Absorption rate of oral supplements

[Highserotonin90]

I was wondering if you can estimate the absorption of oral supplements in powder form when ingested with the gelatin capsule?

I suspect that the total absorption is between 10 and 25%.

These things should be taken into consideration when dosages are recommended here in the forum.

Thank you

 

[ThinPicking]

I was wondering if you can estimate the absorption of oral supplements in powder form when ingested with the gelatin capsule?

I suspect that the total absorption is between 10 and 25%.

These things should be taken into consideration when dosages are recommended here in the forum.

Thank you

Good thoughts.

I think there's a lot more to it. Fluid balance, concentration, gastric and lumen pH, availability of cotransport factors, emptying rate etc. It's highly variable.

If it's capped powder, dissolution is also variable and subject to many factors in the stomach. Check out the studies on this.

 

[Highserotonin90]

Good thoughts.

I think there's a lot more to it. Fluid balance, concentration, gastric and lumen pH, availability of cotransport factors, emptying rate etc. It's highly variable.

If it's capped power, dissolution is also variable and subject to many factors in the stomach. Check out the studies on this.

Would a sublingual intake be better at this point?

 

[ThinPicking]

Would a sublingual intake be better at this point?

My own feeling is to keep the gastrointestinal system working well and understand to a certain extent you're taking a punt when taking supplements. Don't expect miracles from highly concentrated and compacted forms of things that shouldn't really exist that way.

Mental status actually has a lot to do with what's going on down there in my experience. When you're already feeling at your best, absorption of whatever you're taking should be more swift and absolute.

 

[ww3not4me]

Most should be taken with food or drink. For instance I know a guy that puts half of a hard multi-vitamin One A Day type into his morning cup of coffee. So I tried this with generic Walmart brand and sure enough it completely breaks down in the coffee. Give a litle stir after about 5 to 10 minutes and drink away.

I say this because I knew a guy that had a portable lavatory business and he laughed at the idea of taking vitamins because he would find so many unresolved pills at the bottom of his portable toilets when he would suck out the waste.

So it would appear that there are 2 sides to every coin and always a solution or work around!

Now the composition of the ingredients in your supplements may or may not be in the ideal most absorbable form that is entirely different though from them breaking down! Likewise your intestines might not be in the best shape for absorption either.

I think it is almost always best to take supplements with food especialy foods that contain those same nutrients and cofactors for those supplemented nutrients.

If your diet has enough calcium in it to make your body happy taking more calcium in supplemental form is not going to do anything positive for you. Sometimes how you feel can be informative but sometimes you need lab tests.

No one is going to be able to give you a fact based answer on your question about % of nutrient absorption as if their is some agreed upon universal constant. There is way too much variability not only from one nutrient to another but person by person. They can test your DNA and tell you ball park were you stand when it comes to the absorption of various nutrients based on DNA but that still is only a ball park because nature and nurture are not either/or situation but rather they always working together. You will see numbers tossed about but the more you learn about this stuff the more you understand that there are far too many variable in a persons environment, DNA and lifestyle.

You also have to look at the fact that one nutrient deficiency can lead to another and another. Until I added boron to my nutrient stack for my entire life no matter how lean or young I was, sun exposure or fitness level I always had chronically low vitamin D3 even if I supplemented with 25,000iu per day in divided doses. Once I added boron like magic my vitamin D levels rose into normal ranges. My DNA says I should have slightly better than average Vitamin D absorption but lab tests for 3 decades said otherwise! Last I checked in America Boron is not seen as a required trace mineral.

 

[Ben.]

You also have to look at the fact that one nutrient deficiency can lead to another and another. Until I added boron to my nutrient stack for my entire life no matter how lean or young I was, sun exposure or fitness level I always had chronically low vitamin D3 even if I supplemented with 25,000iu per day in divided doses. Once I added boron like magic my vitamin D levels rose into normal ranges. My DNA says I should have slightly better than average Vitamin D absorption but lab tests for 3 decades said otherwise! Last I checked in America Boron is not seen as a required trace mineral.

Very interesting. I can't get my d levels up for the life of me. I thought it might be due to my chronic health issues pointing towards a severe infection of something like lyme messing with the corresponding receptors. Taking vitamin d per supplement triggers almost instant poisionous symptoms for me.

Another user in 2019 reported something similar but with calcium fructoborate:

Anyone taking the calcium fructoborate form. I initially tried borax but stopped due to learning about some issue but can't for the life of me remember why I decided against it. I opted for calcium fructoborate which is widely present in fruits and vegetables. I was pleasantly surprised coming out of winter with healthy levels of D vitamin. I have always been low. I am hoping to see increase in my testosterone levels so I can regrow lean muscles which have been decimated after losing weight and being sick.

Calcium Fructoborate for Bone and Cardiovascular Health

 

[aniciete]

Most should be taken with food or drink. For instance I know a guy that puts half of a hard multi-vitamin One A Day type into his morning cup of coffee. So I tried this with generic Walmart brand and sure enough it completely breaks down in the coffee. Give a litle stir after about 5 to 10 minutes and drink away.

I say this because I knew a guy that had a portable lavatory business and he laughed at the idea of taking vitamins because he would find so many unresolved pills at the bottom of his portable toilets when he would suck out the waste.

So it would appear that there are 2 sides to every coin and always a solution or work around!

Now the composition of the ingredients in your supplements may or may not be in the ideal most absorbable form that is entirely different though from them breaking down! Likewise your intestines might not be in the best shape for absorption either.

I think it is almost always best to take supplements with food especialy foods that contain those same nutrients and cofactors for those supplemented nutrients.

If your diet has enough calcium in it to make your body happy taking more calcium in supplemental form is not going to do anything positive for you. Sometimes how you feel can be informative but sometimes you need lab tests.

No one is going to be able to give you a fact based answer on your question about % of nutrient absorption as if their is some agreed upon universal constant. There is way too much variability not only from one nutrient to another but person by person. They can test your DNA and tell you ball park were you stand when it comes to the absorption of various nutrients based on DNA but that still is only a ball park because nature and nurture are not either/or situation but rather they always working together. You will see numbers tossed about but the more you learn about this stuff the more you understand that there are far too many variable in a persons environment, DNA and lifestyle.

You also have to look at the fact that one nutrient deficiency can lead to another and another. Until I added boron to my nutrient stack for my entire life no matter how lean or young I was, sun exposure or fitness level I always had chronically low vitamin D3 even if I supplemented with 25,000iu per day in divided doses. Once I added boron like magic my vitamin D levels rose into normal ranges. My DNA says I should have slightly better than average Vitamin D absorption but lab tests for 3 decades said otherwise! Last I checked in America Boron is not seen as a required trace mineral.

How much boron?