By Dr. Royal Lee
Summary: Perhaps the most succinct explanation ever of why natural vitamins and synthetic vitamins are entirely different entities. Natural vitamins, i.e. vitamins as they are found in food, are complexes of associated compounds that act together synergistically to deliver a nutritive effect. In turn, they require minerals—in organic form—to activate them. All these things are found in whole foods. Synthetic vitamins, on the other hand, consist of a single compound of a natural vitamin complex that has been arbitrarily deemed the "most active" and either isolated from the food or, worse, synthesized in the lab. Dr. Lee asks, "How can a single factor be isolated from a complex...and be justifiably sold with the claim that it is equal?" It can't. However, he warns, "do not infer from this that synthetic vitamins have no effect. They do have drug effects—pharmacological actions that may or may not have much in common with the normal nutritional action." In a country where over half the population takes synthetic vitamins, the implications of this paper are astounding. Circa 1954.
View PDF: Synthetic vs. Natural Vitamins
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