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IV Therapy Vs. Oral Supplements: Which Is More Effective?

Most of us know that maintaining adequate hydration, vitamin, and nutrient levels is important for overall health. Oral supplements and eating a balanced diet are the traditional way of doing this. IV therapy hydrates your body and can deliver essential vitamins faster and more efficiently than oral supplements. What is the difference between oral and intravenous supplements? What are the benefits of IV therapy over oral supplements? Let’s look at how the two compare.

What Is IV Therapy?

Intravenous Therapy, or IV therapy, delivers vitamins and nutrients to your body through an IV catheter inserted directly in a vein. This therapy technique is common in medical facilities for administering hydration and medications but is now becoming a popular choice of health and wellness treatment. It is an alternative to oral supplementation for providing your body with optimum nutrition.

IV therapy quickly offers the following:

  • Hydration, via solutions like saline or Lactated Ringer’s
  • Vitamins and nutrients
  • Medications

IV Therapy Vs. Oral Supplements

How does IV therapy deliver vitamins and nutrients compared to oral supplements? Both provide the body with essential compounds, but there are some significant differences. The most obvious difference is the route of administration. Oral supplements are taken by mouth and must pass through the digestive system before your body can use them. IV therapy is infused directly into the bloodstream.

IV therapy and oral vitamin supplements have the same goal: to deliver the nutrition our bodies need in the most effective way possible. Because oral supplements must be digested, they can’t offer the same effectiveness as supplements delivered by IV. The biggest difference is the ability of the body to absorb these vitamins. The more nutrition your body can absorb and use, the more benefits you receive.

What Vitamins Can Be Given By IV?

Typical vitamins that are infused via intravenous (IV) bags are vitamin C, B vitamins, Calcium, magnesium, electrolytes, amino acids, and antioxidants.

All of these vitamins and minerals are available via oral supplements, but they are less available to your body. Bioavailability refers to the amount of the supplement that your body can actually use. Oral supplements typically have 20% bioavailability, whereas IV therapy has 90% bioavailability.

Vitamin IV Benefits

Why should you consider IV therapy for wellness? IV therapy is more effective than oral supplementation. Hydration and nutrition are delivered faster, in a way that your body can use better than oral supplements.

Personalization

Oral supplements are a one-size fits all approach to vitamin and nutrient supplementation. As a result, you often have to take multiple supplements to achieve your desired results. IV therapy offers the exact nutritional blend you require in a single treatment. Each treatment is customized to meet your exact needs, every time.

Absorption

Your body’s ability to absorb vitamins and nutrients is critical to improving your health. If your body can’t use the nutrition you’re putting into it, it can’t help. As stated above, oral supplements are approximately 20% bioavailable. Some supplements are better than others, but even the best ones have a maximum of 50% bioavailability. Compare that to the 90% bioavailability you get from IV therapy and the result is maximum absorption.

Hydration

One of the most obvious benefits of IV therapy is that vitamins are delivered along with hydration. IV hydration delivers fluids faster and more efficiently than drinking water. It’s delivered in the same water-salt combination that’s already present in your body.

Side Effects

Oral supplements have to pass through the digestive system in order to be processed by your body. Some of the additives required to make oral supplements can cause digestive upset and irritate your body. For example, coatings on oral vitamins can cause acid reflux and an upset stomach.

IV therapy completely bypasses the digestive system, so there is a decreased likelihood of side effects compared to oral supplements.

How to Reap the Full Benefits of IV Therapy

IV therapy is an extremely effective treatment that can help improve hydration status, reduce fatigue, promote recovery from illness, and give you a better overall sense of well-being. By providing vital nutrition, it’s a great option to make part of your wellness routine.

The benefits of IV therapy over oral supplements are clear. So, how can you reap the full benefits? Hydra+ offers customized IV therapy both in a clinic and via mobile therapy. You can receive mobile IV therapy near you just by booking an appointment. As the premier destination for IV therapy, they offer a wide variety of treatments focussed on alleviating many health conditions.