Health Experts- Synthetic Vitmanics vs Natural vitamins?

[rubenswm]

Today at GNC, a salesman was trying to convince me that the multivitamin i was taking (centrum) wasn't as good for me as the GNC stuff that was not synthetic. I went ahead and bought some and looked up the ingredients....surely enough it contained the acutal natural vitamins

What is your take on the situation? Are synthetic vitmins not as good for you as natural ones? I've read stuff about the vitamins not working correctly or something,, but i don't know.. anybody familiar with this?

 

[Rkonster]

I think that not good for you is kind of strong, as it implies that you are worse of with Centrum that without a supplement at all, and I don't believe this to be true.

 

[McPhreak]

Originally posted by: Rkonster
I think that not good for you is kind of strong, as it implies that you are worse of with Centrum that without a supplement at all, and I don't believe this to be true.

yah. I would say overall that natural vitamins are a little better for you in the sense that they're more balanced and easier to take up, but like Rkonster said, it's not like taking synthetic vitamins are bad for you. You just have to consider if the little advantage of natural vitamins is worth whatever the extra cost you put into it.

 

[bolomite]

No matter what sort of vitamin you take, your body will only absorb ~ 10-20% of it.

 

[C'DaleRider]

Save money by avoiding the glitz. In most cases there is no solid research to show that more expensive varieties -- from chelated and colloidal minerals to time-released vitamins -- are better absorbed than more standard ones. One specific exception to this, though, is vitamin E: The body can use the natural form (called d-alpha tocopherol) better than the synthetic form (dl-alpha tocopherol).

Remember, supplements can replace vitamins and minerals, but they never will supply the 12,000 health-enhancing phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and other unprocessed foods. In short, you can't live on french fries and hamburgers and think taking a supplement will make everything OK.

 

[rubenswm]

Originally posted by: C'DaleRider
Save money by avoiding the glitz. In most cases there is no solid research to show that more expensive varieties -- from chelated and colloidal minerals to time-released vitamins -- are better absorbed than more standard ones. One specific exception to this, though, is vitamin E: The body can use the natural form (called d-alpha tocopherol) better than the synthetic form (dl-alpha tocopherol).

Remember, supplements can replace vitamins and minerals, but they never will supply the 12,000 health-enhancing phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and other unprocessed foods. In short, you can't live on french fries and hamburgers and think taking a supplement will make everything OK.

Yeah, I see what you're saying. Vitamin E was primarily what I was talking about. Do you feel it is worth the extra cost for d-alpha tocopherol?

 

[StageLeft]

I wouldn't believe the hype. AFAIK a vitamin is a pretty simple thing and there is no reason to think a synthetic would be any lower quality whatsoever. I may stand corrected but I'd get the synthesized stuff.

 

[rubenswm]

RUMOR: Natural vitamin E is more effective than synthetic vitamin E.

TRUTH:
Lots of patients are hearing that "natural" vitamin E is better than "synthetic" vitamin E.
This all started after media reports hyped up studies suggesting that the natural version is more effective.
The most common form of vitamin E is alpha-tocopherol. There are eight different isomers of alpha-tocopherol.
The isomer RRR-alpha-tocopherol (formerly d-alpha-tocopherol) is sometimes called "natural" vitamin E because it occurs naturally in foods.
Synthetic vitamin E contains a mixture of all eight different isomers. It's referred to as all-racemic-alpha-tocopherol (formerly d,l-alpha-tocopherol).
It's true that natural vitamin E is the most active form of alpha-tocopherol. It has the highest affinity for the transport protein that carries vitamin E from the liver to the plasma.
But there's no proof that natural vitamin E has any clinically significant advantage over synthetic vitamin E.
When it comes to getting the recommended dietary intake, most patients get enough vitamin E from their diet.
If patients are using a vitamin E supplement, explain that they can use either natural or synthetic vitamin E. But they'll need a slightly higher dose if they use the synthetic form.
Tell patients they need 15 mg of alpha-tocopherol. Natural vitamin E provides 0.67 mg/IU of alpha-tocopherol...synthetic provides 0.45 mg/IU. That comes to 22 IU of natural...or 33 IU of synthetic vitamin E.
For details on the Institute of Medicine's newest recommendations for vitamin E intake, get our Detail-Document.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: rubenswm
Today at GNC, a salesman was trying to convince me that the multivitamin i was taking (centrum) wasn't as good for me as the GNC stuff that was not synthetic. I went ahead and bought some and looked up the ingredients....surely enough it contained the acutal natural vitamins

What is your take on the situation? Are synthetic vitmins not as good for you as natural ones? I've read stuff about the vitamins not working correctly or something,, but i don't know.. anybody familiar with this?

1. Natural vitamins are by far better than synthetic vitamins. One reason is because natural are generally more potent and balanced, with better compounds the body can absorb. For example, the most common Vitamin E sold in pills is a very weak form of E, the natural found in foods is hundreds of times more powerful and isn't the same type of compound.

2. GNC sucks. Most of their name-brand products are ineffective.

So your best option is to change your diet to include a variety of fresh and organic foods, get rid of coffee/soda, bleached flour and sugar, and consume more poly-unsaturated fats such as extra virgin Olive Oil. You'll be better off in the long run.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: bolomite
No matter what sort of vitamin you take, your body will only absorb ~ 10-20% of it.

I agree. Whenever possible, take a liquid extract form. And don't take "time release" vitamins. They confuse the liver and can actually cause damage.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I wouldn't believe the hype. AFAIK a vitamin is a pretty simple thing and there is no reason to think a synthetic would be any lower quality whatsoever. I may stand corrected but I'd get the synthesized stuff.

Well.. that's true if you assume that Vitamin C, Vitamin B's, Vitamin A will always equal their counterpart.

But in truth, there are severals forms of C, B's, A, E, etc.

Pharmaceutical grade vitamins generally are extremely weak compared to what is found in real vegetables and meat. And synthetic balances of vitamins actually can be toxic - too much vitamin D can hurt you, all you need to do is sit in the sun for awhile and you get all the D you need - too much Vitamin A causes overpressure in the retinae and can cause blindness...