How Liposomal Vitamin C Can Optimize Healthy Outcomes

Are your patients getting the full benefit of your recommended supplements?

We all know quality is the highest priority when it comes to nutraceuticals, but patients that are following protocol may not necessarily be getting the recommended dosage, especially with immune support supplements like Vitamin C.

Traditional methods of encapsulation are impeded by mucus that coats the GI tract. This mucus prevents the full adhesion of molecules passing through the GI, resulting in only about 20 percent of the vitamin making its way into the blood stream. This leaves patients with little choice other than taking a higher dosage to meet their needs.

This is not a great outcome, but luckily there are better alternatives for nutritional delivery.

Liposomal encapsulation is a method for delivering medications or nutraceuticals to the body using hollow particles called liposomes. Unlike animal cells, liposomes contain multiple aqueous compartments and lipid layers, which allows both fat-soluble and water-soluble nutrients, like Vitamin C, to dissolve within them.

Find out how to create personalized supplement programs for patients.

Not only does using a liposomal liquid accelerate nutritional absorption, it also avoids exposing the gut to potentially irritating ingredients. This is great for your patients with existing GI issues - or anyone who has complained about an upset stomach after swallowing a chunky vitamin.

Liposomes Work with Gut Mucus Instead of Against It

The GI tract is like a cement mixer full of acid. This harsh environment can erode nutrients like Vitamin C. This means your patients aren't receiving the full benefit of nutraceuticals delivered through traditional methods.

Studies have shown that liposomes stabilize encapsulated molecules and bioactive materials against the many chemical adversaries present in the gut, including:

• Enzymes
• Chemical modification
• Changes in pH
• Temperature fluctuation
• Ionic strength changes

Liposomal liquids are mucoadhestive because your GI's mucus layer is lipid-based and aqueous. A liposome can attach itself to it and deliver its nutrient cargo more effectively than a molecule by itself.

Some other benefits of using mucoadhesive liposomal liquids are:

• Better contact between the active ingredient and mucus layer.
• Increased contact time between the active ingredient and mucus layer.
• Protection of the active ingredients from degradation.

It's clear by now that liposomal liquids are something you should be considering for patients, but they are an especially exciting option for traditionally difficult bioactives like Vitamin C.

It's important to understand that there are two primary obstacles a nutrient has to overcome before it enters the body in any meaningful way.

First, the nutrient has to be absorbed by the body. Sounds easy, right? But we know the gut is hostile to bioactives like Vitamin C, Melatonin and DHEA. If you take 1000mg of Vitamin C, chances are your body is only going to absorb a fraction of that. This is important because we want to make sure we are able to advise our patients to take the right dosage without them having to purchase more than they need. Every patient's GI tract is going to be a little different, and variable absorption makes it even more difficult to dial-in the appropriate dosage.

The second obstacle is rate of absorption. When your patient isn't feeling well, they want to be able to solve the problem quickly. Traditional delivery methods aren't optimal for quickly delivering a full dosage to your patient's body. If you're taking a nutrient meant to boost your immune system, you don't want it to start working in two or three days, you want to work now! This applies even more so when you're trying to help someone with insomnia using melatonin. You want it kicking in before bed, not after their morning coffee the following day.

Because of its mucoadhesive properties, liposomal encapsulation is able to overcome these obstacles and deliver nutrients more fully and rapidly than traditional methods. You'll be able to accurately recommend a correct dosage to your patients, and they'll be able to realize the effects more quickly.

All this information is great, but what does it mean for you and your patients?

Your patients want a sustainable, proactive strategy for preventative healthcare, and Vitamin C is a crucial component of most plans. It's also an easy nutraceutical to get wrong. Because it's so unstable, it can be hard to know how much of it your patient is actually receiving after facing down the GI tract.

Liposomal delivery is a better means of delivery for nutritional supplements - and it has been for more than 15 years. The goal of your practice is to reduce the amount of medication your patient is taking, not increase it. You want to solve their problem naturally without exposing your patients to unnecessary additives that are found in low quality capsules.

Liposomal encapsulations will not only allow you to achieve greater outcomes with patients, it will also help you manage inventory by increasing the efficiency of each recommended dosage. And in a growing practice, efficiency is everything.