I was speaking with a patient about tablets versus capsules. As a generalized rule, I say buy capsules. The odds of it dissolving in your stomach are better. If it dissolves, you are more apt to be able to absorb the substance in it.
Sadly, a lot of tablets made by reputable makers don’t dissolve in your stomach. They go all the way through your tract, un-changed, and come out in your stool.
This patient that I was speaking with – she was cleaning out her holding tank while closing the cottage. Yep, there the tablets were – still intact. Clearly those supplement didn’t do a thing for her. ( Ask me when you’re in about my personal experience.)
There is a way to see if your tablets are dissolving. I haven’t tried this so can’t speak from experience. This acid test is something that a few of my ND friends and patients have talked about.
1. Place approximately one cup of white vinegar in a small bowl and warm it to 98 degrees or so by placing it inside a larger bowl of water that you “top up” several times with warm water from the tap. (The goal is to keep the vinegar reasonably close to 98 degrees for half an hour.)
2. Drop your multi-vitamin (or other pill) into the vinegar, and jostle it about every five minutes or so by gently shaking or swirling the cup. While you can also stir the mix with a wooden stick or toothpick, be careful not to touch the tablet itself.
3. The tablet should dissolve within 30 minutes. (This is the USP standard for all pharmaceutical tablets.) If it doesn’t dissolve within a full hour, it’s not doing you much good. Get another brand!
