Liquid Vitamins

Are tablets better than a liquid vitamin supplement?

Liquid vitamins are not better than vitamins in tablet form.

Maybe children's medicine is sometimes better in liquid form, but vitamins and minerals are not.

One claim about liquid supplements is that they are more bioavailable. This suggests that your body can absorb them better than tablets. However this is not always true.

No matter what kind of supplement you take, it must first enter your stomach.

From there it enters your small intestine where the nutrients are usually absorbed. So, if you ever read claims by supplement companies stating liquid vitamins enter your blood stream right away, it's false.

Liquid supplements don't work like that.

In fact no liquids work like that unless you get an injection.

When you look at how absorption works in your body, the form doesn't always play a role.

It has more to do with the actual nutrient.

Different nutrients have different rates of absorption. If you take a vitamin C pill, or you get vitamin C from an orange, the rate of absorption would be similar. You're absorbing the same nutrient, the form doesn't always matter.

Things that affect absorption:

Age of the person
Gender of the person
Current health condition
If the supplements were taken with anything else
The time of day

Whether the supplement is liquid or tablet form will not affect how well your body absorbs it.

Many people would argue that tablets are the better form.

Look at all the different medications out there. Most of them are in tablet form. If you see advertisements for liquid supplements stating a super fast absorption rate, or 99% of nutrients absorbed, those are usually just marketing terms. There are too many factors in play to guarantee an absorption rate.

Look at the research.

All the research conducted over the years showing how effective vitamins are, and how calcium supplements keep your bones strong were done using tablets. How can all this medical research be established if the rate of absorption on tablets was poor? It couldn't.

I haven't seen many medical studies on liquid supplements that show how effective they are.

Don't get fooled by the misleading advertisements of liquid supplement companies.

Although I clearly defend the tablet form of vitmains here, it doesn't mean all liquid supplements are bad. Based on medical studies and the pharmaceutical industries, tablet supplements are still an effective way to get your vitamins.

What's more important is to make sure you're taking a high quality supplement, no matter what form it has.

Make sure you get a quality supplement. If you have any questions, ask them here.