Vitamin Burps

Taking your vitamins before bed or on an empty stomach can help.

To put it simply, burping is a sign that your capsule has started to break open and release its contents—and it can be even more noticeable if your vitamin has started dissolving in the stomach, before it hits your digestive tract. If you’re wondering why this happens with omega-3 oils specifically, picture a bottle of salad dressing before you shake it up: The oil and water don’t mix. So any oil released from your vitamin in the stomach will float to the top, triggering a natural, normal burpback response. Basically, your body is reminding you to drink something to push that oil back down into the digestive tract where it belongs.

Take your vitamins on an empty stomach.

Food delays the absorption of your multivitamin, which might mean that it starts to dissolve earlier. And when that omega-3 oil is released in the stomach instead of the small intestine, you could be more prone to burpback. Our advice? Take them first thing in the morning, before breakfast, so your capsules get that head start toward your digestive tract—and make sure you drink plenty of water. Or…

__Take your vitamins before bed. __

If you’d prefer to be unconscious (😬) for any potential burps, taking your vitamins right before you go to sleep is another solid option.

The bottom line: Vitamin burps are an inevitability for some of us, but they should never be gross enough to deter us from getting our daily dose of nutrients. (Otherwise, what’s the point?) It might take a little experimentation, but you can definitely life-hack your way to a more enjoyable habit.