Isotonic Vitamins - What Are They and Why Should You Care?

A Short Lesson in the Science of Isotonic Solutions As It Applies to PhysiologyThe word isotonic is derived from the Greek word isos, which means "the same," and the word tonos, which means "tension." When used together within the context of chemical solutions, "isotonic" describes the concentration of solutes dissolved in solvents, as in an isotonic saline solution. Isotonic saline solutions are what doctors would use to rehydrate patients in the hospital.

In English, Please?

As an example, if a patient were to be dehydrated to a severe degree, doctors in a hospital would not dare to simply connect pure water to the IV and inject it into someone’s bloodstream to rehydrate them. So doing would result in the cells' rupturing. Any cell that was exposed to the water would attempt to normalize the fluid concentration across its membrane. Water would flow from one side of the membrane to the other through the process of osmosis.

Osmowhat?

Osmosis is the process by which cells equilibriate with their surroundings. The osmotic pressure is basically a measure of the difference in fluid concentrations across a membrane, like a cell wall. The cell wall allows the water (generally called the solvent) to pass through, but block everything else. When pure water is introduced to the body, the cell wall sees a high concentration of the small organelles in the cell on one side and a low, dilute concentration on the other side. Because the organelles and all the essential parts of a cell are unable to pass through the cell wall, water passes into it. This environment that the cell is in is called “hypotonic,” and the cells within it can rupture when they become bloated with excess water. If too many cells are destroyed in this manner, death will occur.

Rather, the wise health practitioners utilize an isotonicsaline solution, which is fundamentally simply salt water at the required concentration. The patient becomes rehydrated because the body recognizes the isotonic saline solution as having the same concentration as the other body fluids and does not create either a hypotonic or hypertonic environment.

The fluids in the body that are the same or close to the same concentrations to one another include blood, tears, sweat, urine, breastmilk, and the contents of your intestines. The small intestine is actually where a great majority of your dietary nutritional absorption occurs. In order for the villi which cover the walls of your intestine to survive, the cells that make-up the villi need to be in an isotonic environment.

The guard set to protect the walls of your intestines is the stomach. It doesn't matter what you eat, your stomach will act in every way it can to break it apart, adjust the acidity, and appropriately dilute food to an isotonic state.

The concept at the root of isotonic vitamins and supplements is that rather than taking pills, capsules, functional beverages/juices, or absolutely anything else that will be held up in the stomach for up to 4 hours, exposed to acid, and generally broken down, why not take an isotonic vitamin on an empty stomach and allow it to pass through virtually unscathed into the small intestine where very high absorption rates can be achieved?

Knowing the value of an isotonic vitamin is only the beginning. Someone desiring greater benefits from a better supplement must also consider the quality of the ingredients and the completeness with which they are provided. Generally speaking, synthetic compounds are not well absorbed by the body; extracts derived from natural sources are far more effective. Be sure that the isotonic vitamin or supplement that you choose to include in your regimen is not composed of artificially created ingredients or the benefit of it being an isotonic vitamin will be lost.

Also be aware that there are substances that receive no benefit to being isotonic. EHA, DHA, and Omega 3's come to mind as ingredients that belong in a supplement that is intended to be taken with food. Such substances require to be broken down before the body can effectively assimilate them. In fact, including them in an isotonic supplement can result in a reduced level of absorption because they will not have been prepared for absorption by the time they arrive at the small intestine.

Isotonic Vitamins Review.com provides reviews about the different isotonic vitamins available on the market as well as reviews of the companies that make them. Further, when research becomes available that further supports the validity of isotonic vitamins and supplements, synopses are provided for the consumers' awareness.