What’s the Difference Between Synthetic Vitamins and Natural Ones?

The Difference Between Synthetic Vitamins and Natural (Organic) Ones?

Here’s the difference between natural and synthetic nutrients:

Natural nutrients

These are obtained from whole food sources in the diet.

Synthetic nutrients

Also referred to as isolated nutrients, these are usually made artificially, in an industrial process.

Are Vitamins Vital To Our Overall Health?

It’s certain that vitamins are vital to our bodies. Without them in our bodies, our bodies will be prone to a myriad of diseases ranging from rickets, pellagra to scurvy. These deficiencies lead to health problems such as anorexia, organ malfunction, obesity, depression, fatigue, and confusion. Nowadays you can get vitamins in many different forms either from your diet or store-bought capsules/liquids.

With all the value and importance of vitamins, are you taking the right type? That has been the issue with vitamins for a while. Many vitamins products in the market at the moment are not only dangerous to your body but also toxic. But others, like Viridian products, are organic and will vastly improve your health. This article is going to dissect various aspects regarding vitamins for you to be able to identify organic vs artificial vitamins.

What is a Synthetic (Artifical) Vitamin?

A proper diet is supposed to provide the right amount of nutrients that our bodies are yearning for, but also supplements ensure that we are getting the missing vitamins.

Nowadays many vitamins and mineral supplements are synthetically manufactured with chemicals which can sometimes pose a significant health problem. Whereas organic vitamins provide us nutrition directly produced from plants, not test tubes.

The majority of synthetic vitamins don’t have the correct transporters and co-factors associated with natural vitamins, because they have been “isolated”. Synthetic vitamins are devoid of additional trace minerals; hence, they must use the body’s mineral reserves which by extension can potentially lead to dangerous mineral deficiencies.

Did you know more than 95% of vitamins in the market nowadays are synthetic?

What Is the Big Deal With Synthetic (Artifical) Vitamins?

Synthetic vitamins can sometimes contain compounds that are not naturally meant for human consumption. Fat-soluble vitamins are dangerous because they build in fatty tissues and cause toxicity – an overdose – as the body will not regulate them well in this way. Another thing to keep in mind is that they provide a nutrient in one high and concentrated capsule rather than the right amount that the body requires, so it’s always best to consult a doctor before starting any supplementation on your own.

How Can You Tell the Difference Between Natural and Synthetic (Artifical) Vitamins?

Various ingredient charts in the market will assist you to identify an organic vitamin supplement. Associations such as the Organic Consumers Association have got a detailed ingredient chart for consumers. Careful though, as some vitamin producers may lie to you that their products are natural simply for profit.

5 Tips To Help You Identify The Ingredients On A Vitamin Label

According to Food matters, these tips can help you identify a real high-quality vitamin vs. a low-quality synthetic (artificial) vitamin

Tip # 1

Look for the words “100 percent natural” on the product’s label. Some product labels may contain the words “natural,” but manufacturers can claim “natural” on their nutritional products if at least 10 percent of the product comes from natural food sources. The Organic Consumers Organization recommends looking for products that contain “100 percent plant-based” or “100 percent animal-based” on the product’s label.

Tip # 2

Find the “food source” list on the product’s label. If the product’s label does not contain a list of natural food sources, then the product is synthetic. Look for food sources such as yeast, fish, vegetable, and citrus.

Tip #3

Identify whole foods in the ingredient list instead of the particular nutrient. Dr. Ben Kim, a chiropractor and acupuncturist with his own radio show, says to look for foods on the list of ingredients that contain a certain vitamin, such as “acerola cherry powder,” which contains vitamin C. If you can identify “vitamin C” in the ingredient list, Kim says you can almost guarantee that the vitamin is synthetic.

Tip #4

Look for salt forms on the product label, a synthetic added to supplements for increasing the stability of the vitamin or mineral. Some of the salt forms to look for include acetate, bitartrate, chloride, gluconate, hydrochloride, nitrate and succinate.

Tip # 5

Learn how to read the product’s label by looking for keywords that indicate the supplement is synthetic. Words that end in “ide” or “ate” indicate that the product contains salt forms, which are synthetics.

For instance, if you see chloride, hydrochloride, acetate or nitrate on the list of ingredients, the manufacturer used synthetics for the product.

Additionally, the letters “dl” that appear before the name of an ingredient indicates the supplement is synthetic. As an example, look for “fish oils” when buying a vitamin A supplement. If the product’s label states “palmitate,” it is a synthetic vitamin A supplement.

Common Synthetic (Artifical) Products in The Market

Below are some of the products that are commonly artificial.

• Pantothenic acid- Calcium D-Pantothenate
• VitaminB12-Cyanocobalamin
• The A Vitamin – Retinyl Palmitate
• Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)-Thiamine Mononitrate, Thiamine hydrochloride
• The B6 Vitamin (Pyridoxine)- pyridoxine hydrochloride
• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)-Riboflavin
• Choline-choline chloride, choline bitartrate
• Vitamin D-Irradiated Ergosterol, Calciferol
• Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)- Ascorbic acid
• Folic acid- Pteroylglutamic acid
• PABA (Para-aminobenzoic Acid)- Aminobenzoic Acid
• Vitamin E-dl-alpha tocopherol, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate or succinate

Are Synthetic Vitamins Bad?

Synthetic Nutrients May Be Downright Harmful. In general, taking supplements according to the amounts directed on the package is safe for most people. However, the FDA does not review dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed. Therefore, supplement fraud can occur.

We all need vitamins but are we taking the right type of vitamins? Hopefully, this article has been able to help you to identify the best products for your body. There’s no need for investing in what will cause more damage to your body.