The Pros Of Liquid Vitamins
Better Bioavailability & Absorption
When we break down the benefits of a liquid vitamin, a biological bonus is that there isn't any break down involved. With a pill vitamin, your body first must break apart the capsule or tablet to get to the micronutrients housed inside. In most cases, this extra step not only decreases the efficiency of vitamin absorption, but it also limits the nutritional bioavailability, which is not ideal for supplementation intended to boost our health.
When you swallow a pill vitamin, your body enters a race against time to break down the external casing of capsules, or the hard glue "bricks" of tablet, so it can access those micronutrients inside. If the pill isn't broken down quickly enough, then there's a chance those nutrients will pass right through the digestive tract without a trace (or trace mineral) being absorbed. With a sluggish breakdown, many nutrients will be excreted, meaning that essentially, you've flushed those nutrients down the drain, literally.
Recently, several reports, found that many multivitamins fail to fully dissolve within the allocated time frame set forth by the U.S. Pharmacopeia, meaning that consumers were not receiving the health benefits their multivitamin promised. As awareness continues to grow regarding the problem with pill form vitamins, several other studies have examined the capsule conundrum.
As our foods become more nutrient void, it's becoming increasingly necessary to soak in as many vitamins and minerals as possible through alternative sources. With improved bioavailability and absorption, liquids appear to be a smart solution for effective multivitamin supplementation.
A Shorter Shelf Life
No, we didn't accidentally place a liquid vitamin "con" on our pill-free "pro" list. While a multivitamin pill has a longer shelf life than a liquid vitamin, this longevity comes at a price. We're sure you wouldn't like to think of your multivitamin as a science experiment, but unfortunately, that's what supplement pills have become to stay shelf stable. The concoction that goes into keeping pills counter-top safe involves a questionable combination of fillers, stabilizers, and bonding agents so that your pill capsule can essentially double as a time capsule.
After shining the spotlight on these shelf-stabilizing "secret ingredients", the cost to benefit ratio for taking a pill multivitamin is just not equating to favor tablets or capsules. However, if you're still swayed by the financial benefits that come with a pill supplement that won't have to be replaced as frequently as a liquid form, you may want to consider the logic behind that stance.
Often, many people unknowingly continue to take pill vitamins long past their expiration date. This means that you're consuming vitamins that are no longer effective, or worse yet, are potentially harmful if they haven't been stored properly. With that in mind, it may be worthwhile to go with an additive-free liquid vitamin from the start, which provides more tell-tale signs once it's expired.
Simple to Swallow
Regardless of swallowing large, chalky pills is just not a pleasant process. Pill aversion stems from many different sources, including potentially serious medical conditions This population is often most at risk for nutrient deficiencies meaning that supplementation isn’t a choice but a necessity. Access to liquid vitamins is imperative for those suffering from dysphagia when traditional food intake is simply not possible. Dysphagia can be common in the senior population, therefore it's wise to select the best liquid multivitamin for elderly folks when deciding on a supplement.
Those with medically induced pill aversion are not the only population that has difficulty swallowing hard capsules and tablets: pill-phobia is an all-too-common psychological condition that prevents many from sticking with a supplementation schedule that involves a pill. For many, pill anxiety is a mental block that can lead to real physical effects like dry mouth and constricted throat muscles which increase the risk of choking. Fortunately, liquid vitamins provide a solution to the pandemic of pill-paranoia that plagues a large portion of the population.
Superior Synergism
When talking about the synergistic properties of liquid vitamins, the phrase "better together" comes to mind. With a liquid formula, you can pack in more powerful doses of micronutrients that work cohesively to amplify the health-boosting benefits. When taken together in higher doses, these vitamins increase the net effect of the other, resulting in a more effective multivitamin.
Multivitamins in liquid form can achieve levels of nutrient density that are not achievable with capsules or tablets. The increased potency of liquid supplements is two-fold: liquid vitamins allow for an increased concentration of each micronutrient, which is then intensified through precise combinations that produce a stronger product. With a liquid vitamin, the effect of each nutrient is bigger and better, together.
Credit: Healthycell.com
