Did you know that over 90% of the world’s population does not get enough nutrients from their diet alone? Today, over half of the United States takes synthetic nutrients like multivitamins to bridge the gap that their diet lacks. However, over the years there has been much debate over whether synthetic nutrients provide the same nutritional benefits as natural nutrients from real food vitamins. In fact, some sources even suggest that synthetic nutrients could be potentially dangerous, but what is the difference?
Why are Vitamins Necessary?
Before we dive into the difference of synthetic and natural nutrients, let’s take a look at why vitamins are necessary.
Vitamins are organic molecules that your body needs but is not able to produce. Food is what keeps your body stocked with these essential nutrients which is why nutrition is fundamental to your body’s overall health. Back in the day, it was very easy to obtain all the vitamins necessary for your body solely from a healthy diet, but today, the American diet is less nutritious. Even if you eat only organic produce and avoid GMOs, the food you consume still has fewer nutrients in it than in the past.
The reason why this is happening is simply due to our mainstream farming methods which strip the soil of its nutritional value. Fields are depleted by repeat planting and overuse causing the soil not to renew itself. Believe it or not, but soil matters. The farming trends today are causing the soil to be depleted at a rate of 10X the amount it can replenish itself. On top of this, we process and refine our food to help make it last longer which tends to destroy any remaining vital nutrients.
Since food is not as nutritionally dense as it should be, it is important to use vitamins to fill the gaps.
Synthetic Vitamins VS Real Food Vitamins
Like we mentioned, synthetic vitamins are potentially dangerous. They are mass produced and made from chemicals to mimic the natural way that your body absorbs nutrients from food. They are very difficult for your body to absorb so many times they are naturally expelled through urine and sweat. These synthetic vitamins, according to many studies, are:
- Not useable or absorbable
- Not as bioavailable as whole food vitamins
- Not what is found in natural foods
- Not recognizable to the body
Real food vitamins are exactly what they sound like – nutrients from real food sources! Science has given us the ability to extract nutrients and minerals from food sources instead of making them synthetically from a lab. Your body was never meant to absorb chemically made vitamins. This is why real food vitamins are substantially better when looking to fuel your body with a healthy dose of nutrients.
If you are thinking about incorporating a daily vitamin into your routine, it is a good idea to stay as close to whole food sources as much as possible. Supplements will not fix a poor diet and should never be taken in place of food for nutrition, but they can help to fuel your body with the nutrients it needs to support a healthy lifestyle. Whole food vitamins take large amounts of veggies and fruits and condense them into an easy-to-swallow supplement. You get more nutrients from whole food sources without having to eat a large amount of food. For an example, you can’t eat a whole box of oranges in just one sitting to be sure you have enough vitamin C. However, whole food vitamins give you the exact same nutrition as the food you consume daily, in a more concentrated easy to consume package.