Bioavailability? Bioactivity? I only understand Bio-Bahnhof!

Aha! SIMPLE FACTS When we deal with nutrition and food, we inevitably come across specific (technical) terms again and again. Although we are already familiar with some of them, we often lack the deeper knowledge to be able to make a judgment. And sometimes the terminology alone leaves a big question mark. Today I'll give you a quick, easy-to-digest explanation of bioactivity and bioavailability and why they're not the same thing.

We at BE THE CHANGE also use this term, for example, to emphasize the quality of our supplements: bioavailability. But what does that actually mean?

In nutritional science, the term “bioavailability” simply describes how quickly and to what extent nutrients from a food are absorbed by the body absorbed, i.e. absorbed into the bloodstream . A high value means a high amount of unchanged nutrients from a particular food or dietary supplement actually on Place of action, i.e. available to our body cells , instead of being excreted unchanged.

A high bioavailability in a food - it is stated in percent - does not only mean that you really get what you pay for for your money. Mainly, a highly bioavailable food ensures that you can supply your body with sufficient nutrients in the long term. A chicken egg, for example, has a sensational biological value (=bioavailability) of 100.

Would you like to learn more about bioavailability, what it depends on and how you can increase it?

The above term should not be confused with bioactivity. In the nutrition and food jungle, which is almost overrun by advertising promises like the jungle in the Amazon by bulldozers, bioactivity is often given too little attention. It actually goes hand in hand with bioavailability.

So what is she? “Bioactivity” defines the general ability of nutrients and other substances in our food to cause specific biochemical and physiological reactions in our body. To put it more simply: It describes how efficiently and actively our body can actually use the nutrients it consumes. This means that the more bioactive a substance is, the more effective it is.

In itself, everything is bioactive in some way and reacts on a cellular or molecular level. Vitamins, for example, are highly bioactive, as they are responsible for and trigger countless vital processes in our body. But ordinary water is also inherently bioactive – albeit less so. Water is often a reaction partner in various metabolic processes; for example, it makes up 90% of our blood and fulfills an important transport function for other substances.

The various nutrients and substances therefore differ from one another in their bioactivity. But there are also low and highly bioactive forms of certain substances. An example: The vitamin B12 contained in our B vitamin complex comes in its natural form from methylcobalamin, which is highly bioactive in the body. In contrast, the synthetically produced vitamin B12 cyanocobalamin is hardly bioactive. This means that this artificial form is hardly active and efficient in our bodies.

Would you like to find out more about bioactive compounds, their effects and which foods they occur in?

Conclusion

Bioavailability describes how well, effectively and quickly your body absorbs a substance. Bioactivity describes how good and efficient the reaction of the substance in question ultimately is in the body. Even if these similar-sounding terms have completely different meanings, they are of inseparable importance in our diet.

Recommendation

Bioactive forms of nutrients and high bioavailability are always preferable.