Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 18:06:06 -0500
Subject: Synthetic/Health Food/Whole Food - Vitamin
Explanation
NATURAL VITAMINS ARE SUPERIOR TO SYNTHETIC VITAMINS
by Frank M. Painter, D.C.
I get many questions from my patients, and from the Shaklee field, regarding the "difference" between vitamins.
There are really only 3 types of vitamins:
1. Synthetic: These are the kind you get from Walgreens. Open the cap
and smell them--- YUCK!...they smell just like what they are made from---coal tar, the same sludge you'd find in the bottom
of a barrel of oil. Oil is a great (and cheap) source for the carbon atoms which make up all organic (living) matter.
2. Natural: This is the kind of vitamin that you'd find in the "health food" store. By FDA regulations, they
are required to have a certain percentage of the product (like 25%) come from a "natural" (or plant) source The
rest of the product can be a filler, from sawdust, to who knows what!
There's a lot of pressure on the FDA
to tighten up the standards of regulation, and I'm thrilled! When that happens, many of the suppliers will disappear,
because they won't be able to compete with the premium grade suppliers. My sister Anne showed me a bottle of Ginseng she
bought...100 tablets for $2.98 I'd love to see the assay on that bottle!
3. Whole Food: This is the product
that Shaklee produces. Rather than selling ascorbic acid, and passing it off as Vitamin C, they have found a way to put everything
that you'd find in the orange into their vitamin. The natural orange has ascorbic acid, and also includes the bioflavonoid
complex, and "rose hips".
The next question is usually based on some comment they heard (from a reliable
source) that synthetic vitamins are just as good as "natural"vitamins. I don't want to get into a prolonged
discussion about biochemical properties, electron spins and stereo-isomers. Suffice it to say that, generations lived on this
planet eating plants and vegetables. This is still the best source of our nutrition. It's almost impossible to eat the
number of servings suggested by the "food guide pyramid". Surveys suggest that only 4% of Americans actually eat
that way! And, all that food only supplies you with enough vitamins to prevent a completely healthy person from getting a
"deficit" disease like the "rickets". It's NOT enough for a healthy growing child, pregnant woman
or an unhealthy anybody!
So...here's an abstract on Vitamin E, which showed that "natural" Vitamin
E was twice as available to the body as synthetic Vitamin E was. I will continue to add other abstracts about the superiority
of food-based vitamins as I am able to find them!
Human plasma and tissue alpha-tocopherol concentrations in response
to supplementation with deuterated natural and synthetic vitamin E American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1998; 67: 669-684
We report a comparison of natural and synthetic vitamin E in humans using deuterium labeling to permit the two forms of vitamin
E to be measured independently in plasma and tissues of each subject. Differences in natural and synthetic vitamin E concentrations
were measured directly under equal dosage conditions using an equimolar mixture of deuterated RRR-alpha- tocopheryl acetate
and all-rac-alpha-tocopheryl acetate. Two groups of five adults took 30 mg of the mixture as a single dose and as eight consecutive
daily doses, respectively. After a 1-mo interval the schedule was repeated but with a 10- fold higher dose (ie, 300 mg). In
each case, the ratio of plasma d3-RRR- alpha-tocopherol to d6-all-rac-alpha-tocopherol (RRR:rac) increased from approximately
1.5-1.8 to approximately 2 after dosing ended.
In an elective surgery study in which 22 patients were given 150
mg/d for up to 41 d before surgery, the RRR:rac in tissues was lower than in plasma and the percentage of deuterated alpha-tocopherol
was lower in all tissues except gallbladder and liver. In a terminally ill patient given 30 mg/d for 361 d, plasma and tissue
(x+/-SD) RRR-rac ratios (and % deuterated alpha-tocopherol) at autopsy were 2.06 (6.3%) and 1.71+/- 0.24 (5.9+/-2.2%), respectively.
In a second terminally ill patient given 300 mg/d for 615 d, the corresponding values were 2.11 (68%) and 2.01+/-0.17
(65+/-10%), respectively. The results indicated that natural vitamin E has roughly twice the availability of synthetic vitamin
E. This 2:1 ratio is significantly higher than the currently accepted RRR:rac of 1.36:1.00. Gamma-Tocopherol, expressed as
a fraction of total unlabeled tocopherols in 15 elective surgery patients, was
1.4-4.6 (mean: 2.6) times greater
in adipose tissue, muscle, skin, and vein than in plasma, which is a substantially larger fraction than had been recognized
previously.
Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 12:58:25 -0600
Subject: Natural v. Synthetic .. BIG DIFFERENCE
Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 2:23 PM
Subject: Natural v. Synthetic .. BIG DIFFERENCE
My father is
a retired organic chemistry professor. Over the years we have had a number of discussions about natural versus synthetic vitamins.
I have written below some of the Father's-wisdom-passed-down-to-his-son that I have learned from him. I sent this to him
to check to see that I got it right and I got the Professor Dad seal of approval. So, here is a little chemistry lesson (followed
by an email I received recently).
- Jeff Sanborn
=================================
Sometimes you will
have a discussion of the difference between natural and synthetic vitamins. There are many differences, but just one of them
is known as "stereoisomerism." Stereoisomerism is the property of molecules that allows molecules with identical
formulas and similar structures to have different forms.
In nature, there are enzymes that contribute to the process
of forming complex nutrients. In a laboratory, the enzymes are not present so that all forms of a vitamin or nutrient can
be formed in equal amounts. Some such nutrients will have two forms. Alpha tocopherol acetate is one such nutrient and is
one of many forms of Vitamin E. On a vitamin label the artificial form is revealed when the ingredient is listed as dl-alpha
tocopherol acetate. The "d" is for dextrorototory and the "l" is for levorototory (which refers to the
effect that each form has on the rotation of polarized light in a testing instrument, either rotating it to the left or the
right). The "dl" tells you that there is 50% of the "d-form" of the vitamin and 50% of the "l-form,"
which are referred to as the right-handed and left-handed forms, respectively. The right-handed form of the d-alpha tocopherol
is readily useable by the body as the enzymes in the body will match the molecule like a right hand in a right glove. The
human body will have less use for the left-handed form. Furthermore, the left-handed form may attempt to combine with the
right-handed enzymes and interfere with the ability of the right-handed forms to do so, thereby diminishing the ability of
the right-handed form to do its job.
This left- and right-handed analogy is very apt. The molecules are exact duplicates
of each other except that they are mirror-images of each other, just like your hands. The molecules are said to be "stereoisomers"
of each other.
In nature, the enzymes typically guide the production of the vitamins so that only one version of
it are present. There are notable exceptions, such as dl-methionine, an amino acid that is present in beans; the human body
has enzymes to digest both forms. Sometimes the d-form is the natural form of a particular nutrient and sometimes the l-form
is the natural form.
Another example of stereoisomerism is when a molecule is labeled "cis" or "trans."
One example of the difference that this can make is in some fatty acids. Cis-fatty acids are good for you. Trans-fatty acids
lead to heart disease. The difference between the two forms is as simple as a "twist." In the cis- form of a fatty
acid, the molecule doubles back on itself somewhat. In the trans-fatty acids, there is a point in the molecule at which a
portion of the molecule is rotated so that rather than looking like a horseshoe, it looks like the white part of the Shaklee
logo (the line between the green and the blue portions). Because it is flatter, the molecules can easily stack on top of each
other and form plaques. These plaques lead to heart disease.
These concepts are important in research. Which stereoisomer
is used can affect the outcome of the study. For example, if a study is conducted to determine whether Vitamin E prevents
a particular disease, its validity is questionable if the dl-form is used.
The different stereoisomers can mean
the difference between health and illness. For example, fumaric acid is an intermediate in carbohydrate metabolism and has
a trans stereoformula. Its cis isomer is maleic acid and is poisonous.
This is just the barest introduction to
the concept of stereoisomerism. This subject can be very complex. Some molecules have many forms, not just two, and each form
may have different properties.
At any rate, I know that Shaklee's products are all guaranteed to give better
health and in the end that is all one really needs to know. But isn't it neat to know this stuff anyway?
-
Jeff Sanborn
---------------------------------------
Here is an email discussing these concepts and others
that I received.
SYNTHETIC VS. NATURAL VITAMINS
"Nutrients can have many different forms. Some
are biologically more active than others. It is necessary to know how the body uses the different rms." ... "Nutrients
are the building blocks of our body and our health generally reflects the quality of these building blocks."
* Natural vitamins can be deposited in the tissues more effectively.
* Natural vitamin C (derived from food)
has accessory factors, including other vitamins, trace minerals, enzymes, co-enzymes and other nutrients. In combination with
the vitamin C and with each other can exert marked effects and determine the degree of vitamin C bioavailability.
* Synthetic vitamin C is incapable of promoting capillary health.
* Natural vitamin C are not likely to over-
stimulate the glandular system as would the same amount from concentrated synthetic ones.
* Pure synthetic riboflavin
does not necessarily result in higher tissue absorption of the vitamin. It may exceed the kidney threshold, with the [synthetic]
riboflavin merely excreted in the urine.
* Synthetic folic acid can provoke allergic responses and epileptic convulsions,
whereas folates from foods do not.
* Folic acid is well absorbed from the gut, but the metabolic conversion process
to the active form requires the presence of other B complex fractions: B3 and B6.
* Natural sources of beta-carotene
consist of about one-third 9-cis beta-carotene, which is thought to act as an antioxidant with fats more efficiently than
all-trans beta-carotene, the synthetic form.
* The synthetic form is only one of many stereoisomers (molecules
whose three- dimensional arrangements differ).
* In studies, only the natural form of beta carotene was effective
in reducing the inflammation or dysplasia (abnormal growth of organs, tissues, or cells)."
* Supplementing
with only one carotenoid may lead to deficiencies of the others, such as lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, etc.
* Naturally
derived vitamin E supplements have been found to be twice as potent as the synthetically derived ones and natural vitamin
E are fully recognized and utilized by the body.
* Synthetic sources, from petroleum, contain some substances that
the body does not recognize as vitamin E. Source: Consumer's Research, vol. 84, No. 4 & 6.
Other Factors
to Consider in Choosing Food Supplements:
* Another important consideration is the method of processing. High
heat process is cheap but it destroys the enzymes and other heat-sensitive phytochemicals that are naturally found in nature
and which make the vitamins more bioavailable. These food supplements are usually found in health food stores.
*
The FDA allows "Natural" to be written on a bottle of vitamins even if there is only 10% natural ingredients and
90% synthetic.
* The FDA does not have any guidelines for the vitamin/herbal industry.
* The B vitamins
should be in balance. It does not mean that all of the Bs are of the same amount, such as 50 mg or 75 mg of all of the Bs.
There is no reason for the large and equal amount of all of the Bs. "Companies jacked up B-vitamins to a round but
irrelevant number... such as 75 mg of all the Bs...as a clever marketing tool. "Nutrition Action Magazine dated 4/00.
An excess of one B relative to the others will lead to the excretion of the other Bs. Just like our fingers, they vary in
size and length so as we can grasp things better. The cheap vitamins typically skimp on Biotin and Folic Acid while providing
large amounts of the cheap vitamins.
SHAKLEE PRODUCTS ARE CREATED BY NATURE: Food-based supplements with phytochemicals
and other natural cofactors found in food; low-heat nutrient extraction protects natural enzymes and vitamins; as many as
176 separate tests for purity, freshness, potency and safety on raw ingredients alone!
PERFECTED BY SCIENCE: Extensive
clinical research by third parties backs every claim; over $150 million spent on product research and development!; more than
80 scientific abstracts and articles published in prestigious medical and nutritional journals in this past decade alone!;
Shaklee has 150 scientists on its staff and a Scientific Advisory Board, consist of the leading health scientists in America;
NO ANIMAL TESTING!
