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Artwork for Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health
Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health · Wednesday · 6 min

When 'More' Stops Working

The supplement aisle runs on a single promise — that bigger numbers are better — but past a point, "more" stops translating into more that your body actually keeps The neon-yellow urine after a big multivitamin is mostly riboflavin passing straight through; it's a daily receipt for the part you paid for and didn't absorb Absorption is dose-dependent: the fraction your body takes up tends to fall as the dose climbs, so doubling the dose doesn't double what reaches your cells With some nutrients the body actively limits how much it admits at once, so how and when you take a supplement can matter as much as the amount The form a nutrient comes in can change how much you absorb, which is why the delivery method often matters more than how much you take

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show notes

  • The supplement aisle runs on a single promise — that bigger numbers are better — but past a point, "more" stops translating into more that your body actually keeps
  • The neon-yellow urine after a big multivitamin is mostly riboflavin passing straight through; it's a daily receipt for the part you paid for and didn't absorb
  • Absorption is dose-dependent: the fraction your body takes up tends to fall as the dose climbs, so doubling the dose doesn't double what reaches your cells
  • With some nutrients the body actively limits how much it admits at once, so how and when you take a supplement can matter as much as the amount
  • The form a nutrient comes in can change how much you absorb, which is why the delivery method often matters more than how much you take