Vitamins, including multivitamins, are available in more forms than ever before. The good news about this is that it affords you an excellent level of flexibility in terms of the products you use and how you use them. However, when trying to choose a product for your own particular needs, the increase in choice does add in a little complexity.
When choosing what type of vitamin or multivitamin for you and your family, including what form the supplement is taken in, there are a few key principles involved which can help you to weigh up the relative merits of each option.
Tables and Capsules
Of course the vitamin products most of us instinctively think of are those that come in the form of tablets or capsules. These are by no means the only option, but there are a number of key aspects of them to bear in mind, and a number of primary advantages to using them.
One of the main benefits to choosing a tablet or capsule for your multivitamin, is that the dose is already measured for you. These have to be the most convenient vehicle for your vitamin intake, as you do not need to carry out any calculations or measurements yourself, you simply purchase a product and follow the instructions. With liquids and powder, some level of measurement will always be required.
When it comes to choosing between the types of vitamin in this form, the main options are tablets or capsules. Capsules are typically absorbed faster, as the containing material is quickly dissolved by the stomach acid. This may be an advantage in some ways, but if your stomach is easily upset the speed of release may be a factor for you. Tablets tend to be absorbed more slowly, which means a steady release of the ingredients into the body.
Different types of vitamin and multivitamin are also suited to different delivery methods, so you may find the product you’re shopping for is only available in certain mediums.
Liquids
Many vitamin and multivitamin products are now available in liquid form, which offers you a distinct set of advantages. Liquid vitamins allow you to have a precise level of control over the amounts you take, unlike a tablet or capsule which is administered at a fixed level.
For children or people who do not like to swallow tablets, or perhaps those who have health conditions making the act of swallowing a tablet difficult, a liquid makes multivitamin products usable where otherwise they may not be. For children who you are having difficulty persuading to take the supplement, you can mix liquid multivitamins in with other liquids such as fruit juice, making it easier for them to take.
Powders
In general, powders offer the same broad advantages to liquids in vitamin supplements. Powder multivitamins are mixed with a liquid such as water and then drank, again making them accessible to people who have problems swallowing and of course children who have a fussy palate.