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10/15/2007
Does It Matter What Form My Nutritional Supplements Come In?
Vitamark believes in liquid nutrition as evidenced by its phenomenal Limu Plus drink. We believe in tableted and encapsulated nutrition too—so we're often asked the question, "Are liquid vitamins absorbed better than tableted or encapsulated nutritionals?" I hope the following answer satisfies your query.
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When considering the question, "Are liquid vitamins absorbed better than tableted or encapsulated nutritionals?" there are many points to consider. First, exactly how and where are nutrients absorbed? Unless they are taken sublingually or injected, they are absorbed in the small intestine. In the digestive process, a supplement whether in liquid or tablet form, must first go through the stomach where it is broken down before entering the small intestine for absorption. The tablets, especially those that meet the United States Pharmacopoeia standards requiring full disintegration within 30-45 minutes and the established guidelines for dissolution (Vitamark's products meet both guidelines), are in their most bioavailable form when they reach the small intestine.
Bioavailability is defined as the degree and rate at which a substance (as a drug) is absorbed into a living system or is made available at the site of physiological activity. Whether or not vitamins and minerals come in tablet, liquid, powder, or food form, they have different absorption rates—the form usually doesn't make much difference. Take Calcium for instance. The standard absorption rate is 25-35%. Knowing this doesn't it make sense to choose a tableted delivery system, which is capable of delivering an increased amount of active ingredients (almost 3 times as much as capsules and much more than a liquid or spray). Because tablets have been shown to be a very efficient delivery system, most pharnaceutical medications are in tablet form. Why would vitamin and mineral supplements be any different? Tableted delivery systems are also generally more stable than liquid systems.
Many other factors can affect the absorption of vitamins and minerals in the body. The function of the person taking the nutrient is dependent on the age of the person, the integrity of their digestive system(which is why the inclusion of digestive enzymes in VitaOne is so significant), the state of their health, time of day, gender, and whether or not the supplements were taken on a full or empty stomach. People whose nutrient needs are greater, such as growing children, pregnant or lactating women and those who are currently deficient may have significantly enhanced absorption rates for certain nutrients. These individual differences make some company’s recent claims of 98% absorption for everyone seem questionable. Even absorption of minerals from food sources can vary significantly. Iodine, molybdenum, and boron can be absorbed from a food source at over 90% while the average absorption rates of copper, zinc and selenium can range from 30-80% depending on the form. Doesn't it make sense that stating an average absorption rate is misleading?
Because the Vitamark tablets are formulated to the United States Pharmacoepia standards of disintegration and dissolution, we believe that the vitamins and minerals found in our supplements are properly absorbed into the body and are very beneficial.
By creating innovative formulations (the inclusion of enzymes, for example), we have been able to optimize nutrient bioavailability. Each batch of Vitamark tablets are tested against finished product specifications to ensure that they meet standards for weight, identity, thickness, hardness, disintegration, potency, purity and microbial counts.
Vitamark's vitamins and minerals, when combined with a healthy diet and, in the proper forms and amounts, will provide an extremely safe, bioavailable, efficient and effective product.
... from Jana Mitcham
03:40 Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: Nutritional Supplements, vitaone, vitamins, minerals, vitamark, enzymes, calcium