Shelling out extra cash for gel capsules of your favorite painkiller, hoping they’ll kick in faster? You might want to think twice.
Pharmacist Grant Harting is calling out so-called “fast-acting” liquid gel pain relievers as a racket — and he’s taking to TikTok to spill the pharmaceutical tea.
In a video that has racked up more than 26,000 likes this week, Harting acknowledged that Advil, like any form of ibuprofen, is effective for treating fevers and pain caused by inflammation. But he argues the hype around gel capsules providing quicker relief compared to regular tablets is mostly unwarranted — despite the higher price tag they often carry.
“This is one of the biggest scams people fall for,” Harting says. “I’m picking the tablets every single day of the week.”
How it works
When you swallow a painkiller, the medication has to make its way into your bloodstream to do its job. A small amount of absorption happens in the stomach, but most of the heavy lifting takes place in the small intestine.
Harting explained that while gel capsules may speed up the stomach breakdown phase, they don’t actually make the intestines absorb the medication any faster than regular tablets.
“In my personal and professional opinion, it’s not significant enough for there to be a price difference between the two,” he said.
The pricey truth
Liquid-filled capsules are more expensive to produce, so they often come with a higher price tag. On Amazon, a pack of 20 Advil Liqui-Gels runs $7, while 100 coated tablets will set you back just $9.99.
Advil did not respond to a request for comment.
The evidence is slim
While some studies suggest gel capsules work a bit faster than tablets, Harting says the evidence is “iffy.”
Researchers at the University of Alberta reviewed 18 studies on the issue and found that while ibuprofen Liqui-Gels may have a slightly faster onset, the available evidence is “not overwhelming.”
In fact, some studies have found that rapid-release gelcaps, including those for acetaminophen, can actually dissolve slower than standard tablets from the same brand.
Harting’s final verdict? “If they are the same price, it doesn’t matter. If there’s a price difference, go for the tablets.”
How to actually make your medication kick in faster
Busting the myth around “fast-acting” gel capsules doesn’t mean you’re out of luck for speeding up your meds. There’s actually a way to make pills dissolve faster — and it doesn’t involve splurging on pricier options.
According to research from Johns Hopkins University, your body position can play a huge role in how fast your medication starts working.
Using a computer model that simulated how the stomach digests food and medicine in four different positions, the researchers discovered a game-changing trick: lie on your right side.
When participants were on their right side, the pill reached the deepest part of the stomach and dissolved in just 10 minutes. In comparison, standing or lying flat on your back took about 23 minutes, and lying on the left side took a staggering 100 minutes to dissolve.
