Although in the past most, if not all, dietary supplements were only available in pill form, many companies are now producing liquid supplements. But is there any real advantage to taking a liquid supplement over a pill?
Well, when you take a solid supplement it must be broken down by your stomach’s digestive enzymes before it can be absorbed by the body. Liquid supplements on the other hand can be absorbed rapidly by the body with little or no chemical breakdown.
Because the vitamins and minerals are rapidly absorbed they are available right away for your body to use. This contrasts with solid supplements which may take hours to get into your system. The high absorption rate of liquid supplements also ensures your body can utilize many of the vitamins which might otherwise have gone undigested and passed out as solid waste.
Liquid supplements are also indisputably easier to take than pills or tablets. Although this advantage may be more fully appreciated within the context of elderly adults or small children, many adults faced with the prospect of drinking several milliliters of liquid compared to a large “horse-pill” sized tablet will opt for the liquid.
In addition to these advantages, liquid supplements are often more convenient. Instead of lugging around different bottles of tablets, many supplements are now combined in liquid form. This is a big relief to frequent travelers who are working with an economy of space in their suitcase.
Although some vitamins can only be taken in solid form, the vast majority are now available as liquids. So the next time you invite someone to drink to your health, think about putting away that bottle of wine and pouring yourself a glass of multivitamins.