Oil vs. Dry or Water-Soluble
The oil-soluble vitamins, such as A, D, E, and K, are available and advisable in “dry” or water-soluble form for people who tend to get upset stomachs from oil, for acne sufferers or anyone with a skin condition where oil ingestion is not advised, and for dieters who have cut most of the fat from their meals.(Fat-soluble vitamins need fat for proper assimilation. If you’re on a low-fat diet and taking A, D, E, or supplements, I suggest you use the dry form.)
Synthetic vs. Natural and Inorganic vs. Organic
Synthetic vitamins might be less likely to upset your budget but not your stomach.
When I’masked if there’s a difference between synthetic and natural vitamins, I usually say only one—and that’s to you. Though synthetic vitamins and minerals have produced satisfactory results, the benefits from natural vitamins, on a variety of levels, surpass them. Chemical analysis of both might appear the
same, but there’s more to natural vitamins because there’s more to those substances in nature.
Synthetic vitamin C is just that, ascorbic acid and nothing more. Natural
C from rose hips contains bioflavonoids, the entire C complex, which make
the C much more effective.
Natural vitamin E, which can include all the tocopherols, not just alpha, is more potent and better absorbed than its synthetic double.
According to Dr. Theron G. Randolph, noted allergist: A synthetically derived substance may cause a reaction in a chemically susceptible person
when the same material of natural origin is tolerated, despite the two substances having identical chemical structures.
On the other hand, people who are allergic to pollen could experience an
undesirable reaction to a natural vitamin C that had possible pollen impurities.
Nonetheless, as many who have tried both can attest, there are fewer gas-
trointestinal upsets with natural supplements, and far fewer toxic reactions when taken in higher than recommended dosage.
The difference between inorganic and organic is not the same as the one
between synthetic and natural, though that is the common misconception. All
vitamins are organic. They are substances containing carbon.
