Worst spots to store your vitamins

March 4, 2010

So here I was thinking I was pretty smart for not keep vitamins and meds in the bathroom, but it turns out the kitchen (where I’ve got  mine) isn’t so hot either (or rather it is hot in there, and humid, and therein lies the problem).

New research from Purdue University has found that even if the lids are on tight on your bottles of vitamins and supplements, the humidity in kitchens and bathrooms can still cause chemical changes in the product’s composition, leading to shorter shelf life, lower quality and fewer nutrients. And not by just tiny amount — it all depends on the specific product and environmental conditions, but it was shown that all the vitamin C in a supplement could be lost within just one week.

So short of hiding them in a dark, dry drawer in your home office where you’ll never remember to take them in the first place, what can you do?

For a steady vitamins-with-benefits relationship, the Purdue researcher gave the thumbs up to the kitchen but only if you have a place that is dark and dry, away from the stove, sink and windows.

Filed under: Healthy Swellness

Tags: medication, medicine cabinet, pills, storage, supplements, vitamin, vitamins