium)

Evidence: Low
Possible Benefits: Low
Safety: Reasonable

What is vanadyl sulfate?

Vanadyl sulfate is the main supplemental form of vanadium, a non-essential mineral often used for its potential anti-diabetic properties. This article is about the main benefits of vanadyl sulfate (vanadium), its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.

What does vanadyl sulfate do for the body?

The main and only benefit of vanadium sulfate is that it provides elemental vanadium.

Vanadium is mostly stored in bones. It is needed for some functions in the body, such as the phosphorylation of some protein receptors.

Vanadium has been used as a treatment for diabetes before the discovery of insulin.

Possible benefits

It is important to note that all of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. Generally, the higher the dose, the more pronounced the effects are. However, they do reach a plateau at a certain point. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.

Minor benefits

Reduced blood glucose – This benefit only applies to type II diabetics and is secondary to reducing the hepatic synthesis of glucose.
Increased glycogen resynthesis – This effect has been noted in diabetics but may not apply to healthy people.

Possible side effects

These side effects are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.

Increased triglycerides – 100 mg of vanadyl sulfate taken for 30 days increased triglycerides from 1.4+/-0.6mmol/L to 1.7+/-0.5mmol/L in one study. Another steady confirms this effect.
Diarrhea – Diarrhea caused by this supplement is not dangerous (assuming it doesn’t lead to severe dehydration) and usually only occurs if you take very high doses at once.
Nausea – Just like diarrhea, this side effect is not dangerous but can be unpleasant.
Vanadium toxicity – While acute toxicity is rare, taking high amounts of vanadyl sulfate could lead to chronic toxicity over time. Doses of 100 mg or lower don’t seem to cause hepatic toxicity but higher doses have not been examined yet. That is why you want to stay below 100 mg a day unless you have a great reason to take more.
Contamination – Contaminated supplements are uncommon in the USA and other well-regulated countries. However, if you wish to buy products from China, India, or other countries without strict regulations, beware that the supplements may be contaminated. Either way, you need to choose the brand you order from wisely. It is highly recommended to check the certificates or read through some reviews for the specific product before you buy it. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has the power to regulate dietary supplements but can only do so after they have been on the market for a while. That’s because supplement companies are not obligated to announce to the FDA when releasing a new product on the market. The FDA has to discover the product and test it for potential impurities, which can take a lot of time. During that time, the supplement can be sold on the market even if it’s impure. Also, supplement companies can change their manufacturers without announcing it to the FDA.

Who should not take vanadyl sulfate?

You should probably avoid taking the supplement if you:

do not suffer from type II diabetes (in which case vanadium supplements would almost certainly do more harm than good)
experience a severe adverse reaction after taking the supplement
have high triglycerides
are on a tight supplement budget (since there are more cost-effective supplements on the market for most people)

Who will benefit the most?

You should consider taking the supplement if you:

suffer from type II diabetes

How much vanadyl sulfate should you take?

In most studies, they use doses of 50-100 mg. This amount should provide most of the benefits without meaningful side effects.

The upper safety limit is not well-established. To stay on the safe side, don’t take more than 100 mg daily unless you have a great reason to do so. Higher amounts may cause problems if you take the supplement for a prolonged period.

Food sources of vanadium

People only get about 6-20 mcg of vanadium from food. This amount is too low to show any notable effect.

Best time to take vanadyl sulfate

Vanadium is water-soluble, so you don’t have to take it with food to absorb it well. Taking the supplement with food is better if it causes stomach upset when you take it on an empty stomach.

Whether you take the supplement in the morning or the evening doesn’t matter. It does not interrupt your sleep in any way.

Interactions

Rapamycin
These two are synergistic in increasing glucose uptake into an L6 myocyte.

Where to buy vanadyl sulfate

Amazon is the best option for ordering vanadyl sulfate supplements in most countries. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the internet.

Beware some brands display the dosage per serving instead of per pill or capsule. Therefore, you may accidentally buy something less potent than you intended. Do not fall for this marketing trick.

FAQ

You can take the supplement daily and do not need to cycle it. However, it is certainly not a problem if you don’t take it daily. Not taking the supplement every once in a while could lead to better absorption.

All of these options are fine. The two most important things to consider are the price and dosing. Powders are almost always the cheapest form. However, you may need a highly accurate scale to dose them correctly (preferably 0.001g). You can get one for as little as $20 from Amazon. Dosing the powders also takes some time that can add up over months or years. The disadvantage of capsules is that they often contain bovine gelatine, which rarely comes from an ethical source.

Yes. The nutrient doesn’t impact your sleep in any negative way in the short term.

The supplements should not become harmful once they exceed the expiration date, but they can lose potency over time.

Keep the supplements in a cold, dark, and dry place, and they should remain just as potent for many months or even years.

The supplement doesn’t directly reduce acne, unfortunately.

While acute toxicity is rare, taking high amounts of vanadyl sulfate could lead to chronic toxicity over time. Doses of 100 mg or lower don’t seem to cause hepatic toxicity but higher doses have not been examined yet. That is why you want to stay below 100 mg a day unless you have a great reason to take more.

In the long term, it typically takes about a month of taking the supplement to begin noticing the benefits.

Most vanadyl sulfate on the market is vegan-friendly but always check the label to be sure. If you buy the mineral in a capsulated form, beware that the capsules often contain animal-based gelatine. Instead, find a brand that puts its products into cellulose capsules.

The nutrient is water-soluble, so you don’t have to take it with food to absorb it well.

No, it doesn’t. The supplement does not interfere with fasting in any significant way.

References

Most of the information provided in this guide is supported by scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We highly encourage you to use the library to verify anything said in this article. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.

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