Synthetic vs. Whole Food Vitamins - Is It Really a Life and Death Issue?

Do I even need to consume a daily multivitamin?

According to Taber's Medical Dictionary, vitamins are essential for normal metabolism, growth and life of the body (page 2000). They are indispensable for the maintenance of health. There has been some controversy regarding the necessity to supplement vitamins back into the diet. The Journal of American Medical Association concluded from a study that every individual should take a multivitamin every day, thus ending that controversy (view article here).

Skip to these sections available below:

• Does it make a difference if I consume synthetic or whole food vitamins?
• Why I Don’t Take (Synthetic) Vitamins
• Mechanistic or Vitalistic - which is your view of the human body?
• Research showing synthetic vitamins bring on early death
• Where we purchase our food based vitamins

Does it make a difference if I consume synthetic or whole food vitamins?

Answer: The short answer is YES. The studies below demonstrate it can easily be the difference between an early death and a full life. But before we get to the studies, let’s just begin with some common sense observations. First, let’s agree that the food God has created for us to consume is the best fuel for our bodies. Our bodies are amazing creations, designed by God to maintain, heal and stay in balance. We cannot even begin to fathom the complexity of the assignments our bodies carry out. Science continues to discover daily new aspects of how our bodies function. It is breath-taking in its complexity and in its achievements.

To accomplish its many tasks, it needs great nutrition (tools to work with), continuous cleansing (removal of toxins) and plenty of fresh air, clean water, peace, calm and sleep. Since today’s foods are extremely devitalized, people often choose to supplement using pills. Some use synthetic pills (i.e. compounds formulated by man that are chemically similar but structurally different than natural vitamins) and others use whole food vitamins (vitamins created from natural food sources).

My thesis is: If we are still discovering the intricacies of how the body functions, then we don’t know enough to create a synthetic vitamin compound which is properly balanced and joined with appropriate enzymes and co-enzymes so it can be digested and assimilated into the bloodstream and ultimately the cells.

Corollary: If we feed the body a dead synthetic singular compound formulation, rather than God’s designed food which science has discovered has 3800 nutrient components, including thousands which are biologically active, our bodies are likely to reject the synthetic, finding it toxic, and this will result in damaged health or even death.

The following information comes from the article Why I Don’t Take (Synthetic) Vitamins.

1. Most supplements being consumed in the marketplace are synthetic vitamins which means “man-made.” It means that chemists in a lab mixed, altered, heated and sometimes even irradiated chemicals and substances to try to recreate what God made. Wonder how? Well, for vitamin B-6 (often used by pregnant women to help with morning sickness), they use petroleum ester & hydrochloric acid with formaldehyde. For vitamin D, they use irradiated animal fat/cattle brains or solvent-extracted petroleum. Does this really sound healthy? Even “all-natural” and “naturally-derived” ones can be from sources like petroleum, because petroleum occurs naturally. Many vitamins are made from GMOs, plus they contain none of the co-factors required by your body to use it.
2. Crystalline vitamins are made by treating natural foods with chemicals, solvents, and heat that destroys almost all of the co-factors and enzymes, rendering them of limited usefulness. Like the synthetics, these may have additives, allergens, sugar, artificial flavors and colors, and other potentially hazardous chemicals that imbalance body chemistry. The label of both the synthetic and crystalline vitamins is required to list the chemical name of the nutrient only, not the source from which it is derived. If no real food is mentioned in the ingredients of a supplement, this is the tip-off to a non-food source. The words “natural,” “organic,” and “pure” have no meaning whatsoever in the world of marketing vitamins. To be labeled “natural” the product has to be only 10% natural (therefore 90% synthetic) and corn sugar and tar are considered “natural.”
3. Whole food vitamins are created with only the water and fiber removed from the whole food. These are processed below 112 so the enzymes are still alive (temperatures above 118 destroy them). They are protein in nature and contain all the nutrients required by the body in a form that the body can utilize. If a major aspect of returning to health is repayment of depleted nutrients, then it makes sense to give the body the full complement of what it’s lacking—the whole nutrient picture as God intended.

Take Vitamin C, for Example

Below are Dr. Schulze's comments on synthetic vitamin C. Today, almost ALL vitamin C used in vitamin supplements is the synthetic form of vitamin C, called Ascorbic Acid. Ascorbic Acid is made by first hydrogenating genetically-modified corn sugar, then treating it with Acetone (nail polish remover), Carboxylic Acid (a chemical used to make Styrofoam), and finally bleached with Sodium Hypochlorite (household bleach)! Ascorbic Acid is made with 30-40% sugar (the #1 ingredient) and 50 more chemicals. No foods, herbs or plants – just 100% chemicals and sugar.

Dr. Schulze produces and markets a vitamin C which is a unique blend of 11 organic and wild-harvested super-herbs: Wild-Harvested Camu-Camu Berry, Organic Acerola Cherry,Organic Rose Hips, Organic Orange Pith and Peels, Organic Lemon Pith and Peels, Organic Coriander Leaf, Organic Parsley Leaf, Organic Kale Leaf, plus Strawberry, Raspberry and a hint of Habanero. Yes, we pay more for living vitamins than for dead synthetic ones. Is it worth it? Well if the statistics below show that synthetic vitamins kill and vitamins made from whole foods give life, then the answer is “yes.”

Mechanistic or Vitalistic - which is your view of the human body?

Western medicine is currently adhering to the belief that the body is a mechanical set of parts (i.e. based on Newtonian conceptualization), which is why they feel if they take out a defective part through surgery, they have done the body a favor. The alternative view is that the body is essentially an energy organism.

In E=MC², Einstein showed that energy underlies all matter. The body runs on maintaining properly balanced energy. A synthetic pill has not taken into account subtle energy fields. Chapter 5 of our book, Restoring Health Care as a Ministry is titled “Did God Make the Body ‘Mechanistic’ or ‘Vitalistic’?” and it explores this question of the body being an energy organism in depth for the interested reader.  When Jesus healed, it was with a flow of divine energy that passed from Him to those who touched Him (Mk. 5:30). I believe in energy medicine and in energized food, vitamins and drinks.

Research showing synthetic vitamins bring on early death

The carefully researched and well written blog, Vitamins and Antioxidants under Attack by Jon Barron, clearly evaluates several current vitamin studies that have made news headlines in recent weeks, and show exactly what vitamins were being tested, whether they were synthetic or whole food and whether the amount of the vitamin was anywhere near the recommended amount by natural health practitioners to actually effect healing. In this article you get a chance to carefully think through with the author how valid these studies really are, and if the headlines they generated are actually true or simply false. It is worth your time to read this article.

Generally speaking, whenever a major news article hits on a large vitamin study which proves vitamins are worthless, you can rely on a rebuttal article a month or two later from either Life Extension or Baseline of Health. They will research how the study was conducted and then give you the inside information on why it failed to show the value of vitamins. This wonderful service helps keep you from becoming confused. Generally, the study is done with synthetic vitamins, which are two low in dosage or not mixed with the proper collaborating vitamins necessary to maximize healing benefits. Sometimes the data is simply outright altered to prove their point. It is well worth your time to receive newsletters from Life Extension and Bseline of Health.

Where we purchase our food based vitamins

One way you can determine what whole food vitamins to purchase is to simply hold them in your hand or in your pocket and then test your muscle strength and see if the product is strengthening you or weakening you. Any product that is good for you will strengthen you. Any product that is bad for you will weaken you. We teach a simple, easy way of muscle testing here.

We love Patriot Power and Sports Formula. We put a scoop of each into a glass of water. Doing this three times a day will provide you the ODA (Optimum Daily Requirement) of food based vitamins.

We love the taste of Greens First drinks and have them for one meal a day. See an extended description of these Greens First drinks here.  

We also purchase vitamin C and many food enzymes from R-Garden. Every one of their products is fully natural and top quality. Their prices are good, PLUS they put 1/3 of their product line on a 50% sale every month, so you can purchase at amazing prices. We do!

At age 65 I have no aches, no pains, take no drugs, and we bike 40+ miles a week for fun and enjoyment, as well as doing MaxT3 intensive interval 12 minute exercises four times a week. We are indeed experiencing the blessed life! And we have no intention of becoming senior citizens for a good number of years yet.

A summary thought: The same health/disease principle is true when you compare processed food to whole food. Processed food shortens your lifespan. Whole organic food lengthens it.

Health begins in your spirit, works out through your soul and THEN your body.

Check out the following blogs on how to have a healthy spirit, soul and body:

• My Sheep Really Do Hear My Voice! (Physical health begins with a healthy spirit)
• Prayers That Heal the Heart (Physical health is the outworking of a healthy soul)
• Miracles PLUS Gifts of Healings - You CAN Walk in Divine Health! (A free series on health)

Articles about synthetic vitamins

1. Background Info on Synthetic vs. Natural Vitamins (Q&A)
2. New Study in Journal of American Medical Association Says Synthetic Vitamins Increase Death Risk
3. The Truth About Vitamins in Nutritional Supplements
4. Real or Synthetic: The Truth Behind Whole-Food Supplements
5. Knowing the Difference Between Natural and Synthetic Vitamins Is Vital to Good Health
6. Why I Don’t Take (Synthetic) Vitamins
7. Differences Between Synthetic and Natural Vitamins and Why Avoid Non-Food Vitamins
8. An Extra: Natural vs. Synthetic Progesterone

Disclaimer: This is a post about my personal decision not to take synthetic vitamin supplements and how I came to it. This doesn’t apply to high-quality supplements derived from real food and kept in their natural state. What I have learned and what I share is not medical advice. Each person should do their own thorough research and come to their own decision.