Chromium and Vanadium are two minerals that can actually help the insulin transport sugar to the cells, or even replace its function. Chromium works to make insulin more effective and Vanadium can actually do the job of insulin and transport sugar to the cells. A study by the University of Vancouver in 1985 stated that: "Vanadium will replace insulin for adult onset diabetics."

The trace mineral chromium is found in skin, fat, muscle, brain and adrenal glands. There is only about 6 mg in you, but is it ever important! Absorption by way of your intestine is poor; it is excreted in urine. Chromium is an essential component of Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF). GTF helps insulin to work better by "bridging" it to cell membranes.

People with Type 2 diabetes excrete more chromium than healthy people, and the loss of this vital nutrient may make it harder for the body to respond to insulin. Preliminary studies suggest that chromium supplements can help people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar.Chromium increases insulin sensitivity and binding, also increases number of insulin receptors.

Over the last 10 years, chromium picolinate, has distinguished itself as the most widely researched form of chromium, an essential trace mineral affirmed as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for use in foods. Ten published clinical studies involving over 1,400 people with diabetes support chromium picolinate's ability to improve blood sugar metabolism in people who are insulin resistant. In addition, Chromax chromium picolinate has demonstrated that it is significantly more bioactive than other forms of chromium.

Vandium (vanadyl sulfate) is a trace element that appears to exhibit a variety of insulin-like effects.

Both experimental and clinical trials indicate that vanadium has significant insulin-mimetic properties in pharmacological doses. In vitro, vanadium salts have most of the major effects of insulin itself on insulin-sensitive tissues. Favorable results are seen, as well, in animal models of insulin deficiency, where vanadium significantly reduces blood glucose levels, and in insulin-resistant diabetic animals, where vanadium improves glucose homeostasis.

In in vivo animal studies examining the relationship between hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance and hypertension, vanadium compounds produce significant, sustained decreases in both plasma insulin concentration and blood pressure. Restoring plasma insulin levels reversed the blood-pressure effect.

Clinical trials with vanadium compounds have produced benefits in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. Results have been better, however, in type 2 patients. Six type 2 diabetic subjects treated with 100 milligrams of vanadyl sulfate daily for four weeks had significant reductions in fasting plasma glucose; beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity persisted for up to four weeks after vanadium treatment ended.