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Are artificial vitamins as good as natural ones?
Table of Contents
1. The basic values of artificial vitamins
The debate about the usefulness of synthetic vitamins is more fussy than it might seem. At first glance, anyone can say that fruits and vegetables have an advantage because they're.. natural. But this is no argument. If vitamins in supplements have the same chemical structure as real food, how does the body know that one was grown in the field and the other was produced in the laboratory? But to clear up any doubts, we need to look at the environment better and also take into account the specific scientific research.2. Vitamin C and its salts
Ascorbic acid in pharmacies is not synonymous with vitamin C, although it is one of its active forms. In food we find another biologically active form of vitamin C dehydroascorbic acids, whereas supplements mostly contain only ascorbic Acid. Human studies show that vitamin C in food is absorbed into enterocytes 1.74 times more than isolated vitamin C. Other studies have also shown that it is higher in acid absorption into the bone.3. Vitamin K and its salts
In plants, we can find vitamin K1, also known as philoquinone this variant of vitamin K does not cause toxic effects, even when consumed in quantities much higher than the recommended daily dose. We now know that vitamin K3, sometimes called menadion, should not be used as an active form of Vitamin K because it causes anemia and hyperbilirubinemia. Vitamin K3 does not occur in nature and can only be produced in the laboratory, thankfully it is not used in supplements.4. Vitamin A and its salts
Vitamin A is mostly found in food in the form of retinyl esters, however, in supplements we find mostly retinoic acid, which is a metabolite of vitamin A. Animal studies show that synthetic vitamin A reduces the elimination of vitamin E, but this effect has not been demonstrated when consuming naturally-occurring Vitamin A. Similar studies have also shown that the vitamin A complex contained in food is about 1.5 times more absorbable, while showing less toxicity.5. Summary
There are many more examples, but in almost every case, natural counterparts are better absorbable and safer. An additional advantage of vegetables and fruits is the content of a wide range of ingredients that science has not yet studied well. Does that mean that supplements are useless? No. It simply means that the basis of the diet should always be whole foods.
