Let's Talk About Vitamin Burps (and Things That Can Help)

With a lot of multivitamins on the market, 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 burpback response.

But our multivitamins work a little differently. Because Ritual’s capsule is formulated to be acid-resistant, it's designed to move past the stomach and into the small intestine, where most nutrient absorption can happen. That means that you’ll likely experience less burping than you would with other supplements—especially if you’re used to taking softgels, which may dissolve earlier.*

There are also some other factors that might make you more prone to burping, like low stomach acid or even the amount of water you drink when taking your vitamins. Either way, fishy burps aren’t exactly pleasant. The good news is that there are some easy workarounds to help.*

How to deal:

It’s all about the capsule.

Softgels are tricky, because they may start to dissolve before the intestinal tract. This isn’t ideal, especially for burp-back. The cool thing about Ritual’s capsule is that it's delayed-release and designed to dissolve later, in the small intestine. That also means that you may experience less burping, since the omega-3 algal oil is released later on.*

Minty tab = minty burps.

Though many omega-3 oils go through a deodorization process, it’s tough to get rid of that fishy scent entirely. Ritual multivitamins are vegan, so in our case, it’s the algal oil that may lend a briny scent.

Choking back a fishy multivitamin is about as much fun as sea breeze-burps, which is why we include a minty tab in Essential for Women and Essential for Men, and a citrus one in our Essential Prenatal. We think it does a pretty good job of masking any funky smells—and helping to turn the occasional fishy burp into a literal breath of fresh air.*

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.

Take your vitamins with juice.

If that initial taste bothers you more than anything else, try knocking back your vitamins with some OJ or another fruit juice of your choice instead of plain old water.

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 (and/or a minty new multivitamin), but you can definitely life-hack your way to a more enjoyable habit.