Every year, billions of dollars are spent on vitamin and mineral supplements which neither the
consumer nor the retailer know very much about. Most are inorganic and made from synthetic
substances, which do little if anything to improve overall health. Consumers know very little about how
supplements are made. Most consumers don’t know a supplements’ characteristics, attributes, ingredients, uses, advantages, disadvantages. Individual buyers may not know how to tell one supplement from another by reading the label.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC VITAMINS
THREE TYPES OF VITAMINS

There is a vast difference between natural and synthetic vitamins. Ultimately, it’s the difference
between something that’s living and something dead. Many conventional and non-conventional
healthcare practitioners believe that “a supplement is a supplement” and that there is no difference
between those made from living compounds or synthetic materials. This thought is not true.
Perpetuating this false information has led to enormous confusion in the nutritional field.

NATURAL WHOLE FOOD VITAMINS

On vitamin labels, the word “natural” has no specific definition other than the substance exists
somewhere on the planet or in outer space.
The keywords to look for are “Whole Food Vitamins.” Meaning that the vitamins found in the
product are found in food, untampered with in any way. Using food in its original
state ensures that the molecular structure is left intact and the biological or biochemical actions will be
consistent. Vitamins containing organically grown food sources are preferred since they are more
nutrient-dense and contain no pesticide residues.

Vitamins in their natural state always exist as living complexes. These living complexes contain specific synergistic co-factors, enzymes, phytonutrients, and organic mineral activators, all of which
are needed and are never found in nature as isolated single factors. Every vitamin needs all of its
synergists to function.
In fact, there are hundreds of such synergists, most of which have not yet been studied but are
nevertheless very important.

CRYSTALLINE means that natural food has been treated with various chemicals, solvents, heat, and
distillations to reduce it to one specific “pure” crystalline vitamin. All the essential
synergists, which are termed and viewed as “impurities,” are destroyed in this process. There is no longer anything
natural in the action of crystalline “vitamins”-they should more accurately be called drugs.

SYNTHETIC means that a chemist attempted to reconstruct the exact structure of the crystalline
molecule by chemically combining molecules from other sources. These other sources are not living
complexes but deadly chemicals.

For example:
o Vitamin B1 is made from a derivative of coal tar.
o Ascorbic acid (called Vitamin C by the FDA) is caused by reacting corn syrup with sulfuric acid.

Ascorbic acid is the outer wrapper of the whole vitamin C complex and is NOT Vitamin C.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORGANIC AND INORGANIC MINERALS

Again, there is a vast difference between organic minerals and inorganic ones.

CLUES FOUND IN THE LABEL

Most companies who manufacture vitamins and minerals obtain their raw materials from
synthetic sources, not on the label. If no source is given, you can assume the
ingredient came from a synthetic or unnatural source. The following terms can also help identify a
synthetic vitamin or an inorganic mineral. Many if not all the following are nearly impossible to digest:

VITAMINS

• acetate
• bitartrate
• chloride
• oxide
• hydrochloride nitrate
• succinate
• carbonate

DO SYNTHETIC VITAMINS FUNCTION AS WELL AS NATURAL WHOLE-FOOD VITAMINS?

No one would argue that complex, high-performance, equipment like computers or space shuttles
require very specific, high-quality materials in order to function properly. Living systems are even more
complex and specific in their need for high-quality building materials. In addition, living systems are
constantly breaking down and then rebuilding and repairing cells, organs and tissues. In order to
complete this kind of complex process, the body must have a continual supply of high-quality material.