To supplement or not — that is the question. Many mainstream doctors will tell you that vitamins, minerals, or supplements do nothing for your health. However, numerous reasons exist to take supplements, both for specific health problems and overall wellbeing. A significant number of Americans seem to agree, with various studies indicating a rise in supplement usage over the years.
The key to maximizing the benefits of vitamin and mineral supplements lies in choosing natural supplements proven by clinical studies. Here is what you need to know when selecting a supplement.
Watch out for synthetic vitamins
Pharmacy shelves are stocked with synthetic vitamins made from chemical processes rather than from health-promoting plants or other natural sources. Many people aren’t aware that some widely advertised “name brands” are processed at high temperatures, destroying their nutrient content.
Synthetic vitamins are often just a fraction of the entire vitamin complex. For example, widely available “vitamin C” supplements usually consist of merely ascorbic acid, the protective outer shell of vitamin C. In contrast, real vitamin C from fruits, vegetables, and herbs contains eight different components. As a result, synthetic vitamins and minerals aren’t optimal in supplement form—or any other form for that matter.
Synthetic vitamins in foods
When grocery shopping, remember that processed and refined foods “fortified and enriched” with vitamins and minerals are synthetic and incomplete. They don’t promote long-term health like nutrient-loaded whole foods do. Examples include pastas fortified and enriched with B vitamins, iron, and zinc, as well as milk fortified and enriched with vitamins D and A.
Synthetic vitamins are filled with chemicals
Synthetic vitamins created in labs contain no whole food nutrients—no fiber, no enzymes. Additives, fillers, lubricants, and solvents derived from petroleum are often added to make tablet-making or encapsulation processes run smoother.
Synthetic vitamins are mostly ineffective
Scientific studies have demonstrated that synthetic vitamins provide little to no benefit when taken over time. For example, a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that synthetic vitamin E did not significantly reduce cancer, heart attacks, strokes, or mortality rates in general when taken by more than 30,000 healthy US women aged 45 and older for ten years.
Nutrients from whole foods always win
Numerous studies are available that prove the long-term health benefits of consuming nutrients in the form of fruits, vegetables, and other high-fiber whole foods. For example, a Harvard study that tracked over 120,000 men and women for up to 14 years found that for every additional serving of a fruit or vegetable per day, the risk of coronary heart disease decreased by 4%. Additionally, every extra serving of fruits and vegetables per day reduced the risk of stroke by 6%.
In conclusion, synthetic vitamins—or even synthetic multivitamins—will not help you live longer, stay healthier, or prevent disease. It’s just not the same as getting your nutrients either directly from whole-food sources or from natural supplements produced from whole foods. Whole food sources always provide the best nutritional value.
