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Are chewable vitamins just as good as regular vitamins?

By Shereen Jegtvig, About.com

Updated: February 12, 2008

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

Question: Are chewable vitamins just as good as regular vitamins?
Answer: Vitamin supplements that are called "chewable" are just regular vitamins that have some type of flavoring added to make them more palatable. It is fine to chew your vitamins and minerals if you do not want to swallow them. Most any tablet can be chewed, although they may not taste very good. Another option would be to purchase capsules, open them and pour the contents into water or juice.

There are some important exceptions, however. Supplements that are labeled as enteric coated should not be chewed, but swallowed whole. They need to pass through the acidic environment of the stomach. Anything that contains Hydrochloric Acid should be swallowed rather than chewed because they will irritate your throat and esophagus.

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