DEFINING NATURAL, CO-NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC VITAMINS

When reading the labels on vitamins, there are a lot of unfamiliar sounding terms you will come across. But before we get to the charts themselves, it is helpful to break down the types of categories those substances will belong to. There are three, Natural, Co-natural, and Synthetic.


Natural

The majority of vitamins that are on the market are not natural. The reason for this is cost. It requires the extraction of vitamins from foods. This is a much more expensive process than simply synthesizing vitamins chemically. These vitamins come directly from fruits, and vegetables. A smaller number are derived from animals, primarily the livers of animals. If you are a vegan, you may want to pay close attention to the sources of Biotin, as liver may be a source. Some products also use fish oils for Vitamin A, and fatty acids like omega 3, 6, and 9.

Co-natural

These are derived from vegetable and animal sources. The process involves using a solvent, distillation, hydrolysis, and-or crystalization. But the vitamin itself does not undergo a chemical alteration or conversion during the process of extraction.

Synthetic

The sources for these vitamins may be natural or chemical, but in this case, they do go through a conversion or chemical alteration. They are about 50 percent as effective as natural vitamins, and parts of them may be regarded as toxins by the body. They are often derived from "dead", never alive materials like Coal Tar, petroleum products, ground up rocks and stones, shells like clamshells, and metals. Corn syrup (vitamin c) , wood, animal byproducts, waste and fecal matter are also used.

So, when reading charts and finding the active ingredients you will have a better understanding of the derivation process and source materials. I can only say that the more I learn the smarter and safer it seems to be to look for products that are vegetable based, not overlooking the value of sea plants as well. Kelp, for instance, offers a lot of different vitamins. So does Blue-green algae. More familiar vegetable based sources with lots of value are Flax, Rice bran, Wheat grass and germ, alfalfa, and other cereal grasses.

Also, keep in mind that the term "organic" may be defined in different ways. While we are thinking that the term refers to plant and animal sources, the use of the term in chemistry simply means that there are carbon atoms in the structure. This can lead to some misleading claims that are still "accurate". All vitamins will have some carbon in them, whether synthetic or natural in their origin.

Want to have some fun? Take your bottle of vitamins and a magnifying glass and look up the active ingredients on the web with a search engine with the term "natural or synthetic".


Here is an excerpt from http://www.lorganic.sg/dpf/supplements.pdf


What You Actually Get In The Store

What commercial-grade vitamin and mineral concentrates are synthesized by the large pharmaceutical and chemical companies from the same starting material that they make their drugs from ( coal tar, wood, pulp, petroleum products, animal byproducts, waste and fecal matter, ground rocks, stones, shells and metal. )

- Most Vitamin B-12 (cobalamine) is made from activated sewage sludge-and
then stabilized with cyanide (thus becoming, cyanocobalamine)
- Most vitamin D is made from irradiated oil
- The bulk of all vitamin E is produced in the labs at Kodak
- Niacinamide is made by boiling sulfur in the presence of asbestos.
- Supplemental calcium, for the most part, is either mined from the earth,
ground from old bones, or made by grinding up oyster shells


There are many sites on the web to check if you want to see for yourself. I don't know anyone who is aware of the "processes" involved in "Big Pharma" vitamin production. These decisions are primarily cost based and profit driven. So be aware you may spend a little bit more money for products that are natural extracts, but knowing about the process for manufacture, you will likely be willing to spend a few extra dollars for products you feel more comfortable with.

THE SUPPLEMENT JUNGLE

SYNTHETIC OR NATURAL?


There are many types of supplements available. For now, lets focus on multi-vitamin and mineral supplements. The first question may be whether or not there is a substantial difference between so called "synthetic" and "natural" vitamins. The structure of a vitamin can be reproduced synthetically. In this case the natural form and the synthetic form would be identical. When this is the case there can be said to be no difference between the two. They will act the same way in the body.

Some argue that they are the same. Others beg to differ. They say that the forms being synthesized are not the same because natural vitamins do not come as a distinct molecules, but have "companions", and these essential elements may not be added to synthetic formulations.

A much used example is Vitamin C. Its synthetic form is well known as Ascorbic Acid.
Here is information from http://www.hpakids.org/...

However, vitamin C is not simply ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is the outer skin of vitamin C, much like the skin of an orange. Vitamin C also contains bioflavonoid complexes, tyrosinase, and several other factors. What do you get if you purchase a synthesized bottle of vitamin C? You are buying ascorbic acid, a small part of vitamin C, manufactured from super-refined corn sugar. Ascorbic acid does have strong effects on the body but is more of a drug than a nutrient. Because your body needs all parts of a vitamin to function, it will leech the other necessary cofactors from itself in order to use the ascorbic acid. This puts a lot of extra stress on your body, according to Dennis Nelson, in his book, Maximizing Nutrition.

http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/articles/144/1/Vitamins---Synthetic-vs.-Natural

From the same article, in reference to vitamin B...

Another example of whole food versus synthetic is vitamin B complex. Coal tar is the source of many synthetic B vitamins. Coal tar is not alive, and research confirms that it does not work as well in our bodies as natural sources of B vitamins, such as wheat germ.

This article is the work of Dr. Laura Mason-Scarborough. The article was published in 2004. Since then vitamin C is now offered as "Ester-C", which does contain an additional element, another synthetic, ascorbyl palmitate.

For me, as a consumer, I can see the value of "natural food" derived vitamins. They have the benefit of starting with the whole vitamin complex and delivering all its components. And they deliver them in forms the body has been working with for ages, guaranteeing the body will recognize the components and act upon them.

Every step along the way the body "knows" what it should find, and what it needs to do to create the building blocks it requires to function. Supplements are designed to be in line with the process. That is, to provide you with vitamins and minerals in the forms the body is looking for.

Another example is vitamin E...from http://www.beta-glucan-info.com/...

Studies have shown that natural Vitamin E absorbs much better then synthetic versions. Protein chaperones produced in the liver select the natural d-alpha form of Vitamin E and largely ignore the rest.

One study in particular showed that after 23 days of supplementation, natural Vitamin E levels rose higher then synthetic levels[2]. This study also showed that the blood and tissue levels of natural Vitamin E rose twice as high as the synthetic.

FROM http://www.beta-glucan-info.com/natural_versus_synthetic_vitamins.htm

Also, note that the synthetic Vitamin E has a d-alpha form in it, but additionally has an "l" form. In the synthetic, generally half the E vitamin is in the d-form, which the body uses, and half is the l-form which is ignored. So you have half the amount listed on the bottle in an available form. It is expressed this way at http://www.vitamins-nutrition.org/...

Vitamin E, for example, the d- form of vitamin E derived from vegetable oils and other natural sources is different from the dl- form (which is often called the synthetic form). The dl- tocopherols are actually a mixture: the d-form and the l-form (usually a 1:1 mixture).

The human body uses only the d- form. The l- form, when present, does not confer any known health benefit and is normally excreted by the body. So, in essence, when consuming the dl- form of vitamin E, you obtain an effective dose of about half the vitamin E dosage reported on the label.

From...http://www.vitamins-nutrition.org/vitamins/natural-vitamins-synthetic.html

So given the choice, "food derived" natural vitamins appear to have fewer possible issues and would be preferable. There isn't anything wrong with the synthetic versions, it just appears they may be incomplete in some ways, since new connections are being discovered and will continue to be added to our knowledge base. The synthetics are likely to be less expensive. They can also be "measured" in units more effectively. 200 I.U.s are exactly 200 I.U.s.

So one filter to use when buying is whether or not natural food derived vitamins are present or not. If they are synthetic, it is important to have all the co-factors present, so the body doesn't have to provide them from its own reserves. This may require more research than the average person has the time the or desire to do.

DIGESTING THE PROBLEM

The ultimate purpose of digestion is to break down food to gain access to the vitamins, minerals, and proteins that the body needs to function. In other words, what it needs to power the heart, lungs, muscles, brain, the nervous system...everything.

The body uses a number of molecules to nourish itself. It can create a few , for some others it requires "raw material" which it can modify to its own needs, and others it needs in their natural form. The source of these is the food we eat. Digestion is the process of breaking down food into forms (molecules) the body can use.

Breaking down begins in the mouth, with chewing and the presence of fluids the mouth produces. Optimally, this is a "bathing" process, the secretions in the mouth "bathe" the food, attach to it, begin to break it down. There are enzymes that are released in the mouth to begin the job. The better the bath, the less work that has to be done by the rest of the system.

In the stomach the breaking down process continues in earnest. The stomach secretes enzymes and HCL, hydrochloric acid, which act upon the food. It may spend up to two hours in the stomach before it is completely processed and "massaged" into the small intestine. Here is where the nutritional payoff begins.

It is the small intestine that does most of the work of absorbing the nutrients that are now in forms the body can use. The small intestines gets an "assist" from the pancreas, the liver, and gall bladder. They secret fluids directly into the small intestine that help the absorption process. Food that has not yet been broken down continues on the the large intestines, where water is extracted and what is left is the solid waste that will pass out of the body.

An excellent 2 minute video can be found at the link that follows. They also provide a free social networking service families can use in the invent of an illness. It is a great resource reference for finding straight forward videos on many medical topics. Also , you can just go to the sidebar and click on the DIGESTION video to get an overview of the digestive system presented visually.

http://www.careflash.com/video/digestion?lc=en



BACTERIA AND HCL...an aside


Another extremely important function of the HCL is to kill undesirable bacteria that enters the stomach through the mouth or the nose. Harmful bacteria should not survive the journey through the stomach.

It should be noted that the ability of the stomach to produce HCL is critical for the health of the body in general and the stomach in particular. If the quantity of HCL is NOT sufficient, firstly digestion will be hampered, more of the food eaten will not be utilized in the intestine. Valuable nutrition will not be absorbed and will simply be lost to the body. Secondly, the HCL is critical in keeping the stomach "bacteria free". The lack of HCL creates an opening for harmful bacteria in the digestive tract. Because they are not eliminated, they may take up residence...which creates an opening for a variety of illnesses. As we age, we produce less HCL.

VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS... BEGIN THE QUEST

A PERFECT WORLD

In a perfect world you don't need supplements. All the things your body needs will be there, in your food. Plenty of vegetables, plenty of fruit, and likely plenty of meat and dairy products. Eating these things will provide you with everything you need for you body to nourish itself fully. But getting all the nutrition you need, that's a bit less than certain. So the reasonable thing to do is supplement what you're getting from food with something that can provide you with the things you aren't getting...and in a way your body can use them...in quantities high enough to help.


ISSUES

Simple problem, simple solution. There are multi-vitamin pills, you buy them, and you go on. But that may not be all there is to it. Just buying vitamins appears to have a "life or death" component to it. It would appear a vitamin may not actually "be" a vitamin in some cases. And a vitamin, by itself, may be only half of what you need...to use the vitamin.

I'm like most people, I was pretty confident that what I have bought at the local drug store was all that I needed. Just buy something and go. I saw the various other things on the shelf, the protein powders and other "body builder" items. The shelves have become even more populated with all sorts of formulations with a sharp focus on one quality or another...for men, for women, kids. There is a lot to choose from.

And then there is the Internet. Shopping there with a search engine can bring back a vast ocean of products. All sorts of claims are made about the revolutionary new formula each company has. There is near disdain for the products of their competitors. Then there is the MLM (multi level marketing) aspect to toss in. There is a thriving forest of competitors. And all you want to do is get a decent vitamin supplement at a reasonable price.

The average person may have to spend a few good hours just sorting them all out. If you didn't major in chemistry, biology, or medicine and nutrition, there may be some gaps in your knowledge that make it difficult to sort through it all. Its important to try, every time you pick up a bit more useful information, and eventually you can become comfortable with your personal plan of action.

I took the time to begin that process. Not as a doctor, but as a consumer. I can't tell you how many times I "thought" I had found the next miracle product that would solve all but political problems. That journey is not over, but I have a few facts that I didn't have before. If you already know these things you are better prepared than I was. And you have probably solved this puzzle to your satisfaction. It won't take long for you to gauge the situation.

But there are a few very important things to know when deciding what type of supplements you want to put into your body. Most of us don't know very much about the specifics of digestion, or the steps that are involved. The digestive process dictates whether or not the vitamins and minerals you are taking are actually getting absorbed. So the first step to knowing the value of vitamins and what you can get from them is knowing what nutrients your body needs and what it will do with them. A simple synopsis of eating and digesting is where we need to start.