In today’s fast-paced world, many people turn to supplements to fill nutritional gaps and support overall health. When it comes to differing brands, not all supplements are created equal, and many people focus on ingredients, dosages, and brand reputation to make their choice. However, one critical factor that often goes overlooked is bioavailability – a term that determines how much of a nutrient your body actually absorbs and utilises.
Understanding bioavailability is essential for ensuring that you get the most out of your supplements and, ultimately, your health.
What is Bioavailability?
The main crux of it is just because you take a supplement doesn’t mean your body will absorb all of it. “Bioavailability” refers to the proportion of a nutrient that enters the bloodstream and is available for use by the body. Factors like digestion, metabolism, and the form of the supplement all influence how much of a nutrient reaches your cells.
For example, you might take a 500 mg vitamin C tablet, but if your body only absorbs 50% of it, you're only getting 250 mg of actual benefit. This is why bioavailability matters - it determines how effective a supplement truly is.
Many mass-produced cheaper supplements often contain artificial colourings, preservatives, and use synthetic ingredients in forms that the body struggles to process efficiently, hindering absorption, and that provide no nutritional benefit, and may even be harmful in the long run! In contrast, higher-quality supplements prioritise ingredients that are either naturally sourced or in their most bioavailable forms - closely matching those found in nature - making a significant difference in how well the body absorbs and utilises them.
Factors That Affect Bioavailability
Several factors impact the bioavailability of a supplement, including:
Formulation and Delivery Method
Nutrients come in different forms, such as capsules, powders, and liquids. Generally, liquid supplements tend to have higher bioavailability than tablets because they are more easily broken down and absorbed.
Timing and Food Pairing
Certain nutrients require food for optimal absorption. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) need dietary fat for the body to absorb them effectively. Iron, on the other hand, is best absorbed with vitamin C, but inhibited by calcium and caffeine.
Digestive Health
Your gut health plays a crucial role in nutrient absorption. Issues like poor digestion, low stomach acid, or gut inflammation can significantly reduce the effectiveness of supplements.
Our Advanced Live Culture Formula is designed to improve bioavailability, ensuring your body absorbs and utilises nutrients effectively. It combines 11 probiotic strains to support overall gut health, with 50 billion CFU per capsule to help the probiotics settle in and get to work.
Organic prebiotic inulin nourishes the probiotics, boosting their growth. The inclusion of spore-forming bacteria, like Bacillus coagulans, ensures they survive stomach acid, while acid-resistant capsules protect the probiotics, helping them reach the gut intact. Free from artificial additives, microcrystalline cellulose, maltodextrin, and corn starch, our formula stays pure, enhancing digestive health and maximising probiotic effectiveness.
Nutrient Form
Some nutrients have multiple forms, and some are better absorbed than other, and at Barefoot Nutrition we strive for the most bioavailable forms. For example, Magnesium Glycinate is significantly more bioavailable than magnesium oxide, making it a better choice for those looking to improve magnesium levels, and Vitamin D3 Complete sourced from lanolin is a highly bioavailable alternative to synthetic forms which do not have the same results.
Another example of this is our Vitamin B12 Complete; methylcobalamin (the natural form of vitamin B12) is far better absorbed and retained than cyanocobalamin - a cheaper synthetic version that requires extra conversion in the body. Similarly, methylfolate (as used in our Barefoot Mum’s Pregnancy Support Formula) is the biologically active form of folate, whereas folic acid - commonly used in lower-cost supplements - must undergo conversion, which some individuals struggle with due to genetic variations (such as MTHFR gene mutations). This means they can’t convert folic acid into its useable form (Folate), so having Methyl Folate means you have it already in its useable form, therefore it doesn't matter if you have the gene or not.
Our Advanced Co Q10 Kaneka Ubiquinol is up to 70% more bioavailable than conventional CoQ10. Studies have shown that ubiquinol is better absorbed by the body than CoQ10 and is the easiest form for the body to use.
Another example is our Omega-3 Ultimate fish oil - designed to enhance bioavailability as it maintains the natural triglyceride form of omega-3 fatty acids, which studies show is more readily absorbed compared to ethyl ester forms. Alongside this, it comes in liquid form which enhances absorption and provides a higher omega-3 dose per serving compared to capsules, and the oil undergoes triple molecular distillation to remove heavy metals, chemicals, and toxins, resulting in a purer product that the body can absorb more efficiently.
Occasionally, certain ingredients - such as CoQ10, some B vitamins, and iron - benefit from being combined with black pepper extract, which enhances absorption by inhibiting specific digestive enzymes. You’ll find this is our products, like our Optimum Multivitamin that is also packed with highly bioavailable nutrients.
Cofactors
Cofactors play a crucial role in enhancing bioavailability - another area that we are proud excel in with our Vitamin D3 Complete being the only one on the market to have all the essential cofactors to maximise Vitamin D3 absorption and effectiveness! Magnesium (activates Vitamin D), boron (supports Vitamin D metabolism), K2 (directs calcium to bones instead of arteries), and zinc (enhances immune function and absorption).
Similarly, our B12 Complete is the only supplement with all 3 co-factors to ensure the proper metabolism of B12. Not only does it come with bioactive B12, it is formulated with key cofactors – direct cofactor bioactive folic acid (methyl folate) and indirect cofactor bioactive biotin (D-Biotin), both essential for optimal B12 absorption. They are directly dependent on each other for completion of the B12-Homocysteine-Methionine cycle, which helps to remove harmful excess homocysteine from the body (excess homocysteine is linked to various health issues such as heart disease, stroke, and cognitive decline).
In the absence of these cofactors, symptoms of B12 deficiency - such as fatigue and anaemia - can still occur, even in the presence of normal levels of B12.
Making an Informed Choice
By prioritising the most bioavailable forms of nutrients, supplement manufacturers can create products that the body can process more efficiently, leading to better results. You ultimately get the best of both worlds - scientific precision combined with nature’s intended benefits, without unnecessary fillers or ineffective forms, ultimately ensuring better absorption, fewer unnecessary conversions in the body, and greater overall effectiveness.
Always look for bioactive ingredients - they are more expensive but worth it for your health. Choosing Barefoot Nutrition means opting for pure, high-quality, and natural products designed to support your health holistically. With a focus on sustainably sourced ingredients and transparency, Barefoot Nutrition ensures you're getting clean supplements free from unnecessary fillers and additives. We prioritise bioavailability, meaning your body can absorb and benefit from the nutrients more effectively.
Visit our ‘Products’ page for more information and our full range of supplements.
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