全天然維他命、礦物質 versus 人工合成的維他命、礦物質：

最理想的營養應該全部從新鮮、無污染、無加工的食物而來，但往往現代人於這充滿化學物質及嚴重污染的世界下，不但不能吸收足夠的營養，還吸收了不少的毒素，以致百病叢身，所以有需要從營養補充品中吸取各種營養。而維他命和礦物質的補充品可分為兩大類：全天然 ( 或全食物 ) 與 人工合成。

1) 人工合成 ( Synthetic, USP type ) 的問題：

世界上各種的食物最少由103,000種不同的植物元素 ( Phyto-nutrients ) 所組成，一個蕃茄已含有約10,000種的植物元素。而人工合成的維他命只是於實驗室裡複制天然維他命的分子結構的化合物，而食物元素是複雜的分子，並不是單一的簡單元素。如沒有清楚寫明是全食物制造，市面上的營養補充品都是人工合成的化學物質。

吸收 ( Assimilation )、保存 ( Retention )、相互作用 ( Synergy )、生物吸收率 ( Bio-availability )：

人體吸收每一種的營養元素都需要各種酵素、維他命、礦物質以及其它很多還未知的元素來幫助吸收 ( Assimilate )、利用 ( Utilize )和保存 ( Retain )，這便是相互作用 ( Synergy )。還有，維他命需要蛋白質伴侶 ( Protein Chaperones ) 來將它們運送到身體的各個細胞，人工合成的維他命沒有與蛋白質螯合 ( Non-protein-bonded vitamin ) 來幫助傳送。因此很多人工合成的維他命都註明需與食物一起服用來幫助吸收。而全食物補充品通常都註明可空肚服用，因為它們就是食物。研究顯示人體對人工合成維他命的生物吸收率 ( Bio-availability ) 只有10〜20%，所以你所吃的，並不代表實際你所吸收，更不代表你所能運用。You are NOT what you EAT but you ARE what you Assimilate, Utilize & Retain！

人工合成的維他命C只有維他命C ( Ascorbic Acid )，全食物的維他命C不單有維他命C，還有其它維他命、礦物質、酵素、Bioflavonoids等等。天然維他命E包含所有的tocopherols-alpha, beta, gamma及delta，這樣才會更有效力和吸收更強，人工合成的E只有alpha，d,l alpha tocopherol。

這是很多人工合成的維他命都註明與食物一起服用的原因，因為需要食物中的其它元素來幫助吸收。全食物的維他命和礦物質通常都註明可空肚服用，因為它們本身就是食物。

副面反應：

大量長期服用人工合成的維他命還可能有危險，很多人都知道維他命E可抗癌，但有研究顯示大量長期服用人工合成的維他命E時反而可能致癌。人體能容易處理過量全天然的營養，但對於化學合成的營養就不一樣了。

還有，人工合成的維他命可能含有人工色素、防腐劑、糖、煤焦或其它添加劑。一些人會對這些物質有過敏反應，一些甚至有腸胃不適。

人工合成的作用：

在此也需聲明，人工合成的維他命對人體是有功效的，只是比不上全食物所製造的維他命而已。

2) 全天然的營養補充品：

小心所謂天然：

小心，一些聲稱所謂天然的營養補充品實際並不是天然，請不要隨便相信。

就算真的是全天然，不一定好，如一些所謂全天然的礦物質只不過是礦石的粉末，鈣則是蠔殼的粉末，人體絕不容易去吸收這些所謂的「天然物質」。研究顯示這類礦物質有99% 是人體不能吸收的，於是一些生產商便加入消化酵素及分解物，「強迫」人體吸收這些外來物質，甚至產生毒素及過敏。

一些維他命A是從含重金屬如水銀及鉛的魚油而來。又例如維他命B-12是從死去及有菌的乾牛肝磨製而成，這些肉質充塞着種種的類固醇、抗生素、生長荷爾蒙及殺蟲劑等。有的維他命B是從煤焦及石油化合物煉製而成，更糟的維他命B-12取自污泥。這些都是全天然的物質，但對人只有害無益。

一些維他命雖是從食物中抽取出來，但經過一系列的人工加工處理後，就改變了天然的本質。如一些維他命C從糖漿、蔬菜澱粉質、精煉糖等中抽取，經過一連串的處理，最後造成抗壞血酸。

3) 食物製造的營養補充品：

用食物製造的營養補充品是上佳的選擇，但也要小心這些食物的品質。天然有機不含有害物質的食物是首選。好的食物補充品都標明從那些食物所制造，如Vit. C 100mg ( From Rosehip )。

4) 真正的全食物營養補充品：

但更好的、真正的食物補充品應該是由完整全植物、食物而來。如市面上常見增加骨質的產品都只有鈣和鎂，但可知道骨質的形成除了需要鈣和鎂外，還需要維他命A、D、硼、鋅，而某程度上磷比鎂更重要。而美國很多骨質疏鬆症的患者的血液裡都含有足夠的鈣質，但卻不能被吸收，其中的原因是缺乏矽使鈣質液化。一般食物補充品只有從食物制造的單一營養元素，如一粒丸含800 mg Calcium ( From Nettle )，就只是鈣。而全個食物和植物就不一樣，它們不是用單一元素來表示，而是用食物份量。如一粒丸是1,000 mg份量的有機芝麻和椰菜，提供約200 mg Calcium和這植物內其它自然存在的營養元素，這比只由食物制造單一元素補充品於吸收和利用方面的果效更強、更完全！

來源	估計生物吸收率 Bio-availability
人工合成 Synthetic	10 %∼20 %
食物制造 Food Supplement	30 %∼50 %
有機天然食物制造 Organic Food Supplement	Over 60 %
有機完整全食物、植物制造 Organic Complete Whole Food & Plant Supplement	Over 80 %

5) 天然與人工合成的維他命和礦物質的學名：

在此提供一些天然與人工合成的學名，幫助大家分辨真與假，作個聰明的消費者。

	天然學名或來源 Terms or Source	人工合成學名 Synthetic
Vitamin A	Carrot, Fish liver oil, Lemon grass	Acetate, Palmitate
Vitamin B Complex	Yeast, Rice bran, seaweed.	Choline bitartrate, d-biotin.
Vitamin C	Alma, Camu Camu, Rose hips, Acerola	Ascorbic acid, Calcium ascorbate, Sodium ascorbate
Vitamin D	Sunshine, Fish oil.	Calciferol or irradiated ergosterol.
Vitamin E	Tocopherol acetate, wheat germ oil.	dl-alpha tocopherol.
Calcium	Calcium carbonate, calcium lactate.	Di-cal phosphate.
Iron	Yeast, Liver, Molasses.	Ferrous fumerate, Iron lactate, Iron peptonate.
Magnesium	Yeast, Liver, Magnesium oxide.	Magnesium gluconate, Magnesium sulfate
Manganese	Manganese carbonate, Yeast, Liver.	Manganese gluconate.
Potassium	Potassium citrate.	Potassium gluconate, Potassium chloride.
Selenium	Yeast	Sodium selenite.
Zinc	Zinc oxide, Yeast, Liver.	Zinc citrate, Zinc gluconate, zinc sulfate

Whole Food Vitamins & Minerals versus Synthetic Vitamins & Minerals

Ideally all of us should get all of the nutrients we need from fresh, pollution-free & unprocessed food. However, we live in such a world with serious polluted environment & numerous chemicals. We not only can’t get adequate nutrients, but also absorb many unwanted toxins that have caused many health problems in our live. Hence, we may need to get more nutrients for detoxification & repairing from dietary supplements. For vitamins and minerals, they can be classified into two major categories: Whole Food and Synthetic.

1) Synthetic, USP type:

Synthetic vitamins are vitamins produced in laboratories from isolated chemicals that mirror their counterparts found in nature. They are just copies of molecular structures of vitamins. The real natural vitamin should be made from food. Generally speaking, all supplements that have no indication on the bottle are synthetic ones in the market.

Assimilation, Bio-availability and Retention:

All the food in the world contains at least 103,000 different phyto-nutrients or elements. A tomato already contains around 10,000 elements. Actually food will not contain only one element. For instance, synthetic vitamin C is just that, a chemical called Ascorbic Acid and nothing more, while food vitamin C contains not only the entire C complex but also other vitamins, minerals, enzymes & bioflavonoids, etc. Natural vitamin E, which includes all the tocopherols-alpha, beta, gamma and delta-not just alpha, is more powerful and easier absorbed than its synthetic form of d,l alpha tocopherol.

We need other enzymes, different vitamins, minerals and other unknown elements to absorb even only one nutrient and to utilize as well. We also need protein chaperones to deliver different nutrients to all the human cells. Chemical-derived vitamins are not protein-bonded. Food elements are complex molecules, not just a single element. Research has shown that you may absorb only 10% to 20% of the chemical-derived vitamins while you may get 80% to 90% from food vitamins. Strictly speaking, the main point is NOT what you eat, but what you absorb, what you assimilate & what you utilize. That is why many synthetic vitamins indicate that you have to take them with food to increase the absorption rate. Food supplements may be taken without food because they are food.

Synergy, Balance and Safety:

Everyone must recognize that nutrients work synergistically. This means that there is a cooperative action between certain vitamins and minerals, which work as catalysts, promoting the assimilation of other vitamin or minerals.

Taking a single vitamin or mineral in high dosage for extended period may be ineffective, or even dangerous. It is supposed taking vitamin E can prevent cancer. However, study has shown that taking synthetic vitamin E in high dosage for extended period will increase the cancer rate. Our body knows how to handle excessive food elements but not the high amount of chemicals. All the food created by God is in a perfect balanced nutrients ratio.

Moreover, synthetic supplements may contain artificial colour, preservatives, sugars, colas and other additives. Some are allergen & others cause bowel irritation.

However, we don’t mean that it is not worthy taking any synthetic supplements, just they may not act as effective, powerful and safe as food does.

2) Natural Supplements:

Be careful when they just claimed themselves natural. Some are really not.

It may not be good although they are real natural. Some claimed natural minerals are just made from ground mined ore or oyster shells. No one can assimilate these so-called real natural minerals. Study has shown we may absorb these kinds of minerals 10% only. So some manufacturers will add some enzymes to enhance the absorption rate to force you to assimilate them. But it may be just poison you or cause allergy.

Some vitamin A is made from fish oil contaminated with high heavy metal, and some vitamin B-12 is made from bacteria laden ground up dried beef livers. This vitamin meat is overloaded with steroids, growth hormones, antibiotics and pesticides. The other main source of commercial Vitamin B-12 is sewage sludge. They are all natural but just do you harm.

Some vitamins are made from food but they become synthetic after undergoing different processing. Some vitamin C extracted from corn syrup, vegetable starch、refined sugar, etc and finally become ascorbic acid after some processing.

Whole Food Supplements:

Supplements made from whole food are the best but you will have to concern the quality. Supplements made from herbicide-free, organic or wild are the first choice. Supplements made from toxic food are dangerous.

Labels:

Normally labels in whole food supplements will indicate the nutrients from which foods are made. Otherwise please enquire about it from manufacturers.

Food-based Supplements:

One type of supplement called food-based is actually made by mixing the synthetic nutrients with certain amount of foods to increase the absorption rate.

3) Terms of Natural and Synthetic Supplements:

We here provide some information about the terms of natural and synthetic supplements for easy reference.

	天然學名或來源 Terms or Source	人工合成學名 Synthetic
Vitamin A	Carrot, Fish liver oil, Lemon grass	Acetate, Palmitate
Vitamin B Complex	Yeast, Rice bran, seaweed.	Choline bitartrate, d-biotin.
Vitamin C	Alma, Camu Camu, Rose hips, Acerola	Ascorbic acid, Calcium ascorbate, Sodium ascorbate
Vitamin D	Sunshine, Fish oil.	Calciferol or irradiated ergosterol.
Vitamin E	Tocopherol acetate, wheat germ oil.	dl-alpha tocopherol.
Calcium	Calcium carbonate, calcium lactate.	Di-cal phosphate.
Iron	Yeast, Liver, Molasses.	Ferrous fumerate, Iron lactate, Iron peptonate.
Magnesium	Yeast, Liver, Magnesium oxide.	Magnesium gluconate, Magnesium sulfate
Manganese	Manganese carbonate, Yeast, Liver.	Manganese gluconate.
Potassium	Potassium citrate.	Potassium gluconate, Potassium chloride.
Selenium	Yeast	Sodium selenite.
Zinc	Zinc oxide, Yeast, Liver.	Zinc citrate, Zinc gluconate, zinc sulfate