Fairly self-explanatory. The majority of nutrients/vitamins/minerals/etc are absorbed in the first bit of the small intestine, I remember that much of my high school biology.
However, I also know that the majority of colds and other contagious diseases spread when a carrier touches, say, a doorknob, then you touch the same doorknob, and then before washing your hands, touch your eyes/nose/mouth. So either we deal with immensely hardy bacteria that takes a swim in your stomach before moving on to your blood, or it’s somehow absorbed through the skin on the inside of your mouth.
So, do things get absorbed through the mouth that way?
I know there are medicines that you are supposed to let dissolve in the mouth, and others that you are supposed to take care not to let them dissolve in your mouth, because they are meant to absorb over time.
I cannot speak for vitamins, but a used to chew tobacco and I can tell you that nicotine is definitely absorbed that way (based on the nicotine high I would get from chewing.)
Alcohol.
Much of the alcohol you drink is absorbed before it ever reaches the intestines. (That’s part of the reason alcohol has such an effect on people.)
I’ve been told that orange juice is a good thing to drink if your blood sugar plummets, as it begins to be absorbed in the mouth. I imagine that most things begin to be absorbed in the mouth.
Absorption of sugars thru the mouth is quite miniscule, compared to absorption via the small intestine.
Which is why diabetics having low blood sugar reactions should take glucose orally. Glucose tablets or liquid are preferred as it is directly absorbed and goes into action faster than more complex sugars such as sucrose and fructose, which must be metabolized before being used.
So, avoid orange juice, apple juice, or any such sugar supplement unless glucoseis unavailable, for treatment of hypoglycemic reactions.
I recommend that all my diabetic patients who are on meds which might cause low blood sugar to carry glucose tablets just for this reason, and not to count on candies or juices to be effective.
When low glucose is the problem, it should be treated by taking glucose! (or a shot of glucagon, but that’s another story)
As a gastric bypass patient, I take sublingual B12 daily. I was told that it is absorbed better via the blood vessels under my tongue than it would be in my shortened intestine. Regarding B12, I believe it’s more absorbably for everyone…gastric bypass patient or not…sublingually than in pill form.
Someone mentioned nitroglycerine - I tried it a while back to see if chest pains were cardiac (they weren’t). The mild headache that is a common side effect of nitro would start in less than a minute!
Read somewhere that the typical way of getting a cold was to get the virus on your hands and then rub your eyes, so it would travel down the tear duct into the nose and start breaching the mucous membranes there. But I would like a good cite on this.
The mouth is a HIGHLY vascular environment (lots of blood vessels close to the surface).
Nitroglycerin immediately comes to my mind. When you are having angina (or chest pain) and you have a history of Congestive Heart Failure, one of the first things you can do is put a NG tablet underneath the tongue to alleviate the symptons and possibly save your life!
Another GB patient checking in. * I was told* that the base of the stomach just where the small intestine starts is the only part of the gastric system that can absorb B12. If you’ve had ruex-en-Y surgery you no longer have that as part of your system.
And that’s why we need to a) get a monthly B12 shot or b) take the sublingual B12 daily.