treat. While researchers have found for decades that consumption of
fruits and vegetables significantly decrease the risk of many diseases,
most studies have concluded that dietary supplements containing the
same vitamins and minerals do not.
Natural vs. Synthetic
Consumers of dietary supplements are often confused as to what is a
truly “natural” product and what is not. Many synthetic vitamins are
erroneously referred to as “natural” because their chemical structures
are sometimes identical or similar to the real thing. Even if you don’t
take a daily vitamin pill, you’re probably eating some synthetic vita-
mins. They are added to breads, cereals and almost all packaged
foods that are “fortified,” as mandated by federal law since 1939.
Another good reason to avoid processed and packaged foods.
As noted above, high-dose, synthetic dietary supplements occa-
sionally may be useful, and under certain circumstances I have rec-
ommended these to patients for many years. These products can be
useful in specific health conditions, serve as a stepping stone while
you improve your diet to include the nutrients you’re lacking, and
can treat certain genetic conditions.
Isolated vs. the Whole-Food Complex
Another problem with most dietary supplements, even those made
from natural nutrients, is that they have been isolated from their
whole-food complexes. Not only is this quite unnatural, but in many
cases the nutrients left behind are more potent therapeutically than
the one that is isolated. A common example is alpha-tocopherol, also
called vitamin E. Alpha-tocopherol does not normally exist alone in
nature but occurs with three other tocopherols — beta, delta and
gamma — and four tocotrienols — alpha, beta, delta and gamma.
Together these seven other components of the vitamin E “complex”
can be more important than alpha-tocopherol alone. For example,
gamma-tocopherol is commonly found in natural foods and is more
effective than alpha-tocopherol as an antioxidant. The common use of
alpha-tocopherol supplements can be a problem since popular doses
of alpha-tocopherol can displace gamma-tocopherol in the body, low-
ering the overall oxidative protection of the vitamin E complex.
134 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH