If you have been on the journey of discovering the benefits of essential oils, then you have likely come across the option to ingest the oils using veggie caps. doTERRA, being your manufacturer of choice, happens to make a veggie capsule, but you need to figure out what size they are.
doTERRA veggie caps are size zero. Size zero capsules are roughly equal to 500-milligram capsules. They have an internal volume of 0.68 millilitres, enough for 12 to 13 drops of oil. They are around 0.85 inches long and about 0.3 inches in diameter when closed.
When you are in the market for capsules, it is essential that you understand capsule sizes and that you buy the size that meets your needs. You really don’t want to buy capsules that aren’t the right size and end up wasting money.
doTERRA Veggie Cap Size Explained
Surprisingly, there are a few questions online regarding the size of doTERRA veggie caps because the size doesn’t seem to be explicitly stated.
However, rest assured, with some digging, you will find that they are size zero. But what does that mean?
A Quick Look At Capsule Sizes
OK, so to simplify, capsules are sized in inverted numerical order. In other words, smaller capsules have higher numbers.
There are ten standard capsule sizes, of which size five is the smallest and triple zero is the biggest. The size zero capsule rests almost squarely in the middle as a comparatively average-sized capsule.
How Big Are doTERRA Capsules?
If you have a typical 500-milligram capsule for any medicine lying around your house, you can go grab it. That should be a size zero capsule and, therefore, the same size as doTERRA’s veggie caps.
A closed size-zero capsule is roughly 21.6 millimeters or 0.85 inches long. They are also around 7.6 millimeters or 0.3 inches in diameter. So, they are averagely sized for capsules. However, they will likely be too big for most kids.
They have a volume capacity of 0.68 milliliters. So, if we assume that a single drop of essential oil is 0.05 milliliters, then there is enough room in there for around 12 drops of oil.
Why Capsule Size Matters
Don’t fall into the temptation of thinking that capsule sizes don’t matter because you could be in for a nasty surprise. Instead, there are two primary considerations when choosing a capsule size.
The first and probably most obvious reason is that larger capsules are more uncomfortable to swallow. So, while you may be tempted to buy the biggest capsule on the market, keep in mind that a triple zero is more than an inch long. You may need a big glass of wine to wash that sucker down.
The second reason you need to consider capsule size carefully is that smaller capsules obviously have less space. Again, this means that you should decide which recipes you want to ingest before selecting a particular capsule.
For example, if you want to use a recipe with 10 drops of essential oils and 10 drops of olive oil, you won’t fit the whole recipe into one size-zero capsule. In this case, consider a larger capsule.
However, if your recipe fits into multiple capsules, you could split the mix. This is especially useful for people who aren’t too keen on larger capsule sizes.
Then again, if you want to add powders of physical herbs to your tablets, then a size zero capsule will almost certainly be too small.
Why Would You Want To Use A Veggie Cap?
Maybe your personal need is to only take two or three drops of a particular oil. In that case, do you really need a veggie cap? Well, maybe.
You may want to use a veggie cap instead of just ingesting the oil straight out of the bottle to save yourself from the taste. Not all oils taste great. In fact, some of them may be strong enough to “burn” your tongue.
So, a veggie cap is handy for those nasty-tasting oils because it effectively bypasses your taste buds. You may even get your husband to take some healthy oils if you sneak it to him in a capsule.
Another reason to use veggie caps is to take oils to benefit your stomach and digestive system. Let’s assume you are using a recipe to help you with a tummy ache.
If you ingest the oil under your tongue or straight down the hatch, it is absorbed before it even has a chance to meet the stomach. That’s great for treating a sore throat but not quite effective in this scenario.
Instead, if you ingest it in a capsule, it will only dissolve once it hits your tummy, and then the oils are released on target.
A Final Tip: Be Careful Of Overstocking Your Capsules
One of the benefits of the average-sized doTERRA veggie cap is that you are a little more limited with space.
I mean that one of the dangers I often see is people thinking that essential oils are safe to ingest in any quantity and stuff as much as they can inside a single cap. The problem is that essential oils are insanely highly concentrated. For example, it takes around 45 lemons to make a 15-milliliter bottle of lemon oil.
And, as the old saying goes, too much of a good thing is bad. This is true for essential oils, which need to be used with care and caution, understanding that a few drops are equal to a whole lemon.
Similarly, some oils may not be great for children to ingest. If your child has an ailment that can be treated by ingesting oil, I suggest you run it by a doctor first.
Conclusion
doTERRA veggie caps are size zero, meaning they are about the same size as typical 500mg capsules. A closed capsule can take around 12 drops of oil and is about 0.85 inches long.
In other words, doTERRA veggie caps are average and should be big enough for all essential oil uses.
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