Vitamins - Liquid vs Tablets

Brent Bauer, M.D. a Mayo Clinic alternative medicine specialist, says that vitamin liquids and vitamin chewable tablets are usually absorbed by the body much quicker than the capsules or tablets and that information seems consistent when researched.

The stomach and intestine do not break them down as fast as the liquids and chewable tablets, but with vitamins they don't need to be absorbed quickly as a medicine or drug would require. There are several medicines that need to be absorbed very quickly, such as Tylenol if a high fever is present. Vitamins do not count in that category.

An important issue is whether you can swallow a capsule or tablet, and if not, use a liquid or chew it up. Another reason is if a large amount of the vitamin is needed, then the liquid or powder should be used to get it all down smoothly. It is an individual thing, and obviously the vitamin does not have to rush through the system to work better.

One of the disadvantages of the liquid vitamin is that when it enters the stomach as a liquid, the vitamins are subject to stomach acids, meaning that some of the nutrients will be destroyed before it can supply the nutrients to the body. Also, they are somewhat high priced as compared to the vitamin capsule or tablet.

The bad thing about the pills is that the cheaper versions may fall apart in the stomach, or are so hard they do not dissolve at all. So, the best thing to do is buy a high quality vitamin pill with a enteric coating. Enteric is a carefully designed system to carry the nutraceutical ingredients to the walls of the upper intestine, safely and efficiently.

Vitamins, whether they are liquid or pill, should be taken at mealtime with food as they are concentrated foods. While your body is absorbing the food, it will also absorb the vitamin. They do not have to be broken down by the body, before their active ingredients can be released and absorbed.

Make sure the process is with meals for a child also, as a child's body will have more problems than the adult, who can only break down about 20% to 40% of a tablet or chewable vitamin. If you get too much of one particular vitamin, the body will flush it out through urine.

So, liquid vitamins or tablet vitamins have some pros and cons, but mainly it is a matter of personal preference. Try taking the capsule if it is time released, but other than that, don't get too picky! Some people avoid the liquid vitamin as they don't like their taste on their tongue. So, recognize what you want and your limitation, then decide!