Synthetic Vs Natural Vitamins – What’s The Difference & Why Should You Care?

 

Dietary Vitamins: Synthetic vs Natural

 

In today’s modern and health orientated world, Vitamins are pre-made and available in many various formulations. Some are added to foods (shakes, cereals, dairy) and others are ready to consume in other forms. We are thought to believe that this type of supplements (vitamin supplements) are beneficial and helpful and in certain circumstances, such as immunodeficiency, have been shown to relieve symptoms alike drug administration.

 

But we have to be careful, as vitamins can become toxic …especially in high/large dosages; as often prescribed by physicians or recommended by the manufacturers.

 

Yes, the perception that vitamin deficiency leads to a variety of our diseases and that the vitamin supplementation with mega-dosages could lead to disease prevention, exists! This point of view is only partial… it is not fully supported by medical evidence and has/is been used for commercial benefits; additional doses of vitamin A and D to milk products, enrichment of oils and vitamins to nutritional shakes. Generally speaking, the human body is not made to utilise vitamins in their maximum doses, and even with this knowledge, online articles and vitamin manufacturers inform & want you to believe that high % of vitamins lead to better results.

 

With this in our minds, can we survive without vitamin supplements?

 

Apparently, in today’s world, it’s virtually impossible to do well without nutritional supplements. Due to soil depletion, industrial food processing, storage conditions and often low accessibility to fresh nutrient-dense food, it has become crucial to have vitamins and other essential nutrients to our diet.  

Nonetheless, we need to know how to choose the right product! Not all nutritional supplements are as good & beneficial as claimed and the excess of any including the vitamins can be potentially as harmful as its deficiency.

 

What is the theory behind the usage of synthetic vitamins?

 

 

Synthetic Vitamins also referred to as isolated nutrients, are mostly made artificially, through an industrial process. These nutrients do not include “whole food supplements,” made from concentrated, dehydrated whole foods. A majority of brands of supplements available today are made from synthetics. These “vitamins” are chemically made compounds that have been manufactured in laboratory. They are created to copy the molecular structure of natural vitamins which come from food.

 

Synthetic vitamins are mirror images or reverses of natural vitamins. They are a duplicate, synthesized fractions (parts) of a vitamin complex of just a portion of the real, biologically active and physiological precise nutritional complex.  The synthetic vitamin can only be applied in particular cases as a drug or for a pharmacological effect. The function of this type of drugs is palliative & that doesn’t make it curative.

 

Published research also concludes that synthetic & other unreal/unnatural nutrients are mainly ineffective in preventing diseases, as well as confirming that some of these chemicals are dangerous of sorts for our health. A variety of sources even confirm that some chemicals increase the risk of death (increased presence of cancer, heart diseases etc.). The disease processes remain unchanged or in other cases progressively getting worse for lack of proper attention. In order for the tissue and cells,  that breaks down each day in our bodies, to be repaired/replaced require approximately 24 billion new cells.

 

The most commonly used synthetic compounds, namely the vitamins themselves, are used in dietary supplements.  As a matter of fact, the majority of vitamins found on the shelves, used in foods are synthetic. 98% of the products available to consumers are made up of high dose synthetic and isolated dietary supplements.

 

Unfortunately, quite a lot of the fruit and vegetable concentrates used in dietary supplements are dried with very high heat, destroying a various number of nutrients. They don’t supply a lot of nutrients but are used in the process of making supplements appear natural, while all the nutrients listed on the label come from synthetic or other unnatural additives.

 

The “whole food” supplements, as we call them, containing fruit or vegetable concentrates need to be adjusted with synthetic vitamins and other unnatural nutrients in order for them to list any appreciable amounts of nutrients. In a lot of cases, companies claim that their products are in fact made from real foods, leading us to think their products are enriched with real vitamins.

 

Unfortunately, what they won’t let you know on their labels is that the manufacturing process involves feeding synthetic vitamins to the yeast, then harvesting the yeast & using it for the creation of the supplements. The way to distinguish the real from synthetic is by looking at the claimed potencies. Natural vitamins like the ones from plant foods are never concentrated in high doses.

 

Nature has given us balance, complexity and bio-availability… but not through a high potency. Conversely, synthetic and crystalline (chemical isolated from a natural source) vitamins do appear in high unnatural potencies.

When looking at product labelled for natural vitamins, the truly natural food-based vitamins, would indicate the exact natural source from which each of the vitamins is obtained. If the vitamin concentrations are high and/or the natural sources aren’t listed, they would more likely be synthetic. Chemical sources for synthetic vitamin supplements include petrochemicals, coal tar, chemically manipulated sugar and inorganic minerals.

Example:

 

Supplements that list nutrients individually, such as vitamin C, or use their chemical names like ascorbic acid, are differentiated as synthetic. As for the dose, it’s almost impossible to get much more than 100-150 mg of vitamin C from food into a tablet or capsule.

 

Vitamin D, in its natural form, isn’t always thought of as a vitamin, since we make it ourselves. Yeast, mushrooms, and lichen produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. A daily dose of around 20 minutes of sunlight provides all that we need.

 

Vitamin D3, on the other hand, is the most effective kind & yes, it also comes from our own skin and the plant- lichen. To differentiate the natural from synthetic Vitamin D, we need to be aware that to mimic the natural production we find in our skin, scientists irradiate animal fat to stimulate vitamin D3 synthesis. This involves the use of lanolin, the waxy secretions from sheepskin (what keeps wool dry).

 

Another natural vitamin is K. This vitamin helps proper blood clotting and some metabolic pathways & is found in dark leafy greens. The synthetic vitamin K, also known as menadione, comes from coal tar derivatives and is genetically modified. It is considered extremely toxic and harmful to the immune system. The natural form of Vitamin K2 is usually extracted from Natto, a fermented soybean product, and is most commonly paired with Vitamin D3 for their synergic effect on the human body.

 

One example of an all-natural, plant extract dietary supplement is our Vitamin D3 with K2 MK-7, which you can check below:

 

 

Now, how about Natural Supplements?

 

 

Our bodies are designed to absorb the nutrients that come from food. For this reason, most health experts agree that it is best to obtain our daily vitamin supplementation from whole food, (real food) than from the synthetic vitamin sources.

 

The truth is that natural dietary supplements are made from freeze-dried real food, or best referred to as not heated, and the nutrients they contain are in their natural doses without any added synthetics. Examples such as Fish oil (containing EPA/DHA), flax oil (containing alpha-linolenic acid), and vegetable or fruit concentrate contain many natural nutrients.

 

Using supplements made from whole-foods might not give you the best in terms of vitamin or mineral content, but it surely offer you various other benefits that you wouldn’t usually get from the synthetic alternatives.

 

Where else do natural supplementation comes from?

 

When consuming whole-food based vitamins and minerals, we are most  likely going to be taking in various other nutrients along with them, including fiber, healthy fats, etc. With synthetic supplements, on a second hand, we are mainly only getting the specific synthetic chemical it offers.

 

Research and experts say that the high soluble fiber content and the wide range of vitamins, antioxidants and minerals in beans and legumes would lead to reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and even certain cancers.

Nuts and seeds are also high in antioxidants, minerals and healthy fats. They are associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes as well as early death.

Whole grains contain many valuable nutrients, one of which is fiber; others include vitamin B and minerals like iron, magnesium and selenium. The consumption of whole grains has also been associated with the protection against cancer, heart diseases, diabetes and even obesity.

Conclusion & advice:

 

To figure out if your supplement is synthetic or natural, check the label. Natural supplements usually list food sources or are labelled as 100% plant or animal-based. If the supplement has had synthetic ingredients added to it, you will find the synthetic chemicals listed throughout the ingredient section.

 

Even better avoid supplements that list words ending in -acid, -ide, and sometimes -ate or that use the “dl” before the name. Minerals should be from whole foods, even though they are not considered organic materials as they come mainly from the earth, but plants do incorporate minerals into their systems and combine them with organic compounds to balance what our bodies need.

 

Resources:

https://alternativehealthatlanta.com/vitamins-minerals/natural-vs-synthetic-vitamins/

https://sunwarrior.com/blogs/health-hub/natural-vs-synthetic-vitamins

https://monq.com/eo/nutrition/exploring-herbal-vs-synthetic-vitamins-and-supplements/