Around half of us in the UK take supplements every day, according to research by the Food Standards Agency. The majority of these supplements are oral nutritional tablets, with consumers spending a whopping £187 million on them in 2021! But did you know that while oral supplements may be the most popular way to top up nutrients, they aren't always as effective as you might hope? In fact, the amount of vitamins and minerals listed on your supplement packet is very unlikely to make it into your bloodstream for your body to use. All thanks to a phenomenon known as the First Pass Effect.
What is the First Pass Effect?
When you swallow a tablet, the journey the active ingredients take through your digestive system can impact how much actually reaches your bloodstream. The pill or liquid you've swallowed gets broken down by acids in your stomach and the contents are absorbed through the walls of your stomach and intestines, and are then transported via the portal vein to your liver. In the liver, enzymes break down and metabolise the ingredients. This first-pass metabolism of the active ingredients is known as 'The First Pass Effect'.
Why does it mean your oral supplements might not work?
The First Pass Effect occurs because your liver acts as a natural filter for everything you ingest. While this is great for things like toxins, which you obviously want to avoid. Your liver doesn't discriminate and will also filter away many of the nutrients you've been so diligently taking a supplement of every day. The end result? The amount of active ingredients that make it into your bloodstream for your body to use is greatly reduced. You won't feel the benefit, and if you're deficient in a specific vitamin or mineral, it could take you a REALLY long time to build your levels back up again. You can read more about the first pass effect and how it affects supplement use on our helpful About Us page here.
But don't worry, there is a solution and you can defy the first pass effect!
Read part two of the blog here to find out how wearing a vitamin patch can help you completely bypass the first pass effect and feel your best faster.