Science has clearly demonstrated a need for humans to supplement with a few key nutrients if we want to live long, healthy lives. Unfortunately, science has also shown that synthetic forms of these nutrients are not only of little value, but can also be harmful to our well-being.
Synthetic vitamins are those which are not made by nature. They are chemical products created in a laboratory and have different biological structures than vitamins which occur naturally in food. These fake vitamins will mostly be found in cheap supplements, fortified and enriched foods like bread and cereal, and foods marketed as having “added vitamins” like calcium and Vitamin D.
Because synthetic vitamins are different from those found in nature, they also have a different biological effect.
Aren’t All Vitamins Created Equal?
You might think that Vitamin E on any nutrition label means Vitamin E, and that all Vitamin E is the same or it wouldn’t be called Vitamin E. But synthetic Vitamin E made in a lab is indeed different from the Vitamin E found in avocados.
Part of what makes the nutrients in food so beneficial is that they all work together, an effect which renders them exponentially more powerful than isolated (single) vitamins alone like tablets of Vitamin C or Vitamin B6.
Synthetic calcium taken by itself can be dangerous, but combine natural calcium with all the other co-factors and micronutrients in an orange, and it gets ushered into your cells and utilized with simplistic perfection.
For supplement use to truly be effective, most of us have to overcome a few mental road blocks.
1. First, we have to realize the need for supplementation.
2. Next, we have to understand that not all vitamin supplements are created equally.
3. Finally, proper amounts of the supplement have to be ingested in order for our cells to benefit.
I could add a fourth common obstacle here, and that is an unsupportive spouse who resists the financial requirements of using quality supplements. Effective, well-processed supplements do cost more than the cheap, mass-produced products on TV that depend on marketing for sales rather than quality.
You’re not doing your health any favors by buying cheap vitamins at the supermarket. This is indeed one instance where you get what you pay for.
Naturally Occurring Vitamins Provide a Health Benefit
The human body was designed to absorb nutrients from food, not synthetic chemicals. Man has never, and will never, replace or improve upon nutrition provided by nature. This is why nutritional supplements should be made from fruits, vegetables, animals, and herbs.
When we take a synthetic Vitamin C tablet, we’re giving the body a fake vitamin which does not occur in nature in that particular form. When we eat an apple, however, we not only get Vitamin C, but the hundreds of other healthy phytochemicals and micronutrients the entire fruit contains. This makes the Vitamin C in an apple much more effective and powerful.
These studies support the notion that real food nutrition is much more important for wellness than synthetic vitamins.
1. “Naturally occurring fruit and plant sourced micronutrients increase health and prevent illness.” Boyer, J and Liu, RH. Nutrition Journal 2004, 3:5
2. “Naturally occurring fruit and plant sourced essential micronutrients provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition and reduce the risk of chronic illness.” Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 78(3): 517S-520S
3. “Diets high in naturally occurring essential micronutrients sourced from fruits and plants help prevent heart disease and cancer, and also help protect against a variety of other illnesses including cataracts, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and asthma.” Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2003, 78: 414-421
4. One study done on lifestyle, genetics, and degenerative disease echoed the above (#3) sentiments (Science 2002, 296: 695-698), and so did this research on oxidants, antioxidants, and degenerative diseases of aging (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 1993, 90: 7915-7922).
5. “Dietary consumption of naturally occurring vitamins from fruits and vegetables lowers risk of lung cancer, heart disease, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration.” Free Radic. Biol. Med. 2009, Jan 15; 46(2): 299-304
It only stands to reason, since food is how we nourish the body and provide the building blocks for good function, that any vitamin supplements we take should be made from food or other natural sources.
Science Shows Synthetic Vitamins are Harmful
You’ll occasionally run across a media story reporting that vitamins are dangerous, but every study I’ve seen that showed supplements to be harmful was done using synthetic vitamins. Anything we consume that is not made by nature, and this includes synthetic vitamins, is seen by the body as a toxin and will result in a defensive biological reaction.
This toxic effect that many synthetic vitamins have on the human body has even caused some studies to be halted early.
1. In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 22,000 pregnant women were given synthetic Vitamin A. The study was halted because birth defects increased by 400%. N. Eng. J. Med. 1995; 333: 1369-1373
2. Another study involving 29,000 male smokers who were given synthetic beta-carotene and synthetic Vitamin E was also stopped when rates of lung cancer, heart attacks, and death increased. N. Eng. J. Med. 1994: 330; 1029-1035
We have been taught to view nutrition in term of “recommended daily allowances,” as though we need so much of vitamin X every day for heart health and so much of vitamin Y for good digestion, but vitamins don’t work in isolation.
The Physicians Health Study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, reported no benefit of supplementation with isolated synthetic beta-carotene. N. Eng. J. Med. 1996; 334(18): 1145-1149
Vitamins in nature work in synergy with one another, and taking vitamin X and vitamin Y alone can actually disrupt the healthy nutrient ratios we need for good function, an effect which can result in harm.
1. “The Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene Trial observed a higher death rate in the isolated synthetic beta-carotene group and no treatment effect in the isolated alpha-tocopherol group.” Nutr. Rev. 1994; 52(7): 242-245
2. “The Heart Outcomes Prevention and Evaluation study reported greater all-cause death with isolated Vitamin E.” N. Eng. J. Med. 2,000; 342(3): 154-160
3. A research study conducted in March of 2009 showed that “taking synthetic Vitamin C and synthetic Vitamin E actually blocked the beneficial effects of exercise in terms of insulin sensitivity and antioxidant activity.” PNAS, published ahead of print May 11, 2009. “Subjects who received naturally occurring Vitamin C and Vitamin E from consuming fruits and plants did not have this problem.”
Vitamin companies are very aware of the growing desire of consumers for natural products. In response, many of them are deceptively feeding synthetic vitamins to either yeast or bacteria, extracting the vitamins back out again, and calling them “natural.” It’s important to question your supplement company about this practice, and ask whether yeast, bacteria, or synthetic vitamins are used at any stage during processing.