Veggie cap composition can cause stomach discomfort, gas, bloating, and diarrhea. If you have ever felt oversensitive to certain supplements, the capsule that contains them may be the culprit. So-called ‘vegetable capsules’ were created in a misguided attempt to replace those nasty, animal-based gelatin capsules that supplements used to come in. This move has been more harmful than helpful, because ‘veggie caps’ are not as natural as the supplement manufacturers want you to believe.
A Personal Experiment
You CAN do this at home.
I never even considered that veggie caps could be a problem. That is, until I did a simple experiment. It started with the observation that when I took a boatload of supplements at one time, I got NASCAR-fast burning diarrhea racing through me. Frankly, this kept me from taking my supplements as regularly as I would have liked.
I always suspected vitamin C as the culprit, since this is a common side effect of taking too much of this vitamin without building up tolerance to it.
For some reason, though, I started to wonder about all the veggie cap material that I was also taking with my supplements. To check out this out, all I did was disassemble all of my supplement capsules and dump their contents into a liter of water. This is what I drank down over a few hours and … VOILA! … discovered that it caused no digestive problems whatsoever.
Hmm.
Of course, in this Age of Google, I soon found forums and blog comments where lots and lots of other folks reported the same difficulties when taking supplements in veggie caps.
Now for the Shocker
All of the following sentiments about veggie caps are absolutely untrue!
“Veggie caps are easily digested.”
“Veggie caps are all natural.”
“Veggie caps are soooo much better for you than gelatin caps.”
These are marketing-based claims designed to feed the oversimplified beliefs of the “plants are cleaner” crowd.
Here is what I found out to be the real truth about veggie caps.
They are made of a substance called hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, which is described as follows on Wikipedia:
Hypromellose, short for hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), is a semisynthetic, inert, viscoelastic polymer used as an ophthalmic lubricant, as well as an excipient and controlled-delivery component in oral medicaments, found in a variety of commercial products. As a food additive, hypromellose is an emulsifier, thickening and suspending agent, and an alternative to animal gelatin.
Got all that? Here is some more enlightenment.
The driving reason behind the creation of veggie caps was to provide a substitute for gelatin caps. Gelatin is derived from collagen, which comes from animals. Remember the good old days, when Jell-O was a great gelatin-based treat? Fast forward to modern times, whereby collagen-based supplements are wonderful for the health of our joints, bones, skin, and nails. Yup, plain old Jell-O was the first collagen supplement.
Gelatin is easily digestible. If not, then generations of children would have suffered untold digestive harm from constant diarrhea and its consequent dehydration. Deadly.
The Reality of Veggie Cap Chemistry
Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose is made by starting with cellulose, which comes from plants. Cellulose is completely indigestible by humans. Altering cellulose by adding hydroxy, propyl, and methyl moieties does nothing to change that.
Veggie caps are therefore 100% indigestible!
HPMC is what we call a ‘semi-synthetic’ substance. It is not a natural substance!
Indigestible, semi-synthetic substances are not necessarily inert. In fact, they often provide fuel for colon bacteria that can digest a lot of things that pass through our system untouched. This is apparently what happens to veggie caps. That may not seem so bad until you realize that a colon bacterial bloom creates metabolic gases and acids that result in bloating and diarrhea.
This is why veggie caps are NOT better for you than gelatin caps!
What is Actually Better for You?
Gelatin capsules. Plain and simple.
Our bodies already have the ability to digest, absorb, and reassemble collagen. That’s why eating Jell-O always made for better nails. That’s why collagen supplements support the health of bones, joints, skin, and nails.
Ultimately, that is why gelatin capsules are superior in every way to veggie caps when it comes to health benefits.
What to Do
You can do several things to reduce your consumption of veggie caps when taking supplements.
- Since supplements in veggie caps are hard to avoid, then do what I do. Disassemble them and dump the contents into a glass of water.
- Buy bulk powders whenever you can.
- Buy supplements in softgels. Softgels are still made from gelatin.
- Buy supplements that are already in liquid.*
*The main caveat for liquid supplements is to watch out for other ingredients, especially sweeteners. Most non-sugar sweeteners will act on our system the same way that veggie caps to.
Regardless of how you reduce or eliminate veggie caps from your supplement protocol, you will be better off when you do so.
Be well,
Dr. D
Need a good source for your supplements?
This is great info. I just feel horrible when I take a lot of veggie caps. It feels like a big gelatinous lump in my digestive system and it makes me feel nauseous and really weird. So I’ve been doing what you describe for a long time; however some herbs are so positively disgusting (rhodiola for example) that the powder literally makes me almost vomit. So I wish there was a better alternative when it’s super gross. I’m a vegetarian for ethical reasons so I don’t want to take veggie caps.
Hi, Rebecca:
I suspect that you and I are not the only ones having challenges with veggie caps. You are also spot on about how awful some supplements are to get down. Turmeric might even be worse than rhodiola. I know that MSM certainly is. I don’t have an ideal strategy yet. At this time I empty my supplement capsules into water, add a little liquid Stevia, and either slug it down or sip it over a few hours. It still tastes terrible, and sometimes my stomach gets upset anyway. In spite of this issue, it is better than most liquid forms of supplements, since they often have sweeteners that I simply won’t consume. Ah, for the sake of good health!
All the best,
Dennis
Dennis! As one who reads all of my labels even on my supplements, I saw hypromellose didn’t know what it was and it led me to your site. Thank you so much you have enlightened me I appreciate this immensely I like everything else that’s in the supplement so I will do what you recommended which is to empty it into water and take it that way I don’t mind the weird Taste of different supplements I’m used to it because I do that with other things. So thank you again I will pass this information on to many. Yours in health, Susan Kindler, LMT
Hi, Suezen:
I am very happy to be helpful on this topic. Thank you for your kind comments and commitment to spreading the word on veggie caps. Another (unacceptable) alternative is liquid supplements. They are routinely adulterated with awful sweeteners and other flavors. I suppose you and I will just have to put up with the ‘interesting’ flavor of capsule contents in water. One thing I do occasionally is add a half teaspoon of MSM powder. That stuff is so bitter that it cancels out the other tastes from supplements. Yummy!
All the best,
Dennis
Try taking them in a high quality protein drink or other tasty drink, preferably something with body out thickness.
SK…Thanks for the suggestion. I have been looking for a good base liquid for dumping my capsule contents into. The best I’ve found so far is a greens powder that has some good flavor, mixed into water. Powders from capsules still clump up a little, though. My shaker cup has a little wire ball that breaks up the lumps somewhat. An improvement, although not ideal yet.
Cheers,
Dennis
I use supplements in veggie caps.
They don’t make me sick but if they are indigestible I have to do something about it.
They are too expensive and important to not be digested in my stomach.
Is the bottom line that the supplement’s will not begin digesting in my stomach but rather pass through the intestinal track because of the veggie caps?
Hi, Lawrence:
You pretty much nailed it. Veggie caps are indigestible for our native enzymes. However, once that material passes into the colon, normal intestinal bacteria there will start to break it down. The excess gas and acid from such a bacterial bloom is behind the bloating and diarrhea that comes from consuming too much of the veggie cap material. If you don’t have those symptoms, then you are probably off the hook. The good news is that veggie caps dissolve fairly quickly, so any supplements they contain will be released, starting in your stomach. You can do a little experiment to confirm this. Just put a capsule in water, maybe with a little vinegar, and watch how long it takes to dissolve. It should dissolve within minutes, certainly no more than a half hour.
All the best,
Dennis
Thank you much Dennis.
This information is very useful as Joe Mercola mentioned this briefly but didn’t detail enough.
I was worried and have been cutting the gell caps open ever since.
Kind Regards,
Lawrence
You are welcome, Lawrence. I am glad to be of help.
Cheers,
Dennis
Dr. Dennis,
I just wanted to take time to inform you that the test with the veggie cap in water with a little vinegar went well.
The cap began to dissolve and break open at 12 minutes.
Thanks again for your help with my dilemma.. !!
Larry
I hereby christen you a self-hacking scientist. Glad to hear of your results, Larry. Thanks for the update.
Cheers,
Dennis
I have been taking Veggie caps and find that I have been bloated and upset stomach. I was thinking of stopping them I found your website trying to find if these may cause bloating in others or is it just me !
Thnak yiu,
Cecelia
Hi, Cecelia: You are spot on in recognizing what happens with you. Others have similar issues. The “veggie cap” crusade (i.e., to avoid gelatin caps, made from animal products) is not as harmless as people think. Once I caught on to what was happening with me – i.e., digestive upsets – I started opening my veggie cap products, discarding the caps, and mixing the contents into a drink. Not very tasty. That solved it. The next issue of concern is the common filler, maltodextrin. I’ll have something to say about that before too long. Thanks for you input.
All the best,
Dennis
As a few other readers have reported, I recently had a bad spell of bloating, excessive gas, among other digestive symptoms I won’t detail here, PLUS joint pain. I started taking a new timed-release methylated B complex that uses “hypromelose SR agent” mixed with the capsule contents, and finally after five days of increasing agony I stopped using them. It took almost three days to get it out of my system, but the during portion I had the same symptoms I get when I’ve been “glutened” or “tapioca-ed.” I just yesterday started back on a methylated B I have used for years without issue, although today I have had some stomach upset again. So I will try your method of consuming the contents with water, but I wonder if you happen to know if consuming B vitamins this way would affect/hinder their absorption or even their delivery to the small intestine? A herbalist I follow recommends mixing B vitamins with kefir and allowing them to ferment overnight- his reasons are sound to me, although I can’t handle dairy either! I’m hoping nothing is lost en route when consumed with water alone.
Hi, EMR…Isn’t it amazing (and disappointing) how some things that are supposed to be good for us actually cause harm? I am glad that you discovered the issues that I found out about veggie caps. I had digestive problems that I finally pinpointed to hypromellose capsules. Saying ‘veggie caps’ is certainly misleading! About your question: no, absorption will not diminish when B vitamins are in water. Indeed, I have occasionally taken them in liquid products. One more item of potential concern for you (and me) is one of the common fillers in capsules – maltodextrin. We would all be better off without ingesting it. Good luck finding capsules without it, though. Oh, about kefir. No need to mix in B vitamins if you have a potent active culture. The bacteria themselves will make many B vitamins. I am with you about dairy, though. In my case, lactose intolerant. Thanks for your input.
All the best,
Dennis
Dear Dr. Clark,
Thanks for your info on the topic of vegan capsules. However, regarding Hypromellose capsules (HPMC), your product Fem Rebalance by VItanica contains capsules made of HPMC. This contradicts your advice.
~Susan
Hi, Susan: Spot on. I couldn’t agree more. Although Vitanica isn’t my company, my online store does list Fem Rebalance and thousands of other products from hundreds of companies that do use veggie caps. Avoiding them is nearly impossible, which is why, for the supplements I take, I empty the capsule contents into water and toss out the empties. It is a hassle, I know. Gel caps, which are from animal sources, also have their issues. Pure unencapsulated powders would be ideal. They are just very hard to find. Thank you for your comment. I wish I had a better strategy for you.
All the best,
Dennis
why has no one designed a non synthetic natural veggie capsule?
Hi, Joel:
That is what I have been wondering, too. We may have a possibility, though. Pure Encapsulations has this label on their Nutrient 950 multivitamin/mineral product (which is the one I use): Other Ingredients: ascorbyl palmitate, vegetarian capsule (cellulose, water). Hypromellose (veggie caps) is made from cellulose, so I have to find out if they are really using just cellulose or its chemical derivative. Reading labels is quite an adventure!
All the best,
Dennis