As we ponder the question "Is Less More?," we should also consider the "unmentionables," those substances that are not usually displayed (or cannot be displayed!) on Nutrition Fact labels. Foods contain substances such as enzymes, amino acids, chlorophyll, and phytochemicals (substances in plants that may have beneficial health effects), and when we isolate and manufacture one substance, important substances are left behind.
Enzymes deserve special consideration. They are the sparks that start the essential chemical reactions our bodies need to live. Without them, we would be helpless. However, enzymes must be alive to provide us with their power, and they are only alive in raw, uncooked foods and natural supplements that have been processed at low temperatures. Synthetic products cannot provide these "live" enzymes; only foods and natural supplements can.
Also of concern is how well the body can absorb and use products — that is, their bioavailability. The debate here is whether synthetic and natural products have the same bioavailability. Some say they do, while others contend that natural products are superior.
There is agreement, however, that vitamin E is much better in a natural form than in a synthethic form. According to Dr. Earl Mindell, natural vitamin E is 36 percent more powerful than synthetic vitamin E. This is reinforced by Shari Lieberman and Nancy Bruning in The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book. They contend that in fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin E, there is evidence that a product from a natural source is more bioavailable than a product from a synthetic source.
Another consideration is proportion. A natural source gives you not only all the nutrients found in the source and increased bioavailability, but also the nutrients in their natural proportions. This means that the nutrient levels are not manipulated to beef up specific nutrients; you get them in the form in which they were naturally created, and perhaps the way they were meant to be.
It is interesting to look at the foods we consider "healthy." In her book Food and Healing, Annemarie Colbin notes that the proportion of minerals to proteins, proteins to carbohydrates, and carbohydrates to water remains roughly the same in healthy foods. Vitamins and minerals are found in the smallest amounts; then, in larger amounts, some proteins, carbohydrates, and water. Foods such as cooked grains and vegetables all exhibit this progression. (Colbin uses human milk as a starting point for "healthy foods," but discounts the rather high fat content of milk as only suitable for infants.) Foods we might consider unhealthy, such as refined sugar and meat, have an overabundance of one type of nutrient. Sugar contains carbohydrates, with virtually nothing else; beefsteak contains predominately protein and fat.
