A natural vitamin is “naturally-made” from components from the Earth, such as vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and antioxidants found in foods like fruits, vegetables, fish, dairy, beans, grains, and meats.
Herbal remedies and supplements of all kinds have been available for years. We’ve been able to run to our nearest Whole Foods for them since the early 80s, and even before that there have always been local stores where you could pick up all sorts of alternative remedies. And while modern medicine is certainly one of the benefits of living in our modern age, there is a reason why natural supplements have been with men since the earliest recordings of human civilization. In fact, the first written record of herbal medicine comes to us from the Sumerians. A tablet mentioning herbal remedies and dating back 5,000 years was found in what was once ancient Mesopotamia.
Herbal remedies and natural supplements have been a part of human civilization for as long as humans have had civilization. But are all supplements created equal? In the dizzying array of available supplements, how can you know which ones are best for you?
What are benefits of Natural Vitamins?
In order to understand how to select the best supplements (and why this is even important), you need to understand how your body processes the vitamins and minerals in food. Let’s take an orange for example. Everyone knows that oranges contain vitamin C. What you may not know is that in addition to vitamin C, an orange also contains potassium, vitamin A, and calcium. So when your body processes vitamin C in an orange, it isn’t doing so in a vacuum. It is processing vitamin C in combination with these other important vitamins.
In fact, research has proven that certain vitamins in combination with others actually increase absorption rates. For example, calcium absorption is increased by taking vitamin D. So eating egg yolks, which contain both vitamin D and calcium, increases your body’s ability to absorb both.
Your body does the same thing with vitamins. It absorbs all the vitamins and nutrients to help prevent and treat various health problems.
What is a Synthetic Vitamin?
Okay, all of this is very interesting. But what does it have to do with synthetic supplements? If I want to increase my vitamin intake, does it really matter if I purchase a synthetic one? After all, synthetic vitamins tend to be a lot cheaper. The answer lies in what a synthetic vitamin really is. And what it isn’t.
Remember earlier when we talked about your body using vitamins in combination with other vitamins? Well, it is this synergy which makes them effective. Take away all the vitamins but one and you are left with an incomplete part of a whole package. It’s like baking with only some of the ingredients but expecting a delicious cake. If you really want results from your supplements then you have to take them as nature intended them.
Synthetic vitamins are replicas of the vitamins naturally occurring in food. However, since they are factory-produced approximations (albeit very good ones) they simply aren’t as effective. Because their means of production is so different, your body’s reaction will not be the same despite similarities in the basic structure. This is a case where Mother Nature really does know best.
Natural vs Synthetic Vitamins
Synthetic vitamins are filled with artificial nutrients made in a lab that your body doesn’t always absorb. Where as, natural vitamins are filled with minerals, fatty acids, and antioxidants found in foods, such as fruits, vegetables, fish, dairy, beans, grains, and meat that are absorbed into your body and this is because when you eat real food, you’re not just consuming one single nutrient, but rather a range of vitamins and nutrients that allow for optimal use.
How to Tell if a Vitamin Is Natural or Synthetic
CHECK THE LABEL!
Natural vitamins will have their food sources listed or be labeled as 100% plant-based. Synthetic vitamins will have chemical names listed.
So What’s The Answer?
Luckily the answer is easy. When shopping for supplements, only purchase those that come from whole food ingredients.
At BOOSTme we source our products only from herbs and plants that were discovered in alpine regions in Asia. These special plants, known as adaptogens, help your body adapt to various sources of stress, produce energy naturally, and much more. Because we use a proprietary blend of the most effective adaptogens, not synthetic versions thereof, you’ll always know that our supplements will work with your body, not against it.
