# Can one absorb needed nutrients into one's system, through one's skin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 15, 2011, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456 "2011-04-15T05:35:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/1 "2011-04-15T05:35:38Z")
Can one absorb needed nutrients into one’s system, through one’s skin? (I’m thinking specifically of minerals, say for instance copper.) ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/2 "2011-04-15T05:54:45Z")
you produce certain vitamins on your skin through exposure to the sun, but absorbing nutrients directly through the skin is several evolution ladders down. on the other hand, some of our “primitive” cells like those on our eyes need to absorb oxygen directly from the air, or from secreted tears. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/3 "2011-04-15T06:54:03Z")
Can you? Hell yeah, In fact it can be a serious problem. The body evolved to absorb nutrients though the gut. You can’t regulate absorption through the skin and because it doesn’t pass through the liver the excess absorbed material can’t be easily dealt with. It’s not generally seen as a good thing. > [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > you produce certain vitamins on your skin through exposure to the sun, but absorbing nutrients directly through the skin is several evolution ladders down. 1. Vitamins are nutrients. 2. The vitamin is produced \*in \*the skin, not absorbed \*through \*it. 3. There is no evolution ladder. > [@](#): > > on the other hand, some of our “primitive” cells like those on our eyes need to absorb oxygen directly from the air, or from secreted tears. Corneal cells are in no possible sense primitive. They are one of the most derived cell types in the human body. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/4 "2011-04-15T07:25:05Z")
they are primitive in that they are not dependent on the circulatory system for sustenance (particularly oxygen) but get it directly from the air. i thought i was right about the vitamins. evolutionary ladder: i take it you’re not a believer of the evolutionary path from direct absorption through cell walls to a central blastula and ultimately through one’s gut. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/5 "2011-04-15T07:51:38Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > they are primitive in that they are not dependent on the circulatory system for sustenance (particularly oxygen) but get it directly from the air. No, that isn’t correct no matter how I try to spin it. > [@](#): > > evolutionary ladder: i take it you’re not a believer of the evolutionary path from direct absorption through cell walls to a central blastula and ultimately through one’s gut. Whether I am or not, there is such thing as an evolutionary ladder. A worm is neither more nor less evolved than you are. It isn’t further down some imaginary ladder. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/6 "2011-04-15T08:19:42Z")
i see. yes, you’re partly right about my ladder in that present species are arguably as “highly-evolved” as the next. what i meant is the theory of morphological progression from direct absorption of nutrients to evolving an alimentary tract, the latter being considered more evolved, since all living things seem to have started out as simple cells. there is also the progression from a cellular organism, to a multicellular-unsegmented one, and finally to a multicellular-segmented organism. again, the last is throught to be the most evolved. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/7 "2011-04-15T08:28:12Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > i see. yes, you’re partly right about my ladder in that present species are arguably as “highly-evolved” as the next. what i meant is the theory of morphological progression from direct absorption of nutrients to evolving an alimentary tract, the latter being considered more evolved, since all living things seem to have started out as simple cells. Utterly wrong. > [@](#): > > there is also the progression from a cellular organism, to a multicellular-unsegmented one, and finally to a multicellular-segmented organism. again, the last is throught to be the most evolved. Utterly wrong. Look, dude, heads up. GQ is the place for factual answers. You are currently squatting in two threads repeating ignorant and incorrect assertions ad nauseum. If you want to do that you will be more at home in IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/8 "2011-04-15T09:54:03Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Utterly wrong. > > Utterly wrong. > > Look, dude, heads up. GQ is the place for factual answers. You are currently squatting in two threads repeating ignorant and incorrect assertions ad nauseum. If you want to do that you will be more at home in IMHO. there, your last reply is encapsulated. to the thread starter, the answer is a person cannot absorb nutrients (minerals) through the skin (though some harmful ones definitely get in through your skin). vitamins may be produced when sunlight hits the skin. also, some exposed cells (in the eyes) absorb oxygen directly from the air. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/9 "2011-04-15T10:15:53Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > to the thread starter, the answer is a person cannot absorb nutrients (minerals) through the skin This is utter and total crap. As I already pointed out, many nutrients are readily absorbed through the skin. For the love of Mike, why do you insist on posting in GQ on subjects that you clearly know nothing about? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/10 "2011-04-15T10:59:56Z")
Once upon a time I asked if you could absorb enough alcohol through the skin to get drunk (like sitting in a tub full of it.). Everyone said no no, that’s ridiculous. Now there’s a death from alcohol poisoning attributed to doing just that on wiki’s list of [unusual deaths](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_deaths#2000s). So…does alcohol contain much in the way of nutrients? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/11 "2011-04-15T11:25:52Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Once upon a time I asked if you could absorb enough alcohol through the skin to get drunk (like sitting in a tub full of it.). Everyone said no no, that’s ridiculous. Now there’s a death from alcohol poisoning attributed to doing just that on wiki’s list of [unusual deaths](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_deaths#2000s). After immersion for 12 hours the route of entry would be questionable. The room would have been saturated with alcohol vapour, the mucous membranes of the vagina and anus would have been in constant contact with alcohol and it seems highly likely, given that that “she had immersed herself as a response to the ongoing SARS epidemic” that she was at least gargling the stuff if not actually drinking. Any or all of those routes of entry were possible. > [@](#): > > So…does alcohol contain much in the way of nutrients? Ethanol _is_ a nutrient in pure form. A 40% ethanol solution is 40% nutrient. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/12 "2011-04-15T11:44:42Z")
Well, so the minerals in hot springs pretty much just have a topical effect? (i.e., they soften your skin or maybe draw out waste or whatnot.) Or, in other words, if I have a genuine copper deficiency, I can’t just wear my cool bracelet I made out of house wire? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/13 "2011-04-15T12:01:44Z")
A copper deficiency? What are you, a horseshoe crab? But no, although a lot of things can be absorbed through your skin, your system is designed to process nutrients through your gut. Just getting a metal into your bloodsteam through absorbtion not mean that it is in a compound that is usable by your cells. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/14 "2011-04-15T12:05:45Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > Or, in other words, if I have a genuine copper deficiency, I can’t just wear my cool bracelet I made out of house wire? :mad: And this is is why it infuriates me when Mac Bolan fill GQ threads with ignorant shit. Had you read my first post, and had he not filled the thread with erroneous crap, you would see that you can use your copper bracelet, but it’s not recommended. Copper is one of the many nutrients that it has been incontrovertibly proven that we can absorb through our skin. Elemental copper is not the best way to do that, various copper salts work far better for absorbing through the skin, and oral copper works even better. But you will absorb some copper through your skin from wearing a bracelet. You might need to wear the bracelet for about a decade to cure a copper deficiency, but it will eventually work. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/15 "2011-04-15T12:10:08Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > A copper deficiency? What are you, a horseshoe crab? Copper is an essential micronutrient for humans, and deficiency isn’t unheard of. > [@](#): > > Just getting a metal into your bloodsteam through absorbtion not mean that it is in a compound that is usable by your cells. Which is a very good point. Even if you are absorbing your daily intake of elemental copper through your skin, most of it probably isn’t biologically available. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/16 "2011-04-15T12:15:16Z")
… it was a joke, son. I almost said Vulcan, but I am feeling more pedantic than geeky this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/17 "2011-04-15T12:43:45Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > … it was a joke, son. I am built too close to the ground. The fast ones keep going over my head. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/18 "2011-04-15T12:47:46Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > As I already pointed out, many nutrients are readily absorbed through the skin. I’m curious, which nutrients? And are we talking mucous membranes or general body skin? (Sources are always good of course) ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/19 "2011-04-15T13:17:40Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I’m curious, which nutrients? Don’t ask me for a complete list, but several vitamins including C, B and A, most of the metals including copper, zinc, iron and molybdenum and lipids. If you allow the use of solvents like DMSO ( a cheat) then you can absorb all sorts of things, including some amino acids. > [@](#): > > And are we talking mucous membranes or general body skin? General skin. The soft skin under the upper arm is normally used. > [@](#): > > (Sources are always good of course) Just put [“percutaneous absorption” “substance name”] into Google Shcolar. For example [“percutaneous absorption” “vitamin A”] gets you [this](http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=%22percutaneous+absorption%22+%22vitamin+A%22&btnG=Search&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_ylo=&as_vis=1). Noe of this is particularly novel or controversial so there is no shortage of references. Most of the research these days is spent trying to find the best way of delivering stuff through the skin rather than arguing about whether it happens. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456/20 "2011-04-15T13:34:23Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I’m curious, which nutrients? And are we talking mucous membranes or general body skin? (Sources are always good of course) Well… I wouldn’t exactly say nutrients as Blake did. I mean, he’s technically right, but… _Sigh_. OK, complication time. We have macronutrients (basically, food energy) and micronutrients (think vitamins). But there are other things we need in infinitestimal quantities: amounts you can hardly weigh. A human body has only very small amounts - like less than a gram. And there are other things we need in even smaller quantities. Now, the skin is not a perfect barrier. There are some things we can absorb through it, which is not generaly considered a good thing. Some atoms can get through, and some other things can trick the chemical gates of the skin into opening. DMSO (Dimethyl Sulfoxide) is an example: it absorbs into the skin readily, even though there’s nothing in nature which particularly intended this effect. While it’s actually quite useful (as a mild, nontoxis anasthetic), it can also allow _other_ things into the skin, which can be very bad. So, in short, we’re not really intended to go around soaking up stuff through the skin. I can be done in some cases, but is not ideal, certainly. And it only applies to molecules small enough and the right “shape” to enter, sometimes with the help of a primer. I recall a sad accident where a researcher was fiddling with some kind of mercury compound while wearing latex gloves. Latex is usually a very neutral element, thin and flexible but which keeps stuff off the skin. Sadly, mercury is not water-soluble or carbon-based, which is what Latex gloves are for. The combination of the latex particles and the mercury compount opened her skin gates and it soaked right inside her hand. She didn’t make it, although she didn’t even know she was sick for some time\*. \*Prompt medical attention might have been able to save her. By the time they realized what was killing her, it may have simply been too late. But then, IIRC they didn’t have an effective binder agent for that particular mercury compound anyway. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-absorb-needed-nutrients-into-ones-system-through-ones-skin/578456.md?page=2)