Canadian Health: Synthetic vitamins are not useful for your body
During junior high school, I read about neurotransmitters and how specific amino acids from protein, minerals and other nutrients serve as precursors to their formation. Neurotransmitters are hormones that transmit signals from a neuron to another across a synapse, the space between nerve cells. Our brain requires neurotransmitters to facilitate proper nerve firing, the formation of memories, and logical thinking. In preparation for my college entrance exams, the SATs, I searched for supplements to enhance my cognitive abilities and elevate my IQ. I did not know that most of the supplements I purchased from local health food stores contained synthetic vitamins and isolated nutrients. Some of the “brain powders” I consumed even contained aspartame, an artificial sweetener used as an ant poison. Many of my friends and family have also turned to supplements hoping to use nutrition as medicine. However, many of these products do very little to feed our bodies — and may even cause harm. 
The growing “nutraceutical” industry gives rise to a market filled with laboratory-made imitations that are now concentrated and dosed similar to pharmaceuticals in order to create pharmacological effects. A nutraceutical is a nutrient-like drug marketed under the blurred umbrella of “nutrition.”
Unfortunately, nutraceutical marketers are neglecting to inform consumers that vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from whole foods have and always will be the best form of nutrition for humans. Why would they want to remind you of that?
Nutraceuticals are big business. Sales of supplements, made primarily from synthetic and isolated nutrients, totaled S50.4 billion in 2010 in the US and continues to grow. Most synthetic vitamins are made by five pharmaceutical companies and then rebranded under hundreds of different labels. Centrum®, one of the largest synthetic vitamin lines, is owned and marketed by Pfizer, the largest pharmaceutical company on the planet.
High dose synthetic vitamin supplements are purported to work due to the pharmacological effect on the body — which is not the same as the nutritional effect. No whole food ever contained a high amount of a few select nutrients. For example, ascorbic acid (which the FDA allows food manufacturers to claim as Vitamin C) works well in acute infections, but can be toxic when taken longterm in high doses. Any high dosed synthetic or isolated vitamin taken longterm can lead to weakened health because the body always expects nutrients from whole food sources. Judith Decava’s The Real Truth about Vitamins and Anti-oxidants states, “synthetic thiamine (Thiamine HCL or Thiamine Mononitrate), will initially allay fatigue but will eventually cause fatigue by the buildup of pyruvic acid. This leads to the vicious cycle of thinking more and more thiamine is needed, resulting in more and more fatigue along with other accumulated complaints… Natural food-source vitamins are enzymatically alive. Man-made synthetic vitamins are dead chemicals.”
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