We’ve all had the moments when we can’t help but wonder, “Does it really matter if my supplements are organic or not?” Spending extra money on supplements that are organic may seem like a waste, but the overall health benefits associated with them far outweigh the financial burden of spending a couple of extra dollars.
Do You Really Want Something Created In a Lab?
When you’re putting synthetic supplements in your body, you should know that these supplements are made in a lab. You may ask, “What’s so bad about that? A lot of cool things are made in a lab.” Well, yes, but do you really want something put in your body that is manufactured synthetically using chemicals? When you get your synthetic supplements, you’re getting supplements that are not natural, but rather mimic them.
These are not coming from the natural sources, but rather act in a similar manner when ingested. Comparing these to the natural organic supplements that are available, there is a huge difference.
Natural supplements are taken from plant material, making it so you’re ingesting the natural stuff your body craves rather than the synthetic stuff that was made in a lab. Test tube supplements just don’t have the same natural supplemental powers that the organic stuff has, making it a wiser decision to stick to the organic nutrition.
The problem with a lot of the synthetic supplements is that they do not have the co-factors and transporters that are found in the organic vitamins due to the fact that they’re isolated. This is a serious issue because, as stated by the Organic Consumers Association, unlike the natural organic supplements available, isolated supplements are unrecognizable to our bodies.
When comparing this to the way organic supplements act within our bodies, it’s easy to see that the natural supplements are better. These supplements incorporate other vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that assist in ensuring that the body sees, metabolizes, and utilizes them properly. With isolated synthetic supplements, the body isn’t always able to use them. This results in the body storing them until you find or create the proper nutrition that’ll allow it to be used properly. Or they could just get excreted, making it so they provide no supplemental value to your body whatsoever.
Why Are Synthetic Vitamins Not As Good As Organic?
The synthetic stuff has the chemical compounds that are not meant to be consumed by people. These do not occur naturally in nature and with evolution being the deciding factor regarding what we consume, it’s not hard to understand that the food created in a lab does not provide the same health benefits. You’re not going to get what you expect when you ingest the synthetic stuff, making the organic supplements the right path to choose. Let’s take a look at Vitamin E.
When you consume synthetic Vitamin E, you’re ingesting dl- form. The d-form is what occurs in nature naturally, meaning it is meant for human consumption. The l-form is not something the body will use. Rather, the body pushes it out rather than utilizing it. When ingesting the synthetic supplements, there are worse things that can happen though.
For example, when you take in synthetic fat-soluble vitamins, they’re actually quite dangerous due to the fact that they have the ability to store within your fatty tissues. Over time, this can become hazardous and toxic. These synthetic supplements are highly dangerous due to the fact that you get a high concentration of your vitamins instead of the normal serving you’d find if you were to derive the supplement from organic supplements.
Most People Will Not Benefit From Synthetic Nutrients, But Some Groups Do
It’s painstakingly obvious that synthetic nutrients should not typically be chosen over the organic ones, but there are some groups that benefit from the synthetic stuff. People who have nutrient deficiencies may need dietary supplements to treat their nutrition deficiencies. For example, people suffering from a lack of iron. Women that are of childbearing age are typically told to ingest synthetic folic acid as it tends to lessen the chance of neural tube defects in case they get pregnant. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are supposed to take synthetic nutrients as well. This usually includes vitamin D and vitamin A. Vegetarians and vegans are also known to take some synthetic nutrients, including calcium, zinc, Vitamin D, iron, and vitamin B12. This is due to the fact that much of their diets do not contain enough, if any, of these supplements. The elderly are also shown ingesting vitamin D, vitamin B12, and calcium that are synthetic. While organic supplements are definitely the best way to go, there are some cases in which synthetic supplements are necessary for the purpose of ensuring proper health.
A Quick Note On “Certified Organic” Supplements
In this articles we’ve been using the term “organic” in reference to substances that occur organically in nature. However, as you may be aware the term “organic” is also commonly used to describe produce, meats, grains and other food stuffs that are produced without the use of synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, GMOs, or radiation.
There are also now many supplements on the market that bearing a varety of “certified organic” seals to indicate that their ingredients have been produced in accordance with these guidelines.
Now the question is – are these “certified organic” supplements any better than natural supplements that don’t bear these seals?
Our answer is as follows:
Generally speaking – yes, it is safe to assume that certified organic supplements are going to be superior to supplements with ingredients produced using synthetic pesticides and the like. That said, in most cases the amount of pesticides and other nastiness left on the ingredients once they have been harvested, processed and bottled is negligible and should not be a cause for concern. So don’t rule out taking a perfectly good natural supplement just because it doesn’t contain 100% organic ingredients!
