Does the Vinegar Test Work?
by
Carrie A. Corson, from the September 2001 Newsletter
Recently several customers have commented to me that they have read that if a vitamin or herbal supplement tablet does not dissolve in vinegar in a certain amount of time, it won't dissolve in your stomach thereby making the supplement ineffective. I did some checking on this theory and, as it happens, our two best-selling supplements companies, Nature's Life and Vitamer, have addressed this in recent issues of their newsletters. Here is what they have to say.
Nature's Life reports that they frequently receive calls about this so-called scientific "disintegration test." People place tablets or capsules in vinegar in order to calculate the rate of disintegration in the body (or as one consumer mistakenly believed, the absorption potential). Consumers who try this are often disappointed in and confused by the results.
Those that promote this "test" are doing a disservice to supplements. Vinegar is indeed acidic; hydrochloric acid (HCI) in the stomach is about 22 times more acidic. Even lemon juice is closer to the pH of stomach acids but still misses the mark by 1,200%. Nature's Life performs actual disintegration time (DT) testing on every batch of tablets to ensure they meet or exceed the U.S. Pharmacopoeia (USP) standard.
Vitamer, maker of The Moscow Food Co-op brand of supplements, explains that an accurate disintegration time test consists of a laboratory set-up that approximates a "normal" stomach to see how a tablet will behave when it gets into your body. This test exposes the supplement to the temperature, biochemical environment, and motions that actually occur in the stomach, and the break-down of the tablet is monitored over time.
Different formulas have different ideal disintegration times. Most products should dissolve in about 30 minutes to one hour. Some formulas, such as prolonged-release supplements, are designed to disintegrate more slowly in order to improve utilization of certain nutrients. Some may stay partly "intact" after releasing their nutrients—a normal situation for these products.
Here at the Co-op we strive to provide supplements that are manufactured with
high-quality ingredients and under strict quality control regulations. If you
have any questions regarding any of the supplements we carry, please don't hesitate
to ask. I'm always happy to contact a manufacturer if I don't have an answer
for you.
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