The argument of liquid vs. tablet vitamins is best discussed against background knowledge of exactly what vitamins are and how they are assimilated into the body. The popularity of pills or capsules is basically due to their convenience and taste, but are the vitamins in a convenient form for the body to be able use efficiently?



Vitamins are essential chemicals that take part in the chemical reactions of the body, and allow the processes of life to occur. They are not the bricks that build the body, but the substances that allow the bricks to be made and that allow the body to function as an organism. Without them there would be no human life so a regular intake of vitamins is essential.

If you eat a good balanced diet then you will generally have a good and adequate intake of vitamins. However, few people belong to this group since most people do not have a balanced diet. Vegans, for example, cannot get Vitamin B12 from their diet, and therefore require a supplement. Pregnant women need a good intake of vitamins, and the aged are particularly susceptible to vitamin deficiencies.

A typical diet of burgers and fast foods can lead to a vitamin deficiency, and again supplements are required by people who eat this typical 'American diet'. The result of a vitamin deficiency is a general slowing down of the body's chemical processes and metabolism, premature aging and the gradual appearance of specific conditions affecting the skin, the blood and other parts and organs of the body. For many, therefore, vitamin supplements are necessary to ensure proper nutrition.

Some vitamins, such as vitamin C, folic acid and the various B vitamins are soluble in water and others are oil or fat soluble. The water soluble vitamins are flushed out of the body and must be regularly replaced while the fat soluble ones are stored by the body until needed. This presents us with the first problem: how often do we need to ingest each type of vitamin?

A dietician will be able to provide you with that information, though each person's requirements are different, depending on age, sex, normal diet and any disability they might have. If you are in doubt, then commercial vitamin supplements are specifically balanced to provide an average amount of water and fat soluble vitamins as determined by the health authority of your country, and is called the Recommended Daily Allowance, or RDA. There is no world-wide RDA, each authority making its own recommendations.

It is very important that these vitamins are taken regularly and not intermittently. They are not medicines but regular doses of substances essential for life, and as such should be taken at regular periods. The recommended doses are linked to the RDA of each vitamin, and work best when taken for extended periods. A one-off dose will do little for you but regular doses over several weeks and months will make a difference to your general health and the way you age.

Early vitamin supplements were generally not so much in the form of specific vitamins or mixtures, but of food sources known to be good for you. Castor oil and cod liver oil were good vitamin sources, and the vitamin supplement was taken in a natural form. Through time, tablets became popular due to their convenience, and capsules assumed popularity due to the taste of some unpopular forms of supplement such as the castor and cod liver oil many of us remember with distaste.

Malt was also a popular supplement, especially in the 1940s and 50s when post war diets tended to be poor. Malt was an excellent source of the B vitamins, beta carotene and folic acid. It is generally accepted that vitamins are more easily assimilated into the body from natural sources than from manufactures sources, and this is one argument in favor of liquid supplements that come in a natural form.

However, there are also liquids that are solutions of water soluble vitamins such as vitamin C, and others that are solutions of multivitamins. The oil soluble vitamins are present in these liquid supplements in colloidal or emulsion form; that is, they are present as a suspension of very small particles in the carrier liquid.

The argument for liquids is that they are more easily absorbed by the intestine into the body than solid pills. However, nutrients are absorbed into the body early on in the intestinal tract, and liquids pass through the body relatively quickly. How do we know that the vitamins have time to be fully absorbed? Solids, on the other hand, remain in the intestine for a much longer time. However, it is not the form they are in that is important, but the bioavailability, and liquids are more bioavailable than solids. They are more easily absorbed by the body.

Experts generally agree that it is easier for the body to use vitamins in liquid form than in solid form. Liquids are also welcomed by those who find it difficult to swallow pills, both pills and capsules contain many materials other than the nutrient itself. Tablets contain waxes, fillers and binders to enable the pill to be formed. They can also contain sugars and artificial flavors and colors to make them look and taste more attractive, and other substances to help them break apart after swallowing.

Capsules can be too large for some people to swallow, and even the non-gelatin type can form hard masses in the stomach that can be virtually indigestible. The gelatin capsules have moral significance for vegans and vegetarians and are also difficult to digest.

Soluble or dispersible powders are an alternative to tablets and liquid supplements. The powder can be formulated to contain targeted doses of specific vitamins, unlike most liquids, and are ideal for the water soluble vitamins. With liquids, however, the supplement can be taken in small doses throughout the day which is preferable to one individual table dose.

The choice of liquid vs. tablet vitamins might be a personal one, or one imposed on the 20% of the population that cannot swallow pills, but bioavailability and the natural form of the vitamins concerned should also be taken into consideration. If in doubt, you should check out a reputable vitamin supplement site online and find what recommendations are being made.