Know the Best Supplement Delivery Form For You
You’ve decided to start taking nutritional supplement. If it was several years ago, you may simply have a tablet or capsules of some multivitamins. Now, you’re faced with endless form for specific nutrient, you have the conventional tablets/capsules or caplets, liquids or in juice or ready-to-drink concoction, liquigels or soft gels, chewables, gummies, sublingual dissolvables, powders and more recently, intravenous/ injectibles. How then would do you decide which form is best for the vitamin, mineral, herb or supplement you want to take?
I have heard an argument from a client of one of my distributors, that a supplement is better when in liquid form, saying that liquid is easily "absorbed" by the body. That made me look into this topic and have a read on the best supplement form. The truth is the form at which a supplement is delivered to the body to be absorbed is a factor of many things, but in general, it is factor of the type of the nutrients and the audience or the receiver of the supplement. Determining what delivery system for supplements is not as simple as what we make it sound. In fact, for manufacturers, there's a lot of science in it. Manufacturers of nutrients have think how to get the vitamins to the specific part of your body in as complete a form as possible, that is, for the active ingredient or the nutrients to be easily released and easily absorbed into the body. Take note that our body works for four hours to digest your vitamins, and a large percentage of the active ingredient could be lost in the process, that is, from the time you ingest it (through your mouth), all the way to your small intestines, into the villi and transported by the blood. It is in this note that the delivery system can in essence be the making or breaking of the bioavailability of vitamins and mineral supplements.
Depending on the nutrients, some delivery systems are better than others. Some delivery systems will suit you, some will not. Tablets and capsules are the most common form of supplement. However, there are now powders, soft gels, liquids, gummies and isotonic vitamins. It can be a little overwhelming when you first look on the shelves of your local pharmacy and can intimidate you with choice. Here are some pros and cons of each delivery system, which I hope could aid you in making an informed decision regarding your nutritional supplement routine.
Tablet
The usual concern when choosing tablets is what comes with the active ingredient, those "extras" that make the tablet solid and that protect the active ingredients from oxygen, light and moisture. The binders and fillers, commonly known as excipients, including lubricants that your body does not use but is needed to form the tablet and to make it easier to swallow and to make the tablet stable.
Some manufacturer make tablets "uncoated" (usually a cost-cutting strategy), but it could make the tablets unpleasant to swallow, and leave an undesirable after taste. Which is why most tablets come coated, to mask the unpleasant taste is too much for most consumers. Some coating allows for time or sustained release - which makes use of a type of polymer that protects the nutrient from the pH of the stomach and therefore ensures the vitamin dissolves in the alkali of the intestine, particularly beneficial for water soluble vitamins that are not stored in the body. This also allows for the nutrient to pass into the bloodstream through the wall of the gut, rather than being metabolised in the stomach where some of the nutrient might be lost. A lot of vitamins actually work better when metabolised in the lower gut, therefore such a coating is often essential for nutrient intake to be effective.
Tablets come in all sorts of sizes, chewables or lozenges. To be effective, the tablet needs to dissolve in your body. The USP or United States Pharmacopeia (that is, if your nutritional supplement complies with USP) requires that tablets have to dissolve in water within 45 minutes. The concept is that if it can dissolve within water with a pH of 7, then it is going to dissolve in the stomach acids at a pH 1.5 to 3.5. Sadly, very few nutritional supplements manufacturer comply with USP, so you should be careful in choosing your brand of supplement.
Gummies/Lozenges/Sublingual
For those who cannot swallow tablets or dislike swallowing so many tablets – these do offer a pleasant alternative. Iron can taste unpleasant even with the help of sugar, so this is unlikely to be found in gummies or in lozenge form.
Nutritional supplements in the form of gummies help people who struggle with the taste of vitamins, similar with chewables and lozenges. The primary concern of such delivery form is the high level of sugar that is incorporated. Gummies are particularly effective with children who see them as candy.
Some vitamins taken in the form of gummies, lozenges or chewable begin absorption into the blood through the mucus membranes in the mouth, therefore they begin to work quicker. For example, Pure Rest a melatonin supplement of Usana, an effective sleep aid, is better if held in the mouth for longer time – in a lozenge form. Therefore, you have a high chance of receiving the active ingredient in the systemic circulation with this delivery system.
Capsules
Capsules allow the active ingredient to be delivered without mixing it with too many, excipients. Depending on the preference, the capsule itself can be made of gelatine or from seaweed/ tapioca extracts whether you are vegetarian or not. Capsules are often preferred over tablets because they are easier to swallow and now the capsules can be big enough to carry up to 950 mg of a nutrient. However, in many studies it was still found that capsules were preferred by most takers of vitamins. Capsules delivered the nutrients quickly and was generally thought to be more gentle on the stomach than tablets. Despite all the innovation in delivery systems, capsules remain the most often used delivery form.
Soft Gel
Soft gels are somewhere between capsules and tablets. They are usually used with fat-soluble vitamins -vitamins need to be mixed with oils to form into soft gel. This would introduce an unwelcome ingredient to most nutrients. Sometimes soft gel is used in supplements that mix water soluble and fat soluble vitamins. People often choose soft gels because they mask the taste and are easy to swallow. These are particularly useful for poorly soluble nutrients, as the delivery method increases solubility and permeability. As the soft gel is a sealed unit, the vitamins last much longer on the shelf. The downside of soft gel is that it is often more expensive than other forms.
With all tablets, capsules and soft gel options, the ultimate concern is that feeling you are taking a whole lot of drugs each day. This can be an unwelcomed idea for most people and therefore finding more natural routes to getting supplements is important: this is where powders and liquids can be preferable. The supplements can be mixed with favorite beverages and taken with meals.
Powder
Powders allow for supplements to be made into a shake and drink. This works particularly well for vitamins that are measured in the milligrams rather than micro-milligrams. This means powders are particularly useful for proteins, collagen, fibres and
The use of powders allows for a certain versatility for the manufacturer – as they can give lots of different tastes and colors for the consumer. However, the dosage is controlled by the end user and therefore the guidance on dosage needs to be clear if the nutrients are to be effective.
Companies are now also developing a powder that you can sprinkle on the food. This is helpful to those who do not like to feel so full up from a shake or a smoothie and means that the vitamins are being delivered with food, which will protect the stomach. As with smoothie mixes and shakes, the dosage is controlled by the user, therefore the manufacturer should give clear guidelines on how much to take.
Liquids
Liquids are merely the mixed form of powders. However, there are liquid concentrates which contain water, glycerine and lecithin as a base. It is more likely to include preservatives, colorants and
Most herbal supplements are in liquid form because of the speed of absorption, with some absorption happening within the mouth, but without the additives the taste might be too difficult for most consumers to take. Liquid allow for higher quantities of nutrients in a small dose. However, the downside is, once opened liquid nutrients need to be stored in a fridge and the used by date checked. It is hard to avoid microbial contamination and proliferation with liquids and for this reason it is not a delivery system often used.
Vitamin Injections
Certain vitamins can be injected. Injections are a great option for delivering select nutrients in large doses. One concern with injections, is that many nutrients are not safe to inject. Of those that are safe to inject, very few of them have extra quantifiable benefits to the average person over eating the nutrient. Because of this, injections should only typically be done at a doctor’s recommendations.
Injections also bring additional risk factors. At the very least they can be uncomfortable. IVs pose a risk of infection, bleeding (hematoma), embolism, and more.
Ultimately, the selection of the delivery form of the nutritional supplement that a consumer will get depends on the consumer himself, among others mentioned above. The effectiveness of each of these delivery systems are dependent on the supplement and in reality the manufacturer. Therefore, you have the power to shop around and find the best choice for you – whatever that might be. Keep in mind what you are hoping to achieve from the supplement – if it is for topical relief or long-term health benefits. Keep in mind your ability to commit to sustaining a regimen of supplements and choose one that best fits into your lifestyle. The good news is that you as the consumer are in control. You can make supplements work for you and make your life better as you do.
Think carefully about what you need from your supplement. Here are some question to ask and answer as you find the appropriate supplement for you:
What percentage bioavailability is claimed by the manufacturer? In other words, how much of the active ingredient do they claim will make it into your system?
Do you need your supplement to taste good or not taste at all? Does taste even matter to you?
Do you struggle to take tablets and capsules? Does it matter how many capsules you would have to take, when there may be fewer tablets? Do you hate getting filled up on shakes and smoothies?
Are you worried about the hidden extras that come with vitamins? Or, are you happy to trust that the pros and cons of the chemical mixture has been carefully considered by the manufacturer?
Does cost matter? Many of these questions are down to you as the consumer.
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