Whenever you go to a supermarket, the sight of a dozen-and-one vitamins popping out of a shelf is fairly normal. Most assure a 99.9% guarantee that their products are natural. Some of you may use these to supplement your dietary requirements – but what exactly are you swallowing?
Apart from those found in food, vitamin pills are produced in a lab, where a substrate (the starting material) is actually a derivative of coal tar – the same place as the petrol in your car!
An estimated 99% of vitamins sold today all have the same or similar starting substance, which includes the enriching vitamin pills that are sprinkled into food.
The harm doesn’t come from the substrate itself, but from the body’s reaction to the vitamins. In order for the body to accept the vitamins, a “synergist” is used. A synergist helps the body absorb the vitamins, dampening the risks that the body might reject the vitamins – or worse, reject real nutrients.
Whilst most vitamins seem to sit happily alongside synergists, there are two that are noted for having no such bonds.
Firstly, Vitamin E; due to the complex structure of the vitamin, trying to turn it into a substitute is almost impossible. However, in food, it is found that there are natural synergists that help the body to absorb the minerals. It makes a tablet, more or less, quite redundant.
Secondly, Folic Acid (also known as the B Vitamin) – in a study in Sweden, it was found that a diet that was high in folic acid could prevent problems such as pancreatic cancer. When trying to turn folic acid into a supplement, it was found that the vitamin didn’t sustain the qualities that reduced the risks of cancer in the body.
It is possible that other supplements out there may have similar problems, but trying to find out can be tricky, if not lengthy.
What are the alternatives?
Introduce these vitamins into your diet. In food, there are natural synergists that help the absorption process. Why substitute something fun and delicious for a cold, round pill?
Vitamin A — The richest source of natural Vitamin A is Fish liver oil.
Vitamin B — They are brewers yeast, which is used in making beer but doesn’t contain alcohol. rice hull polishings; and liver.
Vitamin C — Citrus fruit, acerola cherries and rose hips, synthetic vitamin C seems to function well in human nutrition.
Vitamin D — Once again, the richest natural source of Vitamin D is fish liver oil. (You can buy fish liver oil capsules containing A and D vitamins).
Vitamin E — In nature, Vitamin E can be obtained from a variety of plant sources. At present, most natural Vitamin E comes from soybeans.
The solution seems sublimely simple – and in truth, it is. You don’t need to introduce more into your body than you have to (or want to!). Expel your downsides by becoming a little more down-to-earth to feel the benefits of a healthy and natural diet.
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