She's Not Nuts: Synthetic vs. Natural Vitamins

I wanted to post the difference between natural and synthetic vitamins so when you are making decisions about what to eat, then you know what you are putting into your body. Almost all vitamins that are in processed food are synthetic because most vitamins that were natural occurring are destroyed during processing. Also, most vitamins in the supplement form are also synthetic, although you can find vitamins that are derived from whole foods. If you are unsure about whether the vitamins in your supplements are synthetic or natural, then contact the company who makes them or sometimes that information will be on the label or posted on the company website.

One more thing before I get into the difference is that most vitamins have what are called Upper Limits or UL for short. The UL’s are set because getting too much of certain vitamins can actually be a bad thing. Having an imbalance of vitamins can deplete other vitamins, be toxic, and cause serious health problems. For example, the UL for Vitamin A is 3,000 micrograms/day for an adult. Over time too much Vitamin A can cause bone density to be reduced, serious birth defects because it causes abnormal cell death in the spinal cord, permanent liver damage and abnormalities, blurred vision, headaches, muscle issues, abnormal pressure in the skull, just to name a few. UL are set mainly for supplementation that has become so popular. It is nearly impossible to exceed or even come to close to Upper Limits when getting vitamins from whole foods.

Synthetic Vitamins: Synthetic vitamins are made using coal tar derivatives. They are made in a lab and have the same chemical structure as the natural form of the vitamin. And are cheap to make. But they are just that, vitamins, and that is it. People have to be careful that Upper Limits are not being exceeded so that the vitamins are not damaging their body. Synthetic vitamins can be good though. When used in products like Plumpy’nut, they have helped bring starving children back to health. They have also helped in areas where major vitamins and minerals were lacking in the food supply. Also they help people who lack vitamins or have trouble absorbing vitamins due to ill health conditions. Or even with major deficiencies like when Vitamin D deficiency is causing Rickets.

Natural Occurring Vitamins: Natural Occurring Vitamins occur in whole foods. Vitamins do not act alone in the body. There are enzymes, accessory nutrients (with vitamin-like actions), phytochemicals, and more. In whole foods, they are in perfect combination and amount to produce the correct biological effect once inside the body. In the long run, when just the vitamin is present, without all these other co-factors, then the vitamin cannot do its job properly. In the book “The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods” by Michael Murray, ND, he states, “ More and more research indicates that accessory nutrients, although most are not considered “essential” in the classical sense, play a major role in preventing and treating illness….Some of the most important phytochemicals are plant pigments, such as carotenes, chlorophyll, and flavonoids. Although these phytochemicals work in harmony with antioxidants, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium, they also exert considerably greater protection against cancer than these simple nutrients do.”

Here is a link that describes more about Synthetic vs. Natural Vitamins:

http://www.chetday.com/naturalvitamin.htm