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2012 Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) - Adequate Intake (AI) - Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)
Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) - Recommended Dietary Allowance / Intake (RDA / RDI)
Vanadium & Molybdenum
The information presented is based on Cellular trace mineral analysis - not Serum / Blood measurements.
RDA/DRI, synergists, antagonists, deficiency/overdose/toxicity symptoms are listed at the bottom of the page.
Both elements share left / right-sided cell receptors and are considered essential to human health. When
either Vanadium (V) or Molybdenum (Mo) test below normal, most of the time - at least in developed
parts of the world - it is as a result of their antagonists being too high, and less often because of insufficient
dietary intake. Chromium and copper are one of the closest associated trace mineral pairs, so since copper is
virtually always higher than chromium, molybdenum (being a copper antagonist) is nearly as often lower than
vanadium. One exception may be excessive sugar intake, which has a tendency to deplete chromium, and to
a lesser extent vanadium (chromium and vanadium are also antagonists, but share similar attributes toward
insulin / glucose management).
Excessive copper levels are generally found with many joint degenerative-types of conditions, whereby next
to sulfur-rich supplements, molybdenum and chromium can be helpful with these arthritic disorders as a result
of their ability to lower copper. When molybdenum and/or vanadium levels are far below normal, there is a
greater occurrence of spinal degeneration - with or without the presence of high copper, although when
copper is very high also, it very likely has been a contributing factor.
Ankylosing Spondylitis is a classic example where both, molybdenum and vanadium are excessively low,
and their antagonists are excessively high. In addition, calcium and magnesium are very high as well (which
will have a degenerative effect when elevated), contributing to the degenerative nature of this condition:
In addition to very low molybdenum many times accompanying various forms of spinal degeneration, ongoing
dizziness is another factor with craniocervical disturbances, or those of the cranial ganglia, and it isn't always
clear which came first - the symptoms, or the low molybdenum - unless a known injury triggered the problem.
Nevertheless, if matched to the problem, I have seen molybdenum relieve the dizziness within a few hours
following its supplementation.
To a much lesser extent the above also applies to vanadium - at least in theory. In practice, vanadium rarely
becomes as deficient as molybdenum. In fact, it is very uncommon that vanadium would require supplemen-
tation at all (ankylosing spondylitis being a rare exception), because of the chemical interactions it is part of,
and where molybdenum and chromium levels would both have to be much higher than vanadium.
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Cellular / Intracellular Attributes and Interactions:
Vanadium Synergists:
Selenium (see text above), zinc, fluoride.
Vanadium Antagonists / Inhibitors:
Chromium, chloride, calcium, potassium, iodine,
sodium, sulfur, sugar.
Molybdenum Synergists:
Sulfur (see text above), potassium, chloride.
Molybdenum Antagonists / Inhibitors:
Copper, fluoride, magnesium, zinc, tungsten, tin,
phosphorus, selenium.
Low Levels / Deficiency - Symptoms and/or Risk Factors:
Vanadium:
Spinal degeneration, ankylosing spondylitis (with
elevated molybdenum, calcium and magnesium),
reduced growth and reproductive ability in animals,
elevated cholesterol.
Molybdenum:
Spinal degeneration, ankylosing spondylitis
(with high vanadium, calcium and magnesium),
higher risk for several cancers, insufficient uric
acid, elevated triglycerides.
Vanadium:
Gastrointestinal problems, weakened immune system,
fatigue, green tongue, trabecular bone loss, arthritis,
aching bones, teeth, tonsils, ears, jaw; chronic colds.
High levels / Overdose / Toxicity / Negative Side Effects - Symptoms and/or Risk Factors:
Molybdenum:
Skin eruptions / itchy skin, inflammatory spinal / joint
disease, trabecular bone loss, decreased growth in all
species.
One case report of acute supplemental molybdenum
toxicity: Insomnia, seizures, psychosis, hallucinations.
Vanadium Sources:
Mushrooms, vegetable oils, fats, olives, black pepper,
seafood, beer wine, grains.
Molybdenum Sources:
Legumes, lentils, beans and soybeans, cauliflower, grains, nuts, organ meats. ¤
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General recommendations for nutritional supplementation: To avoid stomach problems and improve tolerance,
supplements should be taken earlier, or in the middle of a larger meal. When taken on an empty stomach or
after a meal, there is a greater risk of some tablets causing irritation, or eventually erosion of the esophageal
sphincter, resulting in Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). It is also advisable not to lie down right after
taking pills. When taking a large daily amount of a single nutrient, it is better to split it up into smaller doses
to not interfere with the absorption of other nutrients in food, or nutrients supplemented at lower amounts.
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Copyright © 2000-2012 Acu-Cell Nutrition - Molybdenum & Vanadium
Molybdenum is a component of xanthine oxidase, aldehyde oxidase, and sulfite oxidase, which are impor-
tant enzyme systems. Xanthine oxidase is involved in converting nucleic acid to uric acid, a waste product
of protein / purine metabolism, and although elevated uric acid can cause gouty attacks in prone individuals,
normal uric acid levels are actually beneficial, as they have antioxidative properties and protect cells from
free radicals.
I have not seen moderate molybdenum supplementation cause gout27 in patients who exhibited low levels
of molybdenum even when they were prone for suffering from gout attacks, however very high molybdenum
intake is capable of triggering inflammatory joint disease.
Aldehyde oxidase helps in the oxidation of carbohydrates, and sulfite oxidase helps to detoxify sulfites,
which used to be common food preservatives (salad bars), and which some sensitive individuals have a
severe allergic reaction to. While sulfur and molybdenum compete for uptake in plants, supplementing
either one in humans helps uptake of the other by inhibiting copper, which is an antagonist to sulfur and
molybdenum, so for practical purposes (and confirmed in thousands of clinical applications), they work as
synergists with one another. There is an identical relationship between vanadium and selenium against
chromium, resulting in the same synergism.
In animal studies, Vanadium has been found to function similarly to insulin by helping to maintain blood
glucose levels the same as in the control group, despite lower serum insulin, while at the same time making
cell membrane insulin receptors more sensitive to insulin. In human studies, daily insulin requirements in
Type I diabetics decreased by as much as 14%, and in Type II diabetics, there was an increase in insulin
sensitivity observed following vanadium treatments using either vanadyl sulphate or sodium metavanadate.
So why don't doctors tell their patients to supplement vanadium in order to reduce insulin requirements?
Perhaps some studies just don't compare to clinical applications in the real world. My own patient feedback
has not been favorable to vanadium supplementation so far for diabetes. Instead of reducing insulin require-
ments, blood sugar had gone up following vanadium supplementation!
Both, vanadium and molybdenum have anticarcinogenic (anti-cancer) properties in regard to breast cancer
(V+Mo) in animal models, and esophageal cancer and stomach cancer (Mo) in humans, which may be due to
the copper-inhibiting effect of molybdenum, or possibly by molybdenum protecting the body from nitrosamine
formation as a result of consuming foods (meats or vegetables) high in nitrates or nitrites.
According to some sources, supplementing vanadium has the potential to improve athletic performance
because of the anabolic effect of vanadyl sulfate being similar to insulin (supposedly resulting in higher liver
and muscle glycogen stores), however the validity of that claim is not universally accepted. For individuals
suffering from bipolar / manic-depressive illness, there is evidence of possible adverse effects from
increased vanadium intake due to its causative or aggravating impact on reduced sodium pump activity.
Short of minimal amounts present in some multi-mineral formulations, the effects of supplementing higher
amounts of vanadium (as vanadyl sulphate) on a regular basis - when not indicated - can have detrimental
side effects that may include anything from various aches and pains and flu-like symptoms (partly as a result
of inhibiting chromium), to eventually vanadium causing all kinds of bizarre, chemical imbalances. Supple-
menting higher amounts of vanadium can also cause a very noticeable green discoloration of the tongue. ¤
Acu-Cell Nutrition
DRI (RDA): none
0-12 months
1-10 years
11-18 years males
19 + years males
11-18 years females
19 + years females
suggested:
10 mcg - 50 mcg
50 mcg - 100 mcg
50 mcg - 100 mcg
50 mcg - 100 mcg
50 mcg - 100 mcg
Molybdenum:
DRI (RDA):
0-12 months
1-10 years
11-18 years males
19 + years males
11-18 years females
19 + years females
pregnant
lactating
2 mcg - 3mcg AI
17 mcg - 30 mcg
35 mcg - 43 mcg
45 mcg
35 mcg - 43 mcg
45 mcg
50 mcg
50 mcg
1mg = 1,000 mcg
UL: 300 mcg - 2,000 mcg
Therapeutic Range: 500 mcg - 2,500 mcg +
Best time to take Molybdenum: Anytime during the
day. May be taken with, or without food - depending
on whether molybdenum is taken as drops or tablets.
UL: 1,800 mcg
Therapeutic Range: 10mg - 125mg
Best time to take Vanadium: Anytime, with food.
Some sources recommend to take Vanadyl Sulfate
on an empty stomach.
Estimated daily intake of Vanadium from food and
water is 6 mcg - 18 mcg / day.
Vanadium / Vanadyl Sulfate:
Vanadium
Molybdenum
Estimated daily intake of Molybdenum from food
and water is 100 mcg - 500 mcg / day.
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Updated: 15. Jan. 2012