There are a multitude of supplements that are being advertised in various online supplement store websites today. Different types of supplements are manufactured to provide you with health benefits that are specific to their main ingredients. Likewise, different supplements also come in various forms. Each form may have its pros and cons.
Here are the different ways you can take supplements.
Tablets
Tablets are made with powdered active ingredients that are pressed together to produce a circular hard pill. Most supplements in tablet form contain one or more active ingredients along with additives that help keep the tablet intact. These inactive substances that act as a medium or vehicle for the active ingredients to stay together are known as excipients.
Although tablets have been a standard form for taking medicines and supplements, the high amounts of excipients found in tablets may cause digestive discomfort to some people. Nevertheless, the advantage of taking supplements in tablet form is that you can ingest them without having to taste the active ingredients.
Capsules
The advancement in the field of medicine has led to the development of capsules. In capsule form, the dry active ingredients are held together by two outer shells. These shells are either made from gelatin or starch. Like tablets, capsules allow people to ingest supplements quickly without getting to taste them.
Another advantage of taking capsules instead of tablets is that they have fewer amounts of excipients. The outer shells of capsules can easily break down once they reach the stomach. Capsule shells will typically break down within 20 minutes to release the active ingredients. One disadvantage of capsules is that they could not be used to contain liquid or oil-based ingredients.
Softgels
Softgels are used to enclose liquid-based active ingredients. Among the forms already discussed, soft gels have the least amount of non-nutritive excipients that may cause digestive discomfort. However, the only disadvantage of soft-gels is that they are sensitive to heat and may easily get damaged when not stored properly.
Powders
Most online supplement store websites will advertise protein powders. Protein supplements are usually sold in powder form so that people who have trouble swallowing capsules or tablets may have the option to mix the powder in with other liquids and foods.
One advantage of powdered supplements is that they can be mixed into smoothies, especially if the active ingredients have little or no taste at all. However, powdered supplements may still contain inactive ingredients such as silicon dioxide, rice husk, or magnesium stearate in order to prevent the powder from clumping.
Chewable and Gummies
Gummies and chewable supplements were originally designed to attract kids into taking their vitamins and medicines. Nowadays, gummies are also a popular choice for adults who like to have additional flavors to the supplements that they are taking in. However, because of the addition of flavoring, the number of active ingredients that can be incorporated within the gummies may have been sacrificed.
Tinctures
A tincture is a very potent liquid extract of a certain plant or herb that is used as a supplement. Tinctures are made when beneficial herbs or plants are steeped in an alcohol-water mixture until you get every essence of the active ingredient of the plant. During the process, the alcohol purifies any toxins from the plant or herb, leaving only the efficient active ingredients. Since only the active ingredients are gone, the tincture allows the users to absorb all the beneficial ingredients fully. People can ingest some tinctures while other tinctures are used topically.
When you shop at an online supplement store for a specific supplement, you can search the different forms available for the supplement and decide which one will work best for you.
Author Bio: Kathleen Zara works as a freelancer and entrepreneur working from a start-up learning along the way about marketing, social and networking, creating web sites, and web content.
