Many authorities say that synthetic vitamins are identical to natural vitamins, and that they are just as effective. Others claim that synthetic vitamins are deficient, ineffective, and perhaps even harmful. Is there really a difference between natural and synthetic? Are both products the same? What is the truth?
Vitamins need helpers
Natural vitamins are accompanied by micro-nutrients (known and unknown) that are impossible to duplicate in a synthetic product, yet some of which are indispensable to the vitamin's full function. Synthetic vitamins have none of these partners to insure proper absorption and maximum utilization.
Among such accompanying nutrients are the flavonoids, which in nature are inseparable from Vitamin C, and are known to increase its effectiveness in important ways. In natural Vitamin C you always get flavonoids. In synthetic ascorbic acid you never do.
When we examine the many vitamins of the B-Complex family, we find a striking difference between the synthetic variety and the natural vitamins. The primary role of the B-Complex is to serve as co-enzymes for complex enzyme systems necessary for the metabolism of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Writing about B-6 in "The Vitamins (Academic Press, 1967) Dr Howerde Sauberlich explains that this vitamin is "not metabolically active as a co-enzyme unless in the form of pyridozal phosphate or pyridoxamine phosphate. Natural foods contain these two forms, while commercially synthesized B-6 is pyridoxin hydro-chloride. The same distinction between natural vitamins in food and synthetic vitamins from the laboratory applies in the case of other B vitamins as well. To get the active co-enzyme form, you must turn to nature and not the test tube."
Do not infer from Dr Sauberlich's statement that synthetic vitamins have NO affect. They do have DRUG effects that may or may not have much in common with the normal nutritional action of vitamins. As an example, the most common affect of Vitamin C deficiency is "pink toothbrush." Any good natural vitamin C will stop hemorrhagic gingivitis. But ascorbic acid (synthetic C) alone fails to have the slightest affect, as was shown by tests on the British Army during World War II.
All natural vitamin C has more or less of the flavonoids with it. Nobel Prize winner Szent-Gyorgy stated that when he first discovered the nature of this vitamin, "Vitamin P (flavonoids) cures the capillary fragility of scurvy state, and ascorbic acid restores the ability of the cells to rebuild the colloidal fibrous connective tissue matrix of bone and tendon."
The late Eugene Schiff explained it this way: "I believe it is wrong to say natural vitamins are better. In their crystalline or isolated form they may not be. The right way to say it is that natural vitamin preparations made from the whole foods or food concentrates are better to the extent that they contain other factors besides the individual vitamin. If we want, for instance, 1 mg of vitamin B1 (Thiamine) we do not put into a tablet 1 mg of natural vitamin B1, but 200 mg of yeast. The real difference in what the user gets is the other 199 milligrams present in the yeast, the associated factors which obviously cannot be present in 1 mg of synthetic B1."
Natural vitamins have greater biological activity in the body
While it is claimed that synthtic vitamins are chemically identical with natural, there are subtle but vital biological differences of activity and effectiveness. For example, natural Vitamin E is internationally recognized as being more biologically active than synthetic. Dr Jeffrey Bland, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Puget Sound compared the activity of the natural d-form and the synthetic dl-form of Vitamin E and found that the synthetic has less than 30% of the activity of the natural d-form. He further stated that the L-form found only in synthetic Vitamin E inhibits the activity D-form from entering the cellular membrane.
Dr Max Horwitt, Ph.D., Biochemist, Professor Emeritus of the St. Louis School of Medicine, conducted a human study which showed that significantly higher plasma levels were attained for natural Vitamin E over synthetic. Dr Horwitt believes that synthetic Vitamin E "has only about 50% of the biological activity" of natural Vitamin E.
British researcher Isobel Jennings of Cambridge University made some interesting observations about synthetic vitamins in her book, Vitamins In Endocrine Metabolism (Charles C Thomas). She noted that "the synthetic vitamins may be identical with the natural occurring substances or closely related. The close relations, although useful in many ways, pose some problems in that they may have only a fraction, whether large or small, of the biological activity of the natural products." She also pointed out that "synthetic vitamins may perform some of the functions of their natural counterparts while being useless for others. But what may be more important is the fact that synthetic vitamins prepared from chemicals instead of nature, are frequently less active biologically than their natural counterparts, thereby reducing any beneficial effect they may have."
The B-Vitamin Biotin is an outstanding example of the difference between synthetic and natural vitamins. Drs Paul Gyorgy and Bernhardt Langer Jr reported in The Vitamins Vol II, "T he activity of the synthetic product is only 50% of that of natural d-Biotin." In other words, taking into consideration only this one fraction of the B complex, you double your value when you choose a natural source of B over a synthetic.
What about Chromatograms?
One way to tell the difference between two objects is to take their picture and compare. If you see a picture of two people who look entirely different, you probably would not mistake them for the same person. Thanks to the work of a talented biochemist who specializes in enzymology, we have a series of pictures, (called "chromatograms") in color which show beyond a doubt that there is a difference between synthetic and natural.
(Link showing photo's of Chramatograms of Natural vs Synthetic ascorbic acid Vitamin C)
http://alternativehealthatlanta.com/vitamins-minerals/chromatograms-of-natural-vs-synthetic-products/
Sister M Justa Smith, PhD, who performed this exciting work was Chairman of the Natural Sciences Concentration at Rosary Hill College in Buffalo, N.Y. In Human Dimensions (Spring, 1973) Dr Smith discusses the results of her chromatographic comparisons of natural Vitamin C and its chemical counterpart, ascorbic acid. The chramatograms vividly show that the natural product is distinguished by radical lines and fluted edges, while the pattern of the synthetic product is almost entirely concentric and relatively dull looking. Dr Smith, "are sufficient reason to make unacceptable the statement that there is no difference between natural and synthetic Vitamin C. There is, obviously a difference."
Synthetic Vitamin C looks much like a dart-board with cencentric circles on a uniform pattern. Natural Vitamin C contains circular patterns also, but superimposed on the circles are patterns similar to petals on a daisy. Dr Smith isolated these "petals" and found that they are actually protein and enzymes, which are completely lacking in the synthetic form of ascorbic acid (synthetic Vitamin C). Dr Smith also found similar differences in tests on natural and synthetic MULTIPLE vitamin.
(Link explains Chramatograms, how does it work)
http://www.waters.com/waters/en_US/How-Does-High-Performance-Liquid-Chromatography-Work%3F/nav.htm?cid=10049055&locale=en_US
According to Dr Schneider, we do not utilize the levo part of a vitamin well, and so this doctor concludes, "Get the vitamins that say natural. There is a difference. The dl (synthetic) will be cheaper, but if you could figure it out per energy unit or per use, the natural one will be cheaper and more beneficial."
Look at the label, does it have dl listed to the ingredients? Then it's synthetic, no matter if the label claims "natural" or not.
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
- Biotin: d-Biotin
- Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid): Ascorbic Acid
- Vitamin D: Irradiated Ergosteral, Calciferol
- Vitamin E: dl-alpha tocopherol, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate or succinate
Other Toxic Ingredients to Avoid In Supplements
- Magnesium stearate (or stearic acid)
- Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) disguised as “natural flavors”
- Carnauba wax is used in car wax and shoe polish
- Titanium dioxide is a carcinogen
What about "families"?
As we have seen, vitamins are not isolated nutrients in nature, but are individual parts of entire families. And they do much more for the body when combined with the rest of their family than they can ever do by themselves.
For example, Vitamin C is really part of the C-complex family, which includes ascorbic acid, chalcone, quercitin, rutin, and pigments such as cirinoids, and hysperidine, carotenoids, and flavonoids. They all co-exist together in fruits and vegetables in different percentage ratios. Need we say that a synthetic Vitamin C provides only ONE of these nutrients, and half of that is a "levl-rotary" form.
Fat soluble Vitamins A, D, and E are actually groups of vitamins, and each food factor within that group has its own chemical and biological personality. Often several parts of one vitamin cluster together in nature, forming a unique combination that has yet to be duplicated in the laboratory.
Synthetic Vitamin A, for example gives you only one form of Vitamin A rather than the group of vitamins occurring naturally in a food such as fish liver from which natural Vitamin A is extracted. Vitamin A is divided into two distinct groups, classified as A-1 and A-2. The A-1 group consists of the preformed vitamins that are found in the body. They include retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and the retinyl esters. In the A-2 group you will find the dehydroretinal and dehydroteinyl esters. When a manufacturer synthesizes a single pure compound structure such as retinol to take the place of this whole family, there is no wisdom to the statement that they are "just the same" as the vitamin with a natural source such as fish liver oil.
With Vitamin D we are looking at another family. The natural form of Vitamin D is D-3 or cholecalciferol. The commonly used synthetic variety called calciferol is vitamin D-2. D-2 is structurally different from D-3, having an unsaturated side-chain. It is prepared by irradiation of ergsterol, a vegetable sterol present in ergot and yeast. But there are also a number of other members of the D family, including D-4, D-5, and D-6. A natural D from fish liver oil contains ALL PARTS of the D family. A synthetic contains only ONE isolated part. A d it is not even structurally the same.
Synthetic formulas offer only isolated fractions of whole families. When Vitamin E is synthesized, only the Alpha fraction is manufactured. How about the seven other parts of the family? Aren't they important too> Most of the Vitamin E activity that we now know about comes from the Alpha fraction. But with each decade we learn more and more about the function of other nutrients in the body. With a natural Vitamin E the whole family is present to go to work now doing all that will ever be known about Vitamin E.
What about safety?
Dr Theron Randolph, MD. an Allergist, reporting his medical findings with patients says, "A synthetically derived substance may cause a reaction in a chemically susceptible person when the same material of natural origin is tolerated, despite the two substances having identical chemical structures. This point is illustrated by the frequency of clinical reactions to synthetic vitamins -- especially vitamin B-1 and C -- when these naturally occurring vitamins are tolerated. There is also other evidence indicating that biological activity of synthetic and natural vitamins is not identical." (Dr Theron Randolph, MD, Human Ecology and Susceptibility to the Chemical Environment, Charles C Thomas, 1062, p 86-87)
The Food Chain
After all these considerations about natural versus synthetic, the most important overall consideration is -- Supplements should all be derived from the food chain. If they come from our regular food supply, you know they're natural, and they are good for us. (Organic foods being a better choice). A product can be labeled "Natural" if it comes from pine bark or pond scum. But that is not where we look for our daily nutrition. The world of edible plants and animals contains an abundance of all the nutrients that our bodies need for good health. NeoLife GNLD is committed to products that come from the whole food chain. Not only must they pass the test of "are they natural?" They must also pass the test of "are they from the food chain?"
Conclusion
Obviously there is a difference between natural and synthetic vitamins. The natural vitamins have helpers that make them much more useful to the body. Half of the synthetic (the Levo-rotary part) can not be used efficiently, if at all. The safety of the synthetic is questionable.
Synthetic vitamins are usually cheaper to purchase, but they will not do in the body what a natural will do. We have only one body and one life, and there are no "re-runs" possible if we make the wrong choices. Nutrition is not a wise place to cut corners. We either do it right the first time, or we lose our options.
NeoLife GNLD (Golden Neo-Life Diamite) vitamins are concentrated from the finest food sources available. They are preserved in complete families, which allows them to perform at their maximum in our bodies. What impressed me further about NeoLife GNLD, this world wide company has been around since 1958. It's the first company (only company for decades) to have a pharmaceutical license but does NOT make anything synthetic or pharmaceutical drugs. This license means the FDA randomly inspects the facility to the standards of a pharmaceutical company. However, NeoLife, has always passed 100%, which no other pharmaceutical company can claim. Their standards are of the strictest with ZERO tolerance of failure. A company you can honestly trust in. Personally, I simply can't trust market claims of "natural" on a bottle. The FDA has removed products from shelves from GNC, Walmart, Walgreen and others for finding there was NOTHING of the product claimed on the label, actually in the bottle. There has been other companies shut down, when their "Natural" product was found to have synthetic's or vitamins that were not even found but claimed (synthetic or natural).
Something to consider when you're looking for nutritional wellness.
Why are we so particular about the brand of shoes, dishwasher, even cell phone. But we grab the cheapest bottle of "Nature" or "Natural" made supplements for our health? And then we don't understand when we hear from a Doctor about a serious health concern we have developed.
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