Storing Vitamins Wrong Reduces Their Effectiveness

More people than ever are taking vitamin and nutritional supplements of some type - and most store them in the kitchen or bathroom to make them more accessible when they need a glass of water to swallow them. On the other hand, according to a new study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, storing vitamins in the kitchen or bathroom may not be such a good idea. Exposing vitamins to these humid areas of the house can decrease their effectiveness.

Why Does Storing Vitamins in the Kitchen and Bathroom Reduce Their Effectiveness?

University of Purdue researchers found that when vitamin pills are exposed to the high humidity in bathrooms and kitchens, it causes the outer layer of the vitamin to gradually dissolve - a phenomenon known as deliquescence.

This process is accelerated at warmer temperatures which makes the kitchen a particularly bad place to store vitamins since kitchens heat up when stoves and ovens are turned on. So effective is this breakdown process that storing vitamins in areas of high humidity can completely destroy their effectiveness.

Doesnt It Help to Keep the Top On?

Even if you store vitamins in humid areas with the top on the bottle, it still wont their prevent breakdown. Each time you take off the top, the vitamins are exposed to more humidity - and when you close it, the humidity is trapped in the bottle along with the vitamins.

How Can You Tell Whether Your Vitamins are Losing Their Potency?

Check the inside of the bottle and see if any moisture has accumulated along the sides. Another sign are brown spots on the outside of the pills. If you see either of these tell tale signs, discard the vitamins since theyve most likely lost some of potency.

How to Store Vitamins

Its best to store vitamins in a dark, dry area at room temperature with the lids tightly screwed on. Fortunately, even if you take vitamins that have degraded, they wont hurt you. You just wont get the benefits. When storing vitamins, always keep them out of reach of children just as you would with prescription medications - and discard them once they reach their expiration date.

The Bottom Line?

Store vitamins properly to make sure youre getting the full benefits.

References:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/181092.php