How Do Vitamins Work? The Science Behind Their Absorption
Many of the foods we eat naturally contain vitamins and other nutrients, while others are fortified, such as milk with added vitamin D. Still, some people lack certain essential vitamins due to their diet, age, gender, genetics or other factors. To compensate, many take supplements, such as multivitamins, that deliver a variety of vitamins and minerals in every dose. How do vitamins work in the body? Let’s explore this topic and examine the ongoing controversy surrounding supplement efficacy within medical and scientific communities. How Do Vitamin Supplements Travel Through Your Body? Here’s a step-by-step explanation of how vitamins travel through the human body: You swallow the vitamin supplement, and it moves down the esophagus to the stomach. In the stomach, digestion begins. Digestive acids and enzymes begin to dissolve the supplement, but it’s not fully digested here. The remaining portion travels to the small intestine, where it’s further broken down by digestive enzymes and fluids from the liver and pancreas
