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Natural vs Synthetic
Vitamins
Is there really a difference between natural and synthetic
vitamins? Yes. Critics claim that at the very best, a synthetic vitamin
interacts with the human body as a mere drug or a pharmaceutical agent—not a
supporting nutrient. At worst, synthetic vitamins can damage the functioning of
the human body through biochemical imbalances. A basic guideline to follow when
vitamin shopping is that cheaper is no better; if it’s cheap it’s usually
synthetic which means it was manufactured by poor quality control standards.
Also, synthetic vitamin complexes cannot be utilized to the fullest extent that
natural complexes can. Their bio-availability and metabolize may be lacking,
which means that our bodies can’t absorb them. Jim Fixx, a famous runner and
widely quoted fitness guru, died early in life of a heart attack and an autopsy
was found to have large amounts of undigested vitamins within his intestines. If
you decide to start supplementing your diet with vitamins and minerals, make
sure to buy them in the best bio-available formulation possible.
Advantages of
natural vitamins
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natural complexes are protein in nature, in the form of an
enzyme or co-enzyme.
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natural complexes carry trace mineral activators necessary
for the vitamin to act as a biochemical catalyst.
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synthetic vitamins are only a fraction of the real
biologically active nutritional complex, therefore helping repair our cells and
tissues in only a fraction of the way a natural complex would.
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natural vitamins contain all auxiliary ingredients, whereas
synthetic complexes usually contain one or two active co-factors.
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Remember:
If it’s a high
quality vitamin, you should be able to break it in your fingers or with a dull
knife. Another quality test is seeing if it will dissolve in a glass of warm
water. If a vitamin doesn’t pass these tests, it probably wouldn’t break
down in your system. If your body has trouble digesting in general, try
gelatin-encapsulated vitamins.
Vitamins lose potency with age. It’s best to keep them in
the refrigerator or in a dry cool place.
If your body is absorbing the vitamin’s nutrients,
especially B-Vitamins, urine will be a bright yellow color.
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