Vitamins: Synthetic vs Whole Food?

I have a friend who swears that vitamins that are made from natural foods are not not manufactured are better for you. He claims that your body digests them better because it is natural. I think he is crazy!! I mean do they blend an apple and extract the vitamin A out of it? Synthetic vitamins if manufactured the same should not be any different except that they are man-made. Share your thoughts?

No one has even proven that taking a multivitamin has any benefits.

Just stop taking multivitamins altogether. I don’t, I just eat a good diet. I feel no different, my health hasn’t changed, etc. So, just eat well and you’ll be fine.

The body does not know whether a molecule is made in a lab or by a plant.

[quote]andersons wrote:
The body does not know whether a molecule is made in a lab or by a plant.

[/quote]

That is the way it works. If there is any differences in uptake, it is usually due to the manufactured substance not being part of a complex that helps absorption.

Now when it comes to things like minerals, there are some types that have poor absorption, like magnesium oxide for example. You will usually see this in cheaper multi formulas. An example of a highly absorbed magnesium is the magnesium aspartate in ZMA.

Similarly some forms of vitamins may have better or worse uptakes due to slight structural differences, but when comparing a manufactured compound to an exactly identical natural food based version with no other outside influences on absorption, there is no difference in absorption rates.

Any benefit from eating whole unprocessed food is that there are many other contributing nutrient factors to general health. From fiber, minerals, vitamins, to phytonutrients with powerful antioxidant abilities.

The broad spectrum found in a diet that emphasizes a varied intake of fresh fruit and vegetables gives a much better protective profile than a single nutrient dosed highly (although some recent highly concentrated extracts have been blurring this line, but they can be considered food to some degree as processing serves to preserve the nutritional properties and even concentrate them).

[quote]ricekakes wrote:
I have a friend who swears that vitamins that are made from natural foods are not not manufactured are better for you. He claims that your body digests them better because it is natural. I think he is crazy!! I mean do they blend an apple and extract the vitamin A out of it? Synthetic vitamins if manufactured the same should not be any different except that they are man-made. Share your thoughts?[/quote]

There is plenty of research to show that vitamins are most absorbable in their natural form except for two and those are Folic Acid and B12(for those lacking intrinsic factor)

There is zero difference in the vitamins you consume through foods and the vitamins found in a multivitamin. There the exact same molecule.

Of course some hippies will argue that, but there just being fed lies by the their local whole foods employees.

[quote]Rasclot123 wrote:
There is zero difference in the vitamins you consume through foods and the vitamins found in a multivitamin. There the exact same molecule.

Of course some hippies will argue that, but there just being fed lies by the their local whole foods employees.

[/quote]

I (do?) agree with your vitamin conspiracy theory?

[quote]Rasclot123 wrote:
There is zero difference in the vitamins you consume through foods and the vitamins found in a multivitamin. There the exact same molecule.

Of course some hippies will argue that, but there just being fed lies by the their local whole foods employees.

[/quote]

why must you argue again science?

ONe of the MANY articles proving my case

http://www.healthresearch.com/vitamins.htm

Meh, half the problem is that most of the synthetic vitamins within pills are not the same vitamins found in foods. For example, vitamin E. There are multiple isomers of vitamin E, the most abundant ones are the most difficult and expensive to manufacture. Whilst the least occuring ones are easy to manufacture. Guess which ones end up in your multi-V?

But i do agree with the people above, the body can not tell whether a molecule was made by a plant or by a lab.

Whole foods grown organically will always trump synthetic man-made vitamins based on the interplay between all the nutritional compounds and their interplay in the body. Do you see any vitamin C tree where you live or how about Vit D bushes? Didnt think so.

Who really knows how the complex interplay of phtyochemicals and nutrients really works in the body. The only thing we really need to know is that they do and than apply that knowledge by eating a diet high in powerful health promoting, phytochemical rich foods.

How about proteins?

I read that the diet should consist as much as possible of whole foods and much less of supplements (like whey).

My diet is very healthy. Whole foods like oats, grains, flax seeds etc.

But if I want to increase protein intake. Why not supplement with a lot of whey? Why bother with chicken breasts?

I dont see any problems with that. In fact whey really is a constituent of “whole-foods” being a by-product of milk. I think the argument was more over specific vitamins and minerals versus foods which have a complex mixture of fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.

Studies suggest that the bioavailability of natural food complex vitamins is better than that of most isolated USP vitamins [e.g. 12-17,40-46], that they may have better effects on maintaining aspects of human health beyond traditional vitamin deficiency syndromes [15,37,44,45,69,76], and at least some seem to be preferentially retained by the human body [12,46]. It is not always clear if these advantages are due to the physiochemical form of the vitamin, with the other food constituents that are naturally found with them, or some combination [42,95]. Regardless, it seems logical to conclude that for purposes of maintaining normal health, natural vitamins are superior to synthetic ones.

Just eat a variety of foods and you won’t need a multivitamin pill. Honestly, Superfood or even v8 juice is the only thing i would consider adding in everyones diet since vegetable intake is generally the lowest in the western diet!!!

I think the addition of a hearty whole-food supplement such as Biotest’s Superfood/supergreens/whole food concentrate is FAR superior to any multi-vitamin…

[quote]BobPit wrote:
How about proteins?

I read that the diet should consist as much as possible of whole foods and much less of supplements (like whey).

My diet is very healthy. Whole foods like oats, grains, flax seeds etc.

But if I want to increase protein intake. Why not supplement with a lot of whey? Why bother with chicken breasts? [/quote]

Because chicken is loaded with nutrients other than protein. Whey works well after a workout, in the morning, or as part of a fast/slow protein blend, but it does not have the vitamins and minerals contained within chicken.

Supplemental protein is best used in the periworkout period or as a protein replacement as part of a meal. Simply adding some nuts and fruit to a protein shake will greatly enhance the nutritional value by providing vitamins and minerals not in the protein.

If there is a reason why you cannot eat every 3-4 hours, then a protein shake would be a valuable bridge to your next meal, but it is not a replacement for real food. You can get close with stuff like Superfood added to the mix and a couple fish oil caps. In this case something like Metabolic Drive Complete would be a better option as it has more than just protein.

[quote]Rasclot123 wrote:
There is zero difference in the vitamins you consume through foods and the vitamins found in a multivitamin. There the exact same molecule.

Of course some hippies will argue that, but there just being fed lies by the their local whole foods employees.

[/quote]

Really, then tell me how many different forms of vitamins of each type there are. It is more than one. Most multivitamins contain the cheapest and least absorbing versions of vitamins and minerals.

By definition, they are NOT the same molecule. They do not have the same activity. They do not have the same absorption rates. And they certainly do not have the same chemical structure in some cases. Examples include, but are not limited to vitamin D,E, and B12. Mineral examples are oxides (the form in most cheap multis) vs. amino acid chelates.

All this does not mean that they will not work or deliver vitamins and minerals to your body, just that the doses need to be much higher to have the same effect.

Nope, but once absorbed and past through the liver it all starts to look the same. That stuff that isnt absorbed is past out. Its just a matter of efficiency. What MgO is like 5% absorption? But what gets through is just Mg2+ afterwards. Much like what you get from food. Then you have your chelates which are upwards of 20-30% which get in and get chopped up by your liver? into Mg2+ and an amino acid… so you can take… less.

Foods better because it contains a whole array of things, in various forms, bonded to different shit. Therefore it covers your bases better. Thats all. The off the shelf pills and what not are handy to just through in if your on the move.

[quote]ricekakes wrote:
I have a friend who swears that vitamins that are made from natural foods are not not manufactured are better for you. He claims that your body digests them better because it is natural. I think he is crazy!! I mean do they blend an apple and extract the vitamin A out of it? Synthetic vitamins if manufactured the same should not be any different except that they are man-made. Share your thoughts?[/quote]

Nooo! They are synthetic, aren’t they? After i spent the first 2 months eating fresh fruit and veggies regularly after using a multi, and not eating that shit, i looked “healthy” y’know? like colour in cheeks etc…

I personally think multi-vits may have a place added to regular healthy foods, not to replace them.

A chicken breast and a multi-vit ain’t the same as a chicken breast and asparagus…

Joe