Why You Should Include Supplements in Your Daily Routine

Natural vs Synthetic Nutrients

Multivitamins are considered synthetic nutrients, and generally speaking, about half of the United States population relies on a vitamin for the majority of their nutrient needs. However, there has been a lot of talk more recently about the benefits of choosing a synthetic supplement when natural nutrients can be found. The point isn’t to argue about which form of vitamins or minerals you should consume but to stress the importance of getting the proper nutrition. While a plant-based supplement offers some advantages, the goal of all dietary extras should be to improve your overall health and well-being.

With natural nutrients, you rely on whole food sources consumed within the diet to provide the nutrients your body needs. With synthetic sources, nutrients are artificially manufactured through an industrial process. The synthetic supplements don’t include dehydrated whole foods that have been converted in pill, liquid, or powder form. However, the most common selections for minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins are synthetically made and designed to replicate what natural nutrients would do for the body. Checking the label can help you tell which category your supplement falls into. If a food source is listed or it is labeled as 100 percent plant or animal-based, much like the products GundryMD on Instagram carries, it is considered natural. If the list has nutrients labeled individually, it is most like the compound is synthetic. Take the time to see which supplement is made best for your body and its needs.

What’s the Deal?

Most people generally accept a reality that synthesized nutrients are identical to those found in food and equally effective. While the two forms of nutrition might share a similar structure, the production process in synthetics introduces new unknowns to the body, with regard to the differences in the ways animals and plants create nutrients for the human body. The body might have difficulty absorbing the synthesized nutrients with as much potency than if it were naturally sourced. Some studies are showing that certain supplements or synthetic nutrients are more easily absorbed than others. This goes back to the comparison between the body’s natural response to natural elements. When you eat your food, your body isn’t just receiving a single nutrient. There is a wide range of co-factors, minerals, enzymes, and vitamins that the body absorbs and assimilates. Synthetic nutrients don’t often have the benefit of additional compounds, creating a more isolated body response. Research with vitamin E shows that the natural form is absorbed twice as quickly as a synthesized version.

Benefits of Supplements

The plant-based or animal-sourced supplements have natural properties, and are linked to helping manage and prevent heart disease, lower the risk for diabetes and cancer, and can help avoid premature death. The wide range of vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber, antioxidants and fatty acids found in whole foods have supported all of these claims. Fruits and vegetables provide the body with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, but more importantly, plant compounds are thought to bring several other health benefits. The higher the intake of plant-sourced compounds, the lower the risk of cancer, arthritis, heart disease, liver and kidney disease, most IBD conditions, and some brain disorders. It is also linked to improvements in blood sugar control, reduced oxidative stress, and lowering blood pressure. For each full portion of a fruit or vegetable compound consumed, the overall risk of heart disease is lowered by up to seven percent.

Taking an animal or plant-based supplement seems to have the best positive effect on your body’s health. Choose your nutrients carefully, but make an effort to be more conscious of your health. Take the time to look into what will benefit your life the most in the long run, and don't be scared to consult your physician about what they would recommend for you based on your health history and body type.