juice and cereals were the major contributors of vanadium to the diets of infants and toddlers.
Pennington and Jones (1987) reported that vanadium intake ranged from 6.5 to 11 μg/day for infants, children, and adolescents. The intake of vanadium for adults and the elderly ranged from 6 to 18 μg/day.
Information from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on supplement use of vanadium is provided in Appendix Table C-24. The median intake of supplement vanadium by adults was approximately 9 μg/day. Vanadium in the forms of vanadyl sulfate (100 mg/day) and sodium metavanadate (125 mg/ day) has been used as a supplement for diabetic patients (Boden et al., 1996; Cohen et al., 1995; Goldfine et al., 1995). Although insulin requirements were decreased in patients with Type I diabetes, the doses of vanadium used in the supplements were about 100 times the usual intakes (Pennington and Jones, 1987), and they greatly exceed the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for vanadium.
The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) is the highest level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects for almost all individuals. Although members of the general population should be advised not to routinely exceed the UL, intake above the UL may be appropriate for investigation within well-controlled clinical trials. Clinical trials of doses above the UL should not be discouraged, as long as subjects participating in these trials have signed informed consent documents regarding possible toxicity and as long as these trials employ appropriate safety monitoring of trial subjects. In addition, the UL is not meant to apply to individuals who are receiving vanadium under medical supervision.
There is no evidence of adverse effects associated with vanadium intake from food, which is the major source of exposure to vanadium for the general population (Barceloux, 1999). There are data on