Feeling fatigued and listless? Searching for an energy boost? Want to improve your mood and motivation? The solution may be, according to a proliferation of online articles and wellness TikToks, not to seek medical advice, but to whack on a vitamin patch.<\/p>\n
Wearers purport to feel more focused or energised when adorned with the patches, some of which look like transparent squares, and others which are cuter and more colourful, resembling stickers or temporary tattoos.<\/p>\n
The adhesives, also called wellness or supplement patches, contain tiny amounts of vitamins, minerals such as iron and magnesium, as well as other compounds such as caffeine and ginger extract.<\/p>\n
Do any of the claims about vitamin patches stick, or are they merely a Band-Aid solution?<\/p>\n
Can vitamins actually get through the skin?<\/p>\n
Very few medicines are available as patches, says Nial Wheate, a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at Macquarie University. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason we don\u2019t have paracetamol and aspirin patches.\u201d<\/p>\n
The key issue is that the skin is a very effective protective barrier: the structure of its outermost layer, the stratum corneum, blocks water, bacteria and most drugs<\/a> from getting through.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean the right medicines can\u2019t be delivered that way,\u201d Wheate says. \u201cThe things that do get through the skin tend to be what we call lipophilic\u201d \u2013 fat soluble. For this reason, skin patches are often used to deliver opioid medications, hormone replacement therapy and nicotine, which are all lipophilic.<\/p>\n For example, the advantage of a nicotine skin patch for smoking cessation, Wheate says, is that it gives a slow, sustained release \u201cwhere you\u2019re continuously releasing that drug into the bloodstream\u201d, as opposed to an oral tablet which leads to a higher initial spike of the drug and more rapid clearance from the body.<\/p>\n However, he says: \u201cOne of the big fundamental problems of vitamin patches is that most vitamins are water soluble. What doesn\u2019t get through the skin? Stuff that\u2019s water soluble.\u201d<\/p>\n Some wellness patches market themselves as bypassing the \u201cunwanted side effects\u201d of oral supplements \u2013 constipation is a commonly reported side effect of iron tablets, for example.<\/p>\n But iron, and other vitamins and minerals commonly used in patches, such as vitamin B12 and magnesium \u2013 cannot properly cross the skin barrier.<\/p>\n And if any amount does make it through the skin, \u201cthe other issue is the amount of drug you can load into a patch is very, very small,\u201d Wheate points out. \u201cSo what you get is microdosing of any of those vitamins.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest effect [wearers] would get is a placebo effect.\u201d<\/p>\n One patch available in Australia, marketed for immunity, for example, contains 1mg of vitamin C. The clinical signs of scurvy, by comparison, appear when daily vitamin C intake<\/a> drops below 7 to 8mg.<\/p>\n More \u2018bang for your buck\u2019 in the fruit and veg section<\/p>\n The average person can get their recommended intake<\/a> of vitamins (such as vitamin C and vitamin B12) and minerals (elements such as iron, zinc and iodine) from diet alone, without the need for supplements \u2013 in oral or patch form.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s definitely cases when people need [supplemental] vitamins and minerals,\u201d says Clare Collins, professor of nutrition and dietetics at the University of Newcastle. This includes people with specific deficiencies, such as those with low iron or vegans who are at higher risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. Pregnant women, too, have a higher nutritional requirement for folate, iodine and vitamin D.<\/p>\n \u201cThe nutrients that are more likely to be absorbed [through the skin] are ones that dissolve in fat,\u201d Collins says. \u201cBut they don\u2019t necessarily go all the way into your bloodstream, which is why [vitamin patches] are not that effective.\u201d<\/p>\n There have been few studies in humans into how well fat-soluble vitamins \u2013 vitamins A, D, E and K \u2013 are absorbed into the skin, Collins says. One small 2019 study<\/a> looked at the effect of multivitamin patches in patients after gastric bypass surgery for weight loss, who are at higher risk of nutrient deficiencies. Patch users, it found, were \u201cmore likely to have vitamin D deficiency and lower serum concentration of various vitamins and minerals\u201d than patients taking oral supplements.<\/p>\n \u201cThe patches were not able to replace oral supplements and that\u2019s a very specific group where food intakes are markedly reduced,\u201d Collins says. \u201cIn the current day, that would still apply to bariatric surgery, but that would also apply to people taking GLP-1 [weight-loss drugs].\u201d<\/p>\n Given the lack of evidence for their effect, Collins suggests people save the money they would otherwise expend on vitamin patches and \u201cspend it in the fruit and veg section \u2026 you\u2019ll get more bang for your buck\u201d.<\/p>\n Unlike patches, Collins says fresh fruit and vegetables will also provide a variety of phytonutrients<\/a> \u2013 plant-based chemicals that occur naturally in foods \u2013 which have numerous benefits including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. \u201cYou get the nutrients that improve your insulin sensitivity, and all the range of fibres that promote bowel health and promote a diverse microbiome.\u201d<\/p>\n For people considering a vitamin supplement or a patch, Collins suggests \u201chaving a think about what the underlying issues are\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re just feeling run-down, then go and get yourself a check-up with your GP.\u201d<\/p>\n Donna Lu is an assistant editor, climate, environment and science at Guardian Australia<\/p>\n Antiviral<\/a> is a fortnightly column that interrogates the evidence behind the health headlines and factchecks popular wellness claims<\/p>\n Share your experience<\/p>\n Share your experience<\/p>\n What health trend\u00a0do you want examined?<\/p>\n Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For alternative ways to get in touch securely please see our tips guide<\/a>.Show more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feeling fatigued and listless? Searching for an energy boost? Want to improve your mood and motivation? 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