direct injection of vitamins?

Question

ok instead of eating food, why can't we just get put vitamin in our bodies. now i have heard that you can't take vitamins because only of absorbtion. if you put directly into your vien then you have 100 percent absorbtion.

Answer 1

Up to a point, you're right that can be done. It's the basis of intravenous feeding that people get when they're in comas or get surgery. It's not just vitamins the body needs, but also sugars, amino acids, fats. But all of that can be delivered directly to the veins. People can survive on this, but not really thrive. The body can utilize food better when it's varied and when it contains nutrients that may not be absolutely necessary but can be helpful.

Answer 2

Too many vitamins in your bloodstream can be a bad thing, and can cause things like blindness, headaches, clotting disorders, and a host of other problems. Your body knows what you need far better than you do.

Also, vitamin absorbtion from food takes several hours as the food passes through your small intestine. Doing it all at once can cause an overdose.

The reason you can't take vitamins only because of absorbtion is actually related to stomach fullness. You need your stomach to be full to encourage your small intestine to get to work - it won't go unless your stomach tells it to. Same reason you shouldn't take some medicine on an empty stomach: they won't do any good, because there isn't enough of anything to trigger your stomach's communications with the rest of the digestive system.

Finally, your body needs more than just vitamins. You need proteins and the 20 amino acids that proteins are made of, you need fiber for your digestive tract, you need sugars, you need carbohydrates and fats - I suppose you could just find a good-sized vein and jab that in there and hope your liver can keep up, or you could eat.

I know, such a chore.

Answer 3

As someone who had a chronic illness and used vitamin therapy both intravenously and injections as well to boost energy levels I am still amazed that the medical field does not use vitamin injections for 90% of hospital patients. Very often medications interfere with the body's ability to absorb many nutrients in the digestive tract. So I think I would agree with you- it really makes more sense to use injections so that the nutrients delivery is guaranteed.
I also think many of the chemicals like food additives and preservatives will interfere with absorption as well. So I think many people are not getting the right amount of nutrients they need and I really question the ability for blood test to show accurate details of many tested nutrients in an individuals blood profile.
The main reason these injection are not used I feel is because they are not classified as drug and therefor they can't use insurance to pay for them. It also makes the doctors admit that there is more to taking care of the body then a prescribed magic pill or a medical procedure. I refer to this problem in the medical field as: "ignorance through arrogance".

Answer 4

Sadly, many years ago, when my wife went into the hospital due to her allergy (alcohol) she had vitamin and electrolyte replacement by intravenous for several days. So yes its not only possible, but can be life saving.

Creating an entry to a vein bypasses the body's primary defence against infection. This is why injections are used only when the medical benefit outweighs the risk.

The combination of vitamins with foods (like vitamin D milk,) and the science of coatings to protect sensitive vitamins from stomach acids, gives most people all that they need orally.

Answer 5

This is done sometimes, especially in cases of malabsorption But you still need proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, which do need to be processed through the gut. In most cases, though, it's better to take vitamins orally.

Answer 6

people don't like needles