Difficulty swallowing tablets and capsules? Read our tips!

Many people regularly have trouble swallowing pills. Some people suffer more from it than others, but many people sometimes experience resistance to swallowing large tablets and capsules. Why are some tablets so big? And what can you do to make it easier to swallow? We will tell you!

Many active ingredients in one

The main reason that some tablets and capsules are so big is actually quite simple: many supplements contain so many useful ingredients that this automatically leads to a larger size. We can make the tablets smaller, but then the content would become so small that you would have to swallow more of them to get the desired result. And that in turn comes at the expense of ease of use.

On (c) ea day

Speaking of ease of use: time and time again, research shows that many consumers like to be able to take their supplements at one (fixed) time of the day. We call that 'once a day'. In addition, most people understandably want to have to take as few (different) supplements as possible in order to still achieve an optimal result. Preferably one tablet / capsule per day. We call that 'one a day'. The consequence of 'one a day' is that you have to 'put' all the necessary active substances in sufficient quantity in one tablet or capsule. This automatically affects the format.

Groove in tablet

You may have wondered what that groove in many tablets is for. This makes it easier to break the tablet in half. For people who have trouble swallowing large pills or tablets, this is a good way to make the amount more manageable.

Pill cutter

Besides breaking in half by means of the groove, there are also pill crushers and pill cutters on the market. If a tablet is not too hard, you can try to crush it yourself with the bottom of an (unbreakable) container or glass on a cutting board. Still, this is far from ideal, because the pill can shoot away or cause you damage in some other way. In any case, never use a knife!

Can you 'take apart' capsules?

With a capsule you can often separate the two halves and dissolve the powder in a glass of water or through your diet. Only in the case of probiotics it is better not to do this. All Golden Naturals probiotic products come in special gastro-resistant capsules. This means that the active ingredients are not affected by stomach acid and arrive undamaged at their destination: the intestines. In order not to interrupt this process, we recommend that you take a probiotic capsule whole. Would you like to take the capsule apart? Then take the contents of the capsule preferably in the morning on an empty stomach with water, or stir the powder into the yogurt or custard.

Best way to swallow pills

The most common method of taking tablets and capsules is to tilt the head back a little to 'throw' the pill backwards, as it were. Sounds logical, after all, you give gravity a helping hand. But at the same time you make your throat opening smaller with it. The best way to swallow a (large) capsule or tablet is as follows: first take a drink of water, but do not swallow it! Put the tablet in your mouth, close your mouth again and swallow it all at once. Always use cold water, as a hot drink can cause the capsule to melt before it enters your stomach. In addition, some compounds in a tablet or capsule do not taste good.