Why Natural Vitamins are better than Synthetic Vitamins

You've likely heard the claim that all natural vitamins are chemically identical to synthetic vitamins. While this may be true in a limited sense, it does not tell the whole story. With a synthetic vitamin, all you get is the "chemical" that has been synthesized, but with the natural supplement, you always get additional nutrients. A natural supplement is almost always safer to use because your body can more easily get rid of any excess. And, best of all, natural vitamin supplements are more bioavailable so that your body can use it efficiently.

In one sense, even synthetic vitamins might be defined as natural if the components of the synthetic vitamins are found in "naturally" occurring forms on earth. However, a true definition of a natural vitamin is that the ingredients are extracted from actual food sources rather than being chemically mixed from basic compounds.

Another twist to the problem of obtaining all natural vitamins is that even ingredients obtained from good food sources can be corrupted. At some point a natural ingredient can become so highly processed that it becomes unnatural – synthetic if you will.

Vitamin E is an example of how you always get more with the natural form of a vitamin than you do with the synthetic form. When you buy a synthetic vitamin E, all you get is dl-alpha-tocopheryl, which is only 50% bioactive. However, the natural d-alpha-tocopheryl is 100% bioactive; in addition, you'll get the mixed tocopherols: d-beta, d-delta, and d-gamma. The health benefits of these extra nutrients have not been studied as much as the main form so we can well expect additional important information to be revealed at some future date. We do know however, that gamma tocopherols play an important role in suppressing free radicals.

Beta-carotene is a natural form of vitamin A and it is an example of how a natural vitamin is so much safer than the synthetic form. Beta-carotene is the precursor for vitamin A, which means that the liver uses beta-carotene to make vitamin A. Any excess beta-carotene is easily flushed from the body so that it can never build up to toxic levels. Not so with synthetic vitamin A that can become toxic in high doses.

Synthetic vitamin A comes in the form of vitamin A palmitate. Now while there are natural sources of vitamin A palmitate, the supplemental form has been synthesized and is therefore classified as a synthetic vitamin. Vitamin A palmitate is also known as retinol.

The natural form of vitamin A palmitate can be found in fish, eggs, and dairy products. In spite of this, dairy products are usually supplemented with synthetic vitamin A.

A natural process of obtaining food is exemplified in the growing of a vegetable garden, or the raising of animals. This traditional form of food production is readily understood and even appreciated by a child.

Compare traditional food processing with this description of how vitamin A palmitate is synthesized:

(from http://www.dairy-house.com/index.php?p=67)

1. Vitamin A acetate is prepared synthetically by treatment of pseudoionone with sulfuric acid, and by condensation of the resulting β-ionone with methyl chloroacetate to the “glycidic ester” intermediate, which is decarboxylated to β-C14-aldehyde.

2. Grignard reaction of β-C14-aldehyde with 3-methyl-2-penten-4-yn-1-ol gives the C20-alkynediol, which is catalytically hydrogenated to C20-alkenediol.

3. Reaction of C20-alkenediol with acetic anhydride and subsequent dehydration with hydrobromic acid gives then vitamin A acetate. The resulting crude product is purified by crystallization from methanol, dried, and then filled into containers.

4. Vitamin A acetate reacts with methyl palmitate in the presence of sodium methoxide (or alternatively sodium hydroxide) in a suitable solvent to give Vitamin A Palmitate, which is isolated by extraction. The product is isolated by vacuum-concentration of the organic phase and then filled into containers.

The above procedure was developed in the 20th century, and who knows if in the 21st century someone might uncover harmful side effects from vitamin supplements produced in this manner. Why be a guinea pig for the modern food processing industry? Be safe and stick with all natural vitamins that have been processed in a way consistent with proven traditional methods.

Natural vitamin supplements are more bioavailable than their synthetic cousins. High bioavailability means that the nutrients are absorbed quickly by your body. Quicker absorption implies that fewer other nutrients are required by your body before it can make use of the vitamin. The effective absorption of vitamins saves these other nutrients for more important tasks such as neutralizing free radicals.

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