The Nutrient Games: The Answer Is?

So you are sold on natural supplements. But are they the best you can do? According to Hamilton and Whitney's Nutrition, they may not be the best choice. In general, nutrients are best absorbed from foods because the nutrients are dispersed among other ingredients that facilitate their absorption. Supplement pills, even natural supplement pills, can fail to dissolve or pass through the body without being absorbed. The Nutrition Action Newsletter reports on one consumer who spotted a vitamin pill comfortably lodged in his large intestine in an X-ray!

You should also look at the big picture when considering supplements. A natural vitamin C supplement for a child may well contain a certain amount of vitamin C from a natural source. But what else goes into it? Look closely at the label. Vitamin C supplements, especially those for children, often contain more sugar than vitamin C. They may also contain many different additives, which may not be harmful, but do you really want to use them if they are not necessary?

Unfortunately, labels are also deceptive. Natural does not necessarily mean that a vitamin is extracted from a natural food source. It simply means that the supplement does not contain any unnatural ingredients. There is also the question of why some ingredients are in supplements. Manufacturers lead you to believe that they are there because you need them. But is this true? Often, it's a question of money. A particular nutrient may show up in large quantities in many different supplements. However, this may be because it's inexpensive, not because it's good for you.

The Answer

This brings us back to our original question: Can less ever equal more? In the realm of nutrition, the answer is yes. It is not the amount that makes a difference, but the quality — especially when it comes to micro-nutrients. This is why foods, and their close relatives, whole food concentrates, are better for you than synthetic or natural supplements.

This is because when you eat a food or whole food concentrate, you eat a natural product with natural nutrients. That is, products that have all the nutrients found in whole foods, products that have better absorbability and bioavailability, products that have natural nutrients in natural proportions, and products that have no additives.

And so the debate continues: natural v. synthetic; food v. pills; to supplement or not to supplement — these are the questions to consider as we continue our evaluation.