Vitamin Gummy Bears - Millennial Edition

December 22, 2018 8:05 AM

Another good idea, bad idea: I take vitamins in gummy bear form because. Can I kick it up a notch and soak them in vodka without lessening the vitamin potency?
posted by jojo and the benjamins to Food & Drink (5 answers total)

Alcohol inhibits the absorption and usage of vital nutrients such as thiamin (vitamin B1), vitamin B12, folic acid, and zinc. Alcohol impairs nutrient absorption by damaging the cells lining the stomach and intestines and disabling transport of some nutrients into the blood.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:00 AM on December 22, 2018 [6 favorites]

I would figure that gummi bears have a zero absorption coefficient. They'll just dissolve before they actually take-on any vodka, no?
posted by humboldt32 at 10:19 AM on December 22, 2018

In addition to the vitamin B issues, I'll just chime in here that every time I take my kids to the dentist the entire staff asks us at one point or another if the kids eat gummy vitamins. Apparently they are terrible for your teeth and are a major cause of cavities. So, you know, just keep your teeth in mind.
posted by vignettist at 12:59 PM on December 22, 2018

You are thinking that the alcohol will 'soak into' the gummy bears, but what will also happen at the same time is that some of the vitamins will leave the gummy bears and dissolve into the vodka. See, for example: Chemical and Physical characteristics of some vitamins.

That is, in some cases, you will be creating vitamin vodka, at which point you might just as well eat the gummy bear and take a shot.
posted by Comrade_robot at 1:39 AM on December 23, 2018

humboldt32, apparently you are one of the lucky 10,000 today:
comparison of gummy bears in vodka
posted by fiercecupcake at 1:12 PM on December 26, 2018 [1 favorite]