There’s a reason vitamins and minerals are essential. Your body needs the right combination of nutrients to function correctly.

Vitamins and minerals can boost your immune system, keep your nervous system communicating correctly, help your body convert food into energy, and support blood clotting and other critical functions. 

What is the best way to ensure your body has the right balance of vitamins and minerals? We offer mobile IV therapy at Vital Flow Infusions, delivering vitamin injections and IV infusions to you in Sioux Falls. 

Are vitamin injections or IV therapy necessary if you take a daily multivitamin? It turns out that the way nutrients enter your body is as important as the vitamins themselves. The key is bioavailability. 

What Is Bioavailability?

Bioavailability is the amount of a drug or supplement that your body absorbs. For example, oral vitamins have varying degrees of bioavailability because they must make their way through your digestive system before your body can absorb the nutrients. 

In contrast, vitamin injections and IV drip therapy are 100% bioavailable, as they are administered directly into your bloodstream.

Oral Vitamins’ Path to Bioavailability

When you take an oral vitamin, it first makes its way to your stomach. There, gastric acids and enzymes begin breaking down the supplement before it travels to your small intestine. Your small intestine absorbs protein, fats, and carbohydrates with essential enzymes, then pushes anything left over to your large intestine.

Your large intestine absorbs water and minerals, which are then transported to the liver to be processed and detoxified. Then, your liver sends the nutrients into your blood vessels, which deliver them to the areas in your body where they’re needed most. Thus, nutrients travel through your blood vessels to tissues and cells. 

The lengthy process from ingestion to digestion to delivery means several factors affect the absorption of oral supplements. 

Vitamin Injections’ Path to Bioavailability

Once you receive a vitamin injection, it’s 100% bioavailable.

How Bioavailable Are Oral Vitamins?

Unfortunately, there is not a definite answer to how bioavailable oral supplements are, as everything from the type of vitamin to the health of your gastrointestinal tract affects your body’s ability to process and absorb nutrients. 

Several bioavailability inhibitors, such as pregnancy or genetic makeup, can significantly affect oral vitamin absorption. Even simple changes to your diet can play a part in how your body makes supplements bioavailable.

Alcohol Consumption 

Consuming alcohol increases your body’s need for nutrients. Alcohol expedites the loss of nutrients and hinders your body’s ability to store and use its vitamins and minerals. Alcohol consumption has a direct impact on your absorption of:

• Most B vitamins
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K
• Magnesium
• Zinc

Those who regularly drink alcohol may struggle to maintain proper nutrient levels.

Caffeine Consumption

Similarly, caffeine can reduce vitamin and mineral absorption. The tannins in caffeine block the body’s ability to absorb calcium, iron, magnesium, and B vitamins. 

Certain Medications

Certain prescription and over-the-counter medications can hinder nutrient utilization and absorption. 

Stress

Stress increases the levels of a hormone known as cortisol. High cortisol levels due to high stress impact your body’s digestive system and its ability to absorb nutrients.

Are Oral Supplements Worthless?

No. Oral supplements can play a critical role in maintaining your overall health when you’re not consuming or absorbing all of the nutrients you need. However, when your body is nutrient deficient, oral supplements are not the best option to restore your supply of vitamins and minerals. 

Oral supplements can help you maintain proper levels of nutrients. However, vitamin injections and IV hydration offer better bioavailability.

Better Bioavailability Means Faster Benefits

Receiving your vitamins via injection or IV therapy means they go straight where needed most. For example, you may be feeling run-down, light-headed, or weak and have symptoms like muscle weakness, memory concerns, and depression. These are symptoms of a B12 deficiency. 

A B12 injection is the most effective way to restore your levels of this essential vitamin. Since the vitamin enters your bloodstream directly, your body can process it immediately, alleviating your symptoms faster than an oral supplement.

In contrast, it can take weeks before oral vitamins restore deficient nutrient levels and bring you relief from your symptoms.

Effective, Efficient Nutrient Restoration 

There’s no reason to suffer the effects of vitamin and mineral deficiency. 

With mobile IV therapy, Vital Flow Infusions can send a registered nurse to you in Sioux Falls. Our medical staff evaluates your symptoms, allergies, medications, and medical history to ensure you receive the best treatment for your needs. 

Discover how great your body feels when you have all the nutrients you need — schedule your appointment with Vital Flow Infusions today.