Synthetic or Natural Vitamins

Whether we get them from our daily diet, sunshine, or store-bought capsules or liquids, vitamins are vital to our health and the proper functioning of our bodies.  Vitamin deficiencies lead to a wide range of concerns spanning from anorexia to obesity, organ malfunction, confusion, depression, and fatigue.  However, whether or not your vitamins are hurting you is another story.  People are unaware that not all vitamins are created equal, and most are synthetic.

Synthetic or Natural Vitamins: What is The Difference?
By Pierre Mouchette | Bits-n-Pieces

What is a Synthetic Vitamin?
The type of vitamins that are the most beneficial is up for debate.  A healthy, organic diet should provide a good amount of nutrients that the body needs, but supplements can help ensure that we get a healthy serving of specific vitamins.
The concern is that many vitamin and mineral supplements are manufactured synthetically with chemicals and do not come straight from their natural sources.  They are produced to mimic the way natural vitamins act in our bodies.  Natural vitamins are derived directly from plant material containing the vitamin, not created in a test tube.
Because they are isolated, many synthetic vitamins lack the transporters and co-factors associated with naturally occurring vitamins.  The Organic Consumers Association emphasizes that the body cannot use or recognize isolated vitamins like their natural version.
The natural form comes in packages with other vitamins, enzymes, and minerals that control how the body recognizes, metabolizes, and uses them to make what it needs.  The body cannot always use isolated vitamins, which are stored until you obtain or create the nutrients required to use them effectively or they are excreted.  Synthetic vitamins also lack necessary trace minerals and must use the body's mineral reserves, which may lead to dangerous mineral deficiencies.  Today, more than 95% of all the vitamin supplements sold fall into the synthetic category.
 
What is the Big Deal About Synthetic Vitamins?
Synthetic versions of vitamins contain chemical compounds that were not meant for human consumption and do not occur in nature.  Evolution has dictated that we eat the food we can gather from the earth, not the food we create in a laboratory.
We might not always get what we are expecting from synthetics.  The synthetic version of Vitamin E is often called the dl-form.  The dl-form is a combination of the d-form (which is the naturally occurring form) and the l-form.  It might not be, except that the body does not use the l-form, so we excrete it!  This applies only to vitamins, not amino acids or sugars.  Fat-soluble vitamins in their synthetic form are especially dangerous because they can build up in your fatty tissues and cause toxicity.  The synthetic form is more dangerous because you get a high, concentrated serving of the vitamin rather than the amount you would get from a food-based form.

• Vitamins A, D, E, and K are all fat-soluble.
• Fat-soluble vitamins are found naturally in butter, fish oils, nuts, and green leafy vegetables.
• Excesses of fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and fatty tissues
• Most people do not get sufficient amounts of fat-soluble vitamins from their diet

 
How do I know if the vitamins I buy are synthetic or natural?
The Organic Consumers Association has published an ingredient chart to help consumers identify natural vs. synthetic vitamins.  Many vitamin producers want you to believe that you are getting a "natural product" because it seems more wholesome to take ‘natural’ vitamins.  Unfortunately, vitamins can be labeled as natural if they contain as little as 10% of the natural form of the vitamin.  Your ‘natural’ vitamin could contain 90% of synthetically produced chemicals!  Vitamins B and C are also usually synthetically produced.
 
Common Synthetic Vitamins to Avoid
Look for clues on your vitamin's label that offer insight into the origin of the vitamin.

• Vitamin A: Retinyl Palmitate
• Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): Thiamine Mononitrate, Thiamine Hydrochloride
• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): Riboflavin
• Pantothenic Acid: Calcium D-Pantothenate
• Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine): Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
• Vitamin B12: Cyanocobalamin
• PABA (Para-aminobenzoic Acid): Aminobenzoic Acid
• Folic Acid: Pteroylglutamic Acid
• Choline: Choline Chloride, Choline Bitartrate
• Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid): Ascorbic Acid
• Vitamin D: Irradiated Ergosteral, Calciferol
• Vitamin E: dl-alpha tocopherol, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate or succinate

NOTE: The "dl" form of any vitamin is synthetic.
Other Toxic Ingredients to Avoid In Supplements

• Magnesium stearate (or stearic acid)
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) disguised as ‘natural flavors’
• Titanium dioxide is a carcinogen