Oxylent Effervescent Multivitamin: Product Review

I'm a fan of natural, preventative medicine, so any opportunity to try a new product is great in my book. I was excited to try out the Oxylent line of natural vitamin supplements, which are effervescent powders containing a complex of micronutrients. I've been using Emergen-C, a similar product, for several years, so I was happy to have a new option with similar benefits.

I had an opportunity to try four flavors of Oxylent: mandarin, berry, raspberry and blackberry-pomegranate. All four flavors were surprisingly delicious, with a sweet but no overwhelming primary taste. They all lacked the slightly bitter aftertaste of Emergen-C and similar powdered multivitamins. All four flavors were somewhat tart, and this helped to mask the often-chalky texture I associate with calcium-containing supplements.

Oxylent's effervescent nature is its primary difference from conventional multi-vitamin products. Oxylent advertises, based on studies of non-vitamin medicinal products, that evervescence makes vitamins more absorbable. The company claims that Oxylent supplements offer "nearly 100% absorption" compared to 20% absorption with conventional products.

Although I do believe that some compounds are more absorbable when offered in effervescent form, I strongly doubt the manufacturer's claims of 100% absorption. No vitamin supplement, drug or other product can be 100% absorbed into the blood stream unless it is injected intravenously.

Additionally, Oxylent products contain significant quantities of vitamin D and vitamin E, which, although important, are fat-soluble and unlikely to be absorbed in significant quantities unless they are coupled with other lipids. No vitamin D or E supplement-- effervescent or otherwise-- can be adequately absorbed by itself or with only water. For this reason, I'd recommend taking Oxylent along with a meal or a fatty supplement, such as fish oil.

Oxylent also advertises its differences from other products, noting that the effervescent multivitamins contain the enzymes SOD and catalase, which, according to the manufacturer, can increase the oxygen in your own body's cells and can increase the absorption of the vitamins and minerals in the product. Although these claims sound promising, I'm unaware of any tangible research supporting these claims.

I would recommend Oxylent and a multivitamin to anyone interesting in a better-tasting, more complete, more absorbable alternative to other effervescent vitamins such as Emergen-C. However, like all nutritional supplements, claims regarding Oxyent should be taken with a grain of salt.

Here is my Three-Year-Old's Review of Oxylent for Kids:

"It's full of juice. Or tastes like it's full of juice. It has vitamins in it. There are bubbles in it. I like the bubbles. It tastes sweet, and I like to drink it, and I would prefer to drink it instead of milk."

(However, she refused to drink more than three sips.)