What is bioavailability ??

A quick google search of Bioavailability will tell you that it is the proportion of a drug or other substance which enters the circulation when introduced into the body and so is able to have an active effect. 

Simply put - It is how much of that medicine or supplement you are taking that actually ends up in your blood.

But what does that mean and why should I care?

To really have the discussion we need to make a few assumptions. The first assumption is that you care about your own health and well being. 

The second assumption is that you are currently taking or thinking about taking some sort of oral medication, supplement, or vitamin. In which case, we can have an active conversation about YOU. 

So as an example let us say that you are currently taking a multivitamin because a qualified medical practitioner told you that you need to. Just the other day my son's pediatrician mentioned how we are all walking around deficient in something. Especially in this part of the U.S., where we are inside so much of the winter, vitamin D deficiencies can be quite common. What are you deficient in? 

So you are taking a multivitamin once a day by mouth. You may think that this is fixing the problem, however, how much of that vitamin actually ends up in your bloodstream and in turn ends up being used by your body?

While it is not possible to say how much of a vitamin is or is not absorbed, as our bodies are all different, what we do know is that there are reasons why they are not. No need to take our word for it, though. According to this article on Patchmd.com here are some reasons why your Vitamins are not being absorbed properly: 

“For pills to be absorbed properly, they must be able to disintegrate. Many commercially available vitamins, especially those in pill form, might not disintegrate in time. That means that many people are taking vitamins and spending money on them for little or no reason.

In order for vitamin absorption to work, they must be able to break down within the first 20 minutes of entering the body. Binders and fillers that are added by manufacturers to produce these vitamins more easily make it harder for those vitamins to break down inside the body.

Have you ever noticed that your vitamins are shiny? Some manufacturers add a wax coating in order to keep out moisture and give the vitamins a longer shelf life. But what this does is prolong the disintegration effect even longer, which might make it impossible for any vitamins to be absorbed.

Sugar and corn syrup may make vitamins taste better, but they only add to weight gain and further inhibit the body from absorbing nutrients.”

So it would seem that the oral vitamin you are currently taking may not be doing the good deeds you would hope it to do. 

So, you may be wondering, what do I do to increase absorption? What do I do to achieve this bioavailability thing we are speaking of?

Infusion therapies. 

You see, there is 100% bioavailability with infusion therapies because it is going directly into your bloodstream. With Infusion based therapies you can skip the digestive tract all together and do not have to worry about wax coatings, binders and fillers, or if you have crossed that 20 minute mark. 

This is not just for vitamins. Let’s say you are taking oral medications for a mood disorder or some oral medication for chronic pain. Let’s also make an assumption that you are not getting the results from this medication that you would like. Could it be because your body is not absorbing the full dose? 

Could an infusion based therapy increase the bioavailability of this medication and therefore give you a higher absorption rate? 

Could a higher absorption rate make a difference in your life?

I know it seems like a lot of questions with even fewer answers however, we want you to know that whether you are dealing with a vitamin C deficiency or PTSD, the bioavailability of your medication can have a direct effect on your health. 

Interested in learning more? Contact your primary care physician or give us a call to see if we can help.