Whole Food Supplements vs. Synthetic Supplements: 5 Things You Need to Know

Which supplements to start with—whether you’re looking for energy-boosting or aging benefits

The difference between whole food supplements and synthetic supplements matters: Here’s what you need to know

Have you ever wandered up and down the seemingly endless vitamin aisle of the grocery store, your eyes glazing over as you stare into the sea of bright blue, green, and orange bottles? You spend hours comparing lengthy labels, unfamiliar ingredients, and boasted benefits, having no idea which medley of minerals is right for you.

 When I began investigating how supplements could help promote wellness, it seemed daunting. I looked for ways to help feel rejuvenated, look my best, and boost my energy as I age, but my research was doing the opposite—if I feel drained after a “relaxing” afternoon with my girlfriends, how am I supposed to feel after an hour of staring at my computer screen, clicking back and forth between different sites that all promise to answer the question, “what supplements should I take as I age?” yet are all somehow yielding conflicting results?

Whether you work full time but are not quite ready to retire, take care of your grandchildren (who you love dearly, but are getting more difficult to chase around the house each time they visit!), or are traveling the world, in 2019 we all want to live our lives to the fullest, which can still be busy, exhausting, and stressful, even if we love the things that are tiring us out! Nobody has time to sift through the boundless world of information that the internet has to offer, so I would love to share with you the best tips, tricks, and secrets I have uncovered in my experience.

 Let’s start withingredients, and why whole food supplements are more valuable to our bodies than synthetic supplements.

 It’s no secret that our everyday diets may lack nutrition. We hear a lot of talk about sticking to a “whole food” diet in which we limit our intake of added sugars and oils, and focus on the rich nourishment we receive from plant-based meals. What you may not realize is that there are also whole food supplements and synthetic supplements, and that it is important to know the difference between the two.

 Here are 5 things to know about whole food supplements vs. synthetic   supplements before you head to the store:

1. Taking a synthetic supplement is like eating processed food

 We know that frozen dinners and salty or sugary snack foods aren’t good for our bodies, but we allow ourselves to eat those deliciously addictive potato chips despite the empty calories. This behavior is understandable—no matter how committed you are to a healthy lifestyle, everyone needs a heaping scoop of smooth and chocolatey ice cream sometimes because it’s good for the soul, as long as it is not a daily habit.

 The same cannot be said about synthetic supplements, which at the crux are supposed to be a daily habit. The only satisfaction involved with taking vitamins comes from the results you see, and while synthetic supplements still contain the key ingredients you may be searching for, they are bonded by many manufactured ingredients that provide no nutritional value.

2. Whole food supplements contain every nutrient from key ingredients

 Whole food supplements truly deliver every nutrient that you see on the label. For example, rice bran is a natural food concentrate that contains a gamut of vitamins and minerals including B6, Omega-3, iron, and magnesium, just to name a few. Rather than stripping these nutrients away, whole food supplements maintain all of these properties so you can reap every possible benefit.

1. Synthetic supplements are more difficult for your body to absorb than whole food supplements—your body may even treat synthetic supplements as toxins 

Vitamins such as A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning they need fatty acids to be properly absorbed and metabolized in the body. Synthetic forms of these particular vitamins are made in high concentrations with no fatty lipids to help our bodies process them. These synthetic vitamins then get stored in the liber, and over time can even become toxic to the body.

2. Whole food supplements naturally perform better in your body

Because the nutrients inside whole food supplements are not broken down or isolated from other ingredients that they are typically paired with in nature, our bodies know how to process these better. The enzymes, antioxidants, coenzymes, and other minerals work collectively in the same way that our bodies process them while digesting food.

3. “Whole food supplements” and “synthetic supplements” won’t always be   explicitly marked as such—this is especially true for synthetic       supplements

After all, the word “synthetic” isn’t often used to describe things we ingest, so it makes sense why those companies aren’t openly labeling their products this way. The secret is in the ingredients label. While whole food supplements will have familiar ingredients like kale, tomato, and sweet potato, synthetic supplements will have specific nutrients like vitamin C listed, most likely along with lengthy and unrecognizable\ chemical names.

 Now that you know the difference, it’s time to take whole food supplements for a spin! I love the Zurvita line of supplements because they are made with the world’s richest superfoods like rice bran, acai powder, and many more. Click here to learn more about how Zurvita uses whole foods to create supplements that promote healthy living.