Vitamins and curly hair go hand in hand in many conversations on social media. Websites, bloggers, vloggers, and guests in forums discuss the variety and benefits of the supplements. Many curlies are gung ho on growing their tresses as long and as quickly as possible, so the boom of the natural movement has given way to a slew of information on which vitamins will do the job. There has been some pushback from nutritionists about eating healthier to gain all the vitamins you need through food, but not everyone is buying into that philosophy.
Some just want convenience of popping a vitamin to gain longer tresses quicker.
Yes, most of us remember taking those disgusting liquid vitamins growing up, but liquid vitamins are making way with adults and that also means naturals. So the debate begins on which is better…liquid or pills?
We have to ingest the vitamins in order for them to get into our system, and although many feel food intake is the best way to get vitamins, there is proof that many of the nutrients that we need are lacking in our foods. Unfortunately, most foods are highly processed and even fresh fruits and vegetables may not be enough, especially if you aren’t eating an adequate amount. Despite what many say, most doctors see nothing wrong with some supplements and even the American Heart Association suggest that all should gain vitamins and minerals through food first, but supplements can help especially if you are not eating as well as you should.
At first glance it would seem that liquid vitamins are better since they are easier to take and they are believed to have as high as 98% absorption rate. Liquid vitamins are deemed more effective because they can be integrated into the blood stream immediately and can be three to five times more concentrated than traditional vitamin pills, but absorbing into the bloodstream is not as easy as many liquid vitamin manufacturers would have you believe.
There are some nutrients that will enter the bloodstream through the mouth when you drink it, but many have large molecules that cannot pass the membranes of the mouth and end up in the stomach and are destroyed by the stomach acids and excreted.
Vitamin pills have to be digested completely before they can be used and benefited by the body. There is a misconception that about 90% of a tablet vitamin is excreted or wasted. That’s actually misleading for the number one reason that not all vitamins are created equal. Cheaper vitamins are mass-produced and have the cheapest ingredients, including the excipients that bind the ingredients together. Because of this, most of the nutrients are released in the stomach and destroyed by our stomach acids and end up in the toilet.
On the other end of the tablet vitamins spectrum are the ones that are created using high quality ingredients that are natural, potent, and are mostly absorbed in the lining of the walls of the upper intestine where they are entered into the bloodstream. So despite liquid vitamins being easily absorbed, the higher quality tablet vitamins can as well.
Nzuri Elixir Liquid Hair Vitamins Plus Growth tout a ¾ of an inch to 1 inch of growth per month, which is double the high end of hair growth per month for some. They also claim the hair tonic “supplies the body with the proper vitamins, amino acids, and minerals that you may not be receiving in your diet to help create beautiful, healthy hair.” Are these claims true? According to the thousands of women using it, they feel it does but it could just be the doing about the same as many hair vitamins that women are taking and not really having an advantage over the tablets.
It seems to be a matter of preference, and if you hate or have a problem with pills, then the liquid is another option. It seems that higher quality ingredients is the real determining factor on which a brand or type of vitamin to take, but remember that eating right is always essential for healthier hair.
