The Science of Absorption

For a supplement to work effectively, the right amount must be presented to the right place in the human body. To get there it must pass through cell membranes. The speed and extent of which it moves through those cell membranes is described as absorption rate. The amount of the supplement that reaches central circulation is described as the ‘bio-availability’ of that supplement. Example; something that is administered intravenously has, by definition, a bio-availability of 100%, because all of it reaches central circulation. As mentioned before, the biggest factor determining the absorption rate of a supplement is its particle size and this is also related to the solubility of the supplement. Solubility is the level of which a substance can be properly dissolved. A supplement that is suspended in a liquid, but the particles can still be seen, is not soluble. Once the liquid is removed in the stomach, the substance will be left in its solid form. As a solid it will be more difficult for your body to absorb. For a nutrient, medicine or food to be any use to you, it must be able to pass through your cell membranes.(1,2) Its ability to do this governs its journey to its site of action in your body. Supplements that are not soluble, i.e.; the particles are too big, cannot easily enter cells.(3) Therefore the bulk of the supplement you ingest is not absorbed through the stomach and the intestines. It passes straight out of the body. You have just wasted your money. Not everything you ingest orally must pass through your digestive system. Oral or sublingual absorption occurs when extremely small particles of a nutrient are taken into the body through the mouth tissue. In this part of the body, blood capillaries are very close to the surface. They easily absorb particles in the order of 1 micron or less into the bloodstream. Anything absorbed this way travels into the carotid artery in seconds. From there it is transported throughout the body. It’s the fastest way to get nutrients into your body. Nutrients absorbed this way have a bio-availability of 100%. Because of the particle size of the ‘NANO Technology’ material, it is easily absorbed into blood capillaries in our mouth and membranes, which line our throat, stomach and intestinal lining. This extremely small particle size also allows for the material to completely dissolve. Another term for this, which a lot of scientists and naturopaths will understand, is that the material becomes colloidal. Therefore, the bioavailability of ‘NANO Technology’ supplement materials is 100%.

Comparisment of material sizes as viewed under an electron microscope

Micronized Material

NANO Technology Material

Reference:
1. Creatine uptake in isolated soleus muscle: kinetics and dependence on sodium, but not on insulin
Willott CA, Young ME, Lieghton B, Kemp GJ, Boehm EA, Radda GK, Clarke K
Acta Physiol Scand, 166(2): 99-104 1999

 

2. Human, Rat and Chicken small intestinal NA+, CL-, creatine transporter:
functional, molecular characterization and localization.
Peral MJ, GarcÃa-Delgado M, Calonge ML, DurÃjn JM, De La Horra MC, Wallimann T, Speer O
Journal Physiology, 545(Pt 1): 133-44 2002

3. Evaluation of Creatine transport
Dasp AK, Miller DW, Nuai-Yan H, Carnazzo J, Stout JR
Pharm Sci 90(10): 1593-8 2001