Synthetic vs. Natural
Most vitamin supplements found in the stores do not contain vitamins that are natural, but are synthesized
predominantly from petrochemicals and less frequently from plants. These are manufactured by six companies that are the sole
producers of all the raw materials, which end up in the vast array of synthetic dietary supplements seen on store shelves. Also,
only a small number of supplement companies, about 3%, actually manufacture their own products. The raw materials are
purchased and a super assembler assembles the formulas for them.
There are three basic types of supplements: synthetic, crystalline, and whole food.
Synthetic vitamins are those that have been developed in the laboratory and are isolated chemical versions of vitamins.
Crystalline vitamins originally had a natural food source, but have been extracted and isolated by processes that may
have involved substances such as chemicals and solvents and high levels of heat. The crystalline vitamins, in the end,
are much like the synthetics. "Whole food" vitamins are those that have been carefully processed and unaltered in any
way that would change the molecular structure or biochemical combinations and actions of the supplements.
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What does natural really mean? To be labeled "natural," supplements
need only to originate from a natural source and/or be as little as 10% natural. Many supplements that are called natural have a
food base but the primary ingredients are USP or synthetic vitamins. These would contain some co-nutrients that may assist the
body in assimilating the vitamins in them.
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Some supplements derived from natural sources such as herbs, yeast and foods such as rice bran, liver, berries, or bone can be dead and
useless due to heat, pressure, or other processing techniques that destroy their enzymes. The way in which the materials are
processed is extremely important in preserving the integrity of the nutrients within.
Chemically, natural and synthetic vitamins are identical. The same ingredients are contained within the molecules but they
are arranged differently. When a beam of polarized light passes through a natural vitamin it will always bend to
the right, due to the molecular rotation of the natural substance. The letter "d" seen on some labels represents
dextro or "right." The vitamin is in the natural form.
As polarized light passes through a synthetic vitamin it splits into two parts, one part bending to the right and the
other to the left. The synthetic supplements may be represented by the letters "dl" preceding the vitamin name. The "d" for
dextro and the "l" for levo or left. This demonstrates that the molecular rotation of the synthetic is not identical to the natural
form. The biological activity of synthetic vitamins can be 50% to 70% less than nutrients in whole food supplements.
Whole food supplements and some "natural" supplements will give foods as sources for the nutrients they contain.
There is much controversy concerning the body’s reaction to synthetic vs. natural vitamin supplements. Many believe that the small
differences between synthetic and natural are of no consequence. However, clinical evidence and several studies indicate that the
body detects the difference and that natural forms of vitamins including A, B-complex, C, D, and E are more absorbable and
assimilable by the body and have a more profound effect on deficiencies and disease than synthetics. It has also
been shown that sensitive individuals who have
reactions to the synthetics can often take the natural forms with no problems.
There are some problems with synthetic vitamins and most supplements containing them. Not only are they synthesized,
but are also isolated components completely removed from the family of micronutrients that accompany them when found in whole
foods. They are not intact with co-factors such as enzymes, co-enzymes, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, trace elements,
proteins, phytonutrients, and essential fatty acids as they would be naturally or when properly manufactured whole food supplements.
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