How to Make Swallowing Vitamins and Supplements Easier: 5 Effective Tricks

Many people have a sensitive gag reflex or an unpleasant past experience of a pill getting stuck in their throat. However, there are several simple methods that will help make this process practically unnoticeable.

1. Blend and mix

Adding vitamins to your morning smoothie is a great way to avoid swallowing discomfort.
Photo by: Francesca Hotchin on Unsplash

One of the easiest ways is to make the pill a part of your breakfast. Add vitamins to the blender when preparing a smoothie or protein shake.

• Most supplements don't have a strong taste when mixed with a banana or milk.
• Use a powerful blender for a perfectly smooth consistency.
• Alternative: choose supplements in powder form that can simply be dissolved in a drink.

Note: Herbs like Reishi or goldenseal can be very bitter, so it's better to choose another method for them.

2. Try a thick drink

If you don't want to blend anything, just replace water with something thicker. Papaya juice, thick yogurt, or a fruit smoothie create a different texture in the mouth.

The thickness of the drink helps to "lull" the gag reflex, and the brain perceives swallowing the pill as regular food swallowing.

3. The capsule method: "Lean forward"

Capsules are lighter than water, so they always float. Most people make the mistake of tilting their head back — this makes the capsule float toward the teeth, not the throat.

Try the opposite: put the capsule in your mouth, take a sip of water, and tilt your chin toward your chest. The capsule will float to the back of your throat, making it much easier to swallow with the water.

4. The method for heavy pills: "Lean back"

Unlike capsules, pressed pills are heavier than water. Here the classic method works: place the pill closer to the root of your tongue, take a big gulp of water, and tilt your head back so gravity helps the pill go down.

5. The banana secret

This is probably the most effective way for those who absolutely cannot swallow pills with liquid:

1. Bite off a piece of banana and chew it until it becomes a puree.
2. When you are ready to swallow, place the pill or capsule right in the middle of this puree in your mouth.
3. Take a sip of water and swallow everything together.