Capsules.

Newsgroups: misc.health.alternative
Subject: Re: Capsules -- who needs them?
From: bryan.phoenix.phoenix.net (Bryan Shelton)
Date: 13 Jul 1995 07:52:35 GMT

David M Schmidt (dschmidt.uncc.edu) wrote:
: I take most of my nutrient supplements in powder form mixed in water instead of in capsules for two reasons: one is that I think they are probably absorbed better. I also tolerate them better in that form -- I get an upset stomach if I take capsules....

I'm always amazed at these pill-swallowing threads that pop up from time to time: people wringing their hands about oh, I have so much trouble swallowing these things, I have too many to swallow, they upset my stomach, isn't there a powder form that would be easier to take, etc. etc.

Folks, WISE UP!!!

Just because nutritional supplements come in little round tablets and pellet-shaped capsules designed for swallowing, that doesn't mean you HAVE to swallow the damn things! Chew them up as you would any other food and THEN swallow them! Many years ago a doctor in California did a study that proved that ALL nutritional tablets and capsules -- yes, even liquids in gelatin capsules like vitamin E -- were absorbed significantly better when they were chewed up first. I am a "life-extender" myself, and every day I take a small handful of various nutrients in all different sizes and shapes of tablets and capsules; and they get the very same treatment I give to a bite of a hamburger: chewed up, thoroughly masticated, and swallowed down the hatch! Well, just one exception: I do swallow whole a special time-release vitamin C tablet at bed-time, but that's it. Some people complain about the taste of these things, but of the thirty or forty I take, I can only think of *one* that has an unpleasant taste, and I quickly got used to it. Hey, if you want something that tastes *good*, drink a chocolate malt! Otherwise, chew up your nutrients properly like an adult!

One obvious caveat: acidic substances like vitamin C should be rinsed down with your favorite beverage, of course.

From: srussell.ix.netcom.com (Steve Harris)

Bryan Shelton writes:
>One obvious caveat: acidic substances like vitamin C should be rinsed down with your favorite beverage, of course.

That probably won't get out all the acidic powder or granules packed into your teeth, if you chew vitamin C. No, if you're going to chew C, either brush and floss immediately, or else use a neutralized ascorbate C. That is, if you want your tooth enamel to still be there in 10 years.

From: bryan.phoenix.phoenix.net (Bryan Shelton)

: That probably won't get out all the acidic powder or granules packed into your teeth, if you chew vitamin C. No, if you're going to chew C, either brush and floss immediately, or else use a neutralized ascorbate C. That is, if you want your tooth enamel to still be there in 10 years.

Well, if you want to be a bit anal about it... Oh, all right, I'll admit that I also make a small exception with my regular ascorbic acid tablets: I don't grind them into a paste, just pop them into five or six smaller chunks and swallow. And then wash them down thoroughly. I've been doing this for 25 years, and my dentist says my teeth are in excellent condition. (Partly *because* of the vitamin C, no doubt!) :-)

From: alczap.thorne.com (Al Czap)

dschmidt.uncc.edu (David M Schmidt) wrote:
> ariadna a solovyova <asolovyo.silver.ucs.indiana.edu> wrote:
> >I don't like swallowing capsules. Could someone tell me if capsules serve any purpose

They mask the incredibly bad taste of most dietary supplements. Have you ever tasted valerian or pyridoxine? Much worse are tablets with binders, disintigrants, flowing agents, fillers, coatings (such as shellac), etc. Many tablets don't even dissolve in the GI tract. Powders may be ideal, however, patient compliance goes down the tubes.

> >If I get calcium powder out of the capsules and eat it this way, will less calcium be absorbed?

If your stomach has the proper amount of HCl for a carbonate, better absorption will be had with a good chelate such as Citrat.

> I take most of my nutrient supplements in powder form mixed in water instead of in capsules for two reasons: one is that I think they are probably absorbed better.

No, capsules dissolve in about 3 minutes, unless taken with a very cold liquid.

From: alczap.thorne.com (Al Czap)

Bryan Shelton wrote:
> Al Czap (alczap.thorne.com) wrote:
>>> Could someone tell me if capsules serve any purpose
>> They mask the incredibly bad taste of most dietary supplements.
> Al, this is a VAST exaggeration! The huge majority of supplements do NOT taste bad at all; And as for your examples: no, I've never tasted valerian, but I've eaten pyridoxine for maybe a couple of decades; sorry, but it's virtually tasteless!

Hmm, hate to go to dinner with you, if you think pyridoxine HCl is tasteless. It is repulsive and bitter, along with Thiamine HCl, Niacinamide, etc. It may well be that the products you take are so filled with stearic acid and Mg stearate that each particle is then coated with a layer of 18 carbon saturated fat, as are virtually all the products manufactured. Stearic acid dramatically effects dissolution (Pharm. Tech. April, 85) and conseuqently absorption of products and further, masks taste. I have hundreds of _pure_ nutritional substances in my lab and certainly don't enjoy the taste of a the majority of them.

Oh well, give me a 61 Latour--- there's flavor.