Oral vs. Injectable Therapies - Which is Best?

Vitamin supplements can come in many different forms, and we are often asked which is better. It is important to understand the differences in each form to determine which is best for your health.
First, let’s talk about bioavailability. Bioavailability is the rate at which a substance is absorbed and made available to your body. This should be what you look for first when it comes to purchasing nutritional supplements. In the United States, we spend over 30 billion dollars on oral nutritional supplements, but most do not consider how much of the nutrients they are purchasing are actually being absorbed.

Oral Supplementation

While oral supplements are by far the most common and easiest to use, they have the lowest bioavailability. Low bioavailability is due to how many factors impact the processing and absorption of oral supplements. All oral supplements must pass through the gastrointestinal system, digested, hopefully absorbed in the intestines, and then metabolized by the liver (first pass effect) to finally arrive at a target tissue. This process can drastically reduce the amount of the nutrients that are bioavailable in most of the supplements on the market. The oral bioavailability is between 5-90% with the average bioavailability under 50%. Certain tablet forms are estimated to only have 3-10% of the nutrient absorbed.

Here are some factors that may impact an individual’s ability to digest and absorb an oral supplement:

• Age
• Weight
• Gender
• Time of day taken
• Level of physical activity
• Level of stress
• Content of stomach and PH level
• Gut motility
• Health of gut and microbiome
• Other diseases
• Presence of other medications

Nutrient Injections and IV Therapies

Injectable nutrients and IV therapies are the most efficient, especially for aging adults, as they bypass first pass effect metabolism, making the bioavailavility close to 100%. Also, compounded injectables come from USA based, certified FDA-regulated pharmacies that have some of the highest regulations of any industry.

Intramuscular injections (a shot given directly into the muscle) are absorbed faster than subcutaneous injections (a shot given just under the skin) but they both have the same bioavailability. This is because muscle tissue has a greater blood supply than the fat tissue just under the skin. With IV therapies, the nutrients are delivered directly to the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system and a much a higher nutrition level is delivered directly into the cells through the bloodstream.

There are times when the body is so deficient of the nutrients it needs, that oral supplements cannot sufficiently do the job. Nutrient injections can be done safely at home making injectables the ideal way to provide the key nutrients we need.

For more information about the benefits and uses of vitamin injection therapy protocols prescribed by TeleWellnessMD™ providers, download our free guide: TeleWellnessMD™ Vitamin Injection Guide.

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