Our bodies need different supplements and compounds in order to function properly. Back in the day, we used to get them solemnly from our foods, but now we can get them as pills you can simply swallow, which is exactly the case with vitamins.
Vitamins are a group of organic compounds that our bodies needs to function as it should. Vitamins help us grow and keep a healthy nutrition. But more than that, our bodies can malfunction if we don’t consume the suggested regular doses, which can lead to multiple diseases.
Like it was stated before, nowadays we can consume those daily doses by taking a multivitamin complex that will provide us with a healthy mix of all the right vitamins our bodies need. However, are these synthetic vitamins a good solution? Let’s take a closer look.
WHAT ARE SYNTHETIC VITAMINS
Synthetic vitamins is a synonym for medically produced vitamins. It means they are produced in masses in a medical laboratory, packed and then sold to the different drugstores.
These vitamins are also known as isolated nutrients due to the fact they don’t provide the body with many of the other supplements or transports natural vitamins do have.
Of course, the way these vitamins are made affects the way they impact our bodies, since they don’t assimilate these different nutrients and compounds the same way they would with a natural food source vitamins.
The truth is, synthetic vitamins are extremely popular. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, $28 billion worth of Multivitamin supplements were sold during 2010. A number that has only grown ever since.
With that being said, although synthetic vitamins and multivitamins supplements might sound like a great idea, the truth is, studies show the exact same opposite.
In a study done by doctor Bjelakovic, results showed that a great consumption of different vitamins (Vitamin C, A and E) in big quantities may increase the risk of mortality. Another study has suggested that use of Multivitamins can increase the risk of cancer ( 1, 2)
The study also pressed people to remember the importance of a healthy, balanced diet, and how that is the right way of getting all the vitamins and nutrients your body may need.
This study complements others that have already proven our bodies don’t use all the isolated nutrients the synthetic vitamins have. In most cases, it either discharges them, or stores them until you actually need them.
BENEFITS OF FOOD SOURCE VITAMINS
If you don’t suffer for any type of medical conditions that strictly requires you to get your daily recommended doses of vitamins through multivitamins supplements, you can get through life without them.
As stated in a paper research by Harvard Medical School, published by Harvard Health Publishing, you can get all the vitamins and nutrients your body needs by keeping a healthy, balanced diet.( 3, 4)
The best way to get everything our body needs to function is by consuming wholefood, organic aliments that will provide those essential compounds to us. However, you need to be mindful about what vitamins your body needs, and in which foods you can find them.
Oranges, avocados, fish, potatoes and eggs are all great sources of vitamins and minerals that are essential to keep a healthy body. There is actually a whole list published by Harvard University, here.
CONCLUSION
Both synthetic and food source vitamins are good for you. However, the benefits you will get from consuming your vitamins through natural food are undeniable.
People should only get their nutrients by taking multivitamins if they have some sort of health problem or condition that doesn’t enable them to get their daily doses of vitamins. Otherwise, it is recommended to just keep a well balanced diet.
References:
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/205797
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3309636/
- https://hms.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/assets/Sites/Longwood_Seminars/Nutrition_3_5_13.pdf
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/getting-your-vitamins-and-minerals-through-diet
0 comments:
Post a Comment