Can you chew multivitamins

In addition to making it easier to swallow, chewing or crushing the vitamin has another benefit: The smaller pieces allow it to be absorbed more quickly. Never chew enteric-coated vitamins, time-release tablets or supplements meant to be dissolved in your mouth.

Dissolvable supplements are designed to be absorbed in the mucous membranes of your mouth, which boosts absorption of some vitamins, such as vitamin B If you chew dissolvable tablets, or those with a time-release coating, fewer nutrients will be absorbed.

Enteric coating is used to protect nutrients that would be damaged by stomach acid. The coating stays intact through the stomach, dissolving only after the vitamin reaches the small intestine, where it can be absorbed.

If you chew this type of supplement, you'll ruin the effect of the enteric coating. Vitamin C is a natural organic acid called ascorbic acid. If you chew vitamin C supplements instead of swallowing them whole, the acid has the potential to erode tooth enamel.

If your stomach is sensitive, it may also cause heartburn or an upset stomach. This may only be a problem if you take large doses, but if the acid bothers you, don't chew vitamin C tablets. You might also consider getting buffered vitamin C supplements that neutralize the acidity, such as calcium ascorbate or magnesium ascorbate, suggests Orthomolecular Medicine. If you have a hard time swallowing tablets, try buying caplets, capsules and softgels, which are easier to swallow than dry tablets.

If you struggle to get them down, you can always chew or crush all three types. This blog aims to parse the good from the bad from the truly awful in the supplement aisle.

Gummy vitamins are better tasting and easier-to-swallow than multivitamin tablets, but this convenience comes at a significant cost. According to the Institute of Medicine, we need to get 13 vitamins and 12 minerals from our diet, fortified foods, or dietary supplements.

Centrum MultiGummies for Adults, for example, is missing 10 of these vitamins and minerals. Among the 37 brands of gummy multivitamins we examined, none came close to being a good substitute for an ordinary multivitamin tablet like a Centrum, One-A-Day, or similar brand. Problem number two with gummies is that their manufacturing quality is poorer than with multivitamin pills, gelcaps, and tablets, according to the latest findings of the supplement-testing company ConsumerLab.

Four of the five gummies contained too much folate or vitamin A, in fact, way more than what was listed on the label. For some brands, the folate levels exceeded the safe daily limit established by the Institute of Medicine. There may have been problems with other nutrients, but ConsumerLab looked at only a few of them.

Multivitamins traditionally came in tablet form, but a quick look at the store shelves will show you a world of possibilities that will leave you debating which form of vitamin is right for you. There are gummies, powders, drops, and chewables all next to each other on the shelves. Each kind poses unique advantages and disadvantages. Although they all serve the same purpose of delivering vitamins to your body, they each do so in a different way. Some forms may work better for people of varying age groups or lifestyles or people with certain medical conditions.

Chewable vitamins are an alternative to tablets that will work well for most people without sacrificing the quality or efficacy of the vitamins they contain. In addition, they provide a solution for youngsters or seniors who may have some trouble with vitamins in other forms.

There are plenty of reasons why someone may find that chewable vitamins work better for them than other forms of vitamins. While tablets are generally billed as the tried and true form, there are many benefits unique to chewable vitamins that tablets simply cannot provide. Some people have a difficult time swallowing pills, and many multivitamin tablets are on the larger side.

Chewable vitamins bypass these obstacles. A chewable vitamin is substantially smaller in size than a bite of food and easy for even the youngest child to take. If your toddler or child is at the age where they understand to chew well before swallowing, chewable vitamins should be a breeze. Just be sure to read the ingredients on chewable vitamins before you provide them to children. Choose a formula designed by pediatricians, and be wary of additives, artificial colors, artificial flavors, and sugar.

The flavor and colors are natural and derived from real fruits. When you swallow a vitamin tablet, your body needs to break it down before the vitamins and minerals it contains can be fully utilized by the body. Chewable vitamins drastically simplify this process. When you chew the vitamin, the process of chewing and the introduction of enzymes naturally present in your saliva help to expedite the process of making the vitamin usable by your body.

This reduces the potential for wastage or difficulty processing the vitamins from the supplement. Tablets take a lot of effort for your stomach to break down.