There are three ways to take herbs: pill form, liquid ingestion, and rubbing them onto the skin. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Is the only difference between taking an herb in pill forn as opposed to swallowing it in liquid form one's personal preference - some people find the taste of some liquids (whether in a tea or straight) unpleasent, others have trouble swallowing a lot of pills, etc? Or are there any other differences?

How about ingestion compared to absorption through the skin? I have read (in lay sources, not medical sources) that, at least for certain compounds, 80% or more is lost in the digestive system. So isn't absorption by rubbing herbs into the skin always better than ingestion? I realize that there is a practical limit as to how much you can rub onto yourself. So the herbs to rub on - as opposed to ingesting - are the ones that would most be harmed by the digestive system. But, maybe certain herbs cannot readily permeate the skin? Does anyone know which herbs are best suited for skin absorption?

Thank you,
Manyquestions

I've read that by taking herbs in liquid, it goes right to the blood stream no digestion. while taking them in pills, they have to be obsorb through digestion which takes longer to reach the blood stream.

I'm no expert on these things so maybe someone can give an input.
I don't know about absorption through skin.

they will be presented with a choice between pill and liquid forms. As with any natural supplements taken, there are certain distinctive differences between liquid and pill forms of consumption. Similarly to taking multivitamin supplements, hoodia in liquid form is more expensive but has been shown to assimilate into the body system faster and have a greater amount of the substance used by the body than when it is taken in pill form.

Of course, companies who produce in liquid form are more than happy to self advertise these facts. The process requires state of the art technology and can be a bit expensive, which is why the supplements do indeed cost more than their pill counterparts. Reducing the substances to liquid forms allows the body to be able to digest it faster and easier than pill form, which results in a higher percentage of the substance being used by the body due to the increased biochemical potency and this results in more effect for less substance.

(now i know its a diet pill/liquid but at least it explains it)
Hope it helps

hi, i think the difference between liquid and pills is that in the liquid form herbs get ingested which means that it goes straight to your intestine and gets absorbed there, if you take pills they have to go through your stomach and get digested before they can get absorbed through your intestines. i don't know if this makes sense, but the collagen people told me this when i asked them why is it necessary to take collagen hours after eating and with lots of water

Logical insights. Thanks very much.

Does anyone have any similar insights comparing skin absorption to ingestion of various herbs? Does anyone know which herbs especially are harmed in the digestive system, or which herbs can most readily be absorbed by rubbing them onto the breasts?

Hi ManyQuestions:

Here's a simple breakdown of how each work.

PILLS in any form (tablet/capsule) must go through the rigors of the digestive system, and the end result is that only 10-20% of the supplement is absorbed into our body.

LIQUID is immediately passed into your system, via the mucous membranes in your mouth. If you can tolerate the taste of the liquid supplement, always try to hold it under your tongue for 20-30 seconds, before swallowing. OR dilute it with a small amount of WARM water.

CREAMS have an 85% absorption rate.

If you take herbs in tea form, always drink when the water is still warm. Preferably as warm as you can tolerate.

Creams are best applied after a warm shower, or put a warm heating pad or hot wet towel on your breasts first before applying your cream, for best absorption.

If a supplement says "powdered extract" it is more potent, than a supplement not saying that.

Hope that helps :)

Boobie Love My Organic Beauties

ManyQuestions,
As far as herb absorption, the best would be those who were fat soluble. We absorb things through our skin better if they can be absorbed into the fat layer. Therefore, oils would be absorbed the best.

Sometimes digestion would be important for us to get at the active substance in an herb. We need to break down the cellular wall of the plant. This is hard to do and digestion of plants is only about 70 - 80% in our digestive tract.

If we take the same standard for herbs as we do for vitamins, then we absorb somewhere between 20 -70% of what we bring in. Sometimes absorption is assisted or lessened by what we have in our stomachs at the time we are trying to absorb the herb. If the label says to take it on an empty stomach, or with a meal, it is best to follow the label.

waxingmoon