Looking at vitamin supplements?
Start with an overview
of digestive system

Understanding vitamin supplements requires some basic knowledge about the digestive system. Most people who take vitamin supplements, or minerals, or antioxidants, usually take them by mouth, and these supplements enter their body through the digestive system.

So, let's refresh our memory...

The first stage of digestion is ingestion,
in which food is taken into the mouth and then broken down into smaller pieces by the chewing action of the teeth.

Salivary glands produce saliva as a response to the sight, taste, and smell of the food. It is necessary for saliva to be present for the proper food movement through the mouth.
Another role of saliva is to begin the process of breaking carbohydrates into simple sugars.

Next, the food goes down the esophagus (food tube), pushed by wavelike muscular contractions. The esophagus extends from the bottom of the throat to the top of the stomach. Vitamin supplements taken by mouth make the same path through this food tube.

The food ends up in the stomach, where chemical digestion begins. Stomach acids break down much of the protein into amino acids and kill most bacteria in the food.

Food leaves the stomach in liquid form and travels into the small intestine. There carbohydrates, amino acids and fats are digested and then absorbed into the bloodstream. Vitamins and minerals are also absorbed in the small intestine.

The liver produces bile, which is stored in the gallbladder. The gallbladder empties bile, a yellowish or greenish fluid, into the small intestine when liquid food enters it. Bile is necessary for dissolving fats. Another function of liver is to processes and regulate substances entering the blood stream from the food that is ingested.

The pancreas produces pancreatic juice, which assists in the digestion of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The pancreas also regulates blood sugar levels by directing cells to take up or to secrete sugar into the blood.

The large intestine removes water from what is left of the food once it passes the small intestine.

The rectum is the final storage space for food wastes, once all of the nutrients and moisture have been removed. The wastes remain in the rectum until excreted.

Digestion is the chemical process of transforming complex organic substances into more simple ones, which can be absorbed by the body.

Vitamins and minerals can be absorbed "as is", without any transformation, therefore there is no need for the body to digest vitamins and minerals.

However, a necessary condition for this absorption is that supplements are present in liquid form in the small intestine. Otherwise, vitamin supplements cannot be absorbed - they are not bioavailable. The formal definition of bioavailability is a percentage of a consumed supplement that has been absorbed by a body.

There is a principal difference between different dietary supplements in the way that their ingredients are absorbed.

• Solid supplements in form of tablets, capsules, or pills are swallowed, usually with a liquid, and make their way to the stomach. In the stomach they should dissolve before the food will leave it.
  If not dissolved, the pills will leave the stomach with supplements still being solid.
  Vitamin absorption cannot happen if the vitamins are not in a liquid form.

• Liquid vitamins, spray vitamins and dietary supplements in gel form do not have to be dissolved. The reason is simple: in these forms of dietary supplements, vitamins, minerals, and other supplements are not solid: they are already dissolved in liquid or "floating" in gel.
  These nutrients are ready to be absorbed!

• If you have digestion problems, here is a great news for you: there are ways to bypass the digestive system!
  The active ingredients of sublingual vitamins and vitamin patches bypass the digestive system as they are absorbed directly into your bloodstream.

Related Links

Digestive System - The Human Digestive System and How It Works.
Read useful information about the organs of the digestive system, the digestive process, and the absorption of nutrients. Learn how can a healthy digestive system promotes a healthy body. Best Colon Cleanse site provides you with the bestup-to-date information on colon cleanse products, colon detox diets and body detoxification.

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