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th1a90
Yahoo User
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 Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:35 pm Post subject: Difference between nutrients from supplements vs. foods? |
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| anyone know if your body distinguishes between nutrients from a supplement vs. food? if so, which one is better? (I would guess food if one is better than other) or does the body not discriminate against the source of the nutrient so that vitamin C I get from a multivitamin pill is just as good as say the same amount I would get from eating an orange.Same questions in terms of getting carbs, protein, fats from meal replacement drinks or weight gainers vs. getting them from foods. Same effect on body? |
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Larry
Yahoo User
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:23 pm Post subject: |
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| From a chemistry perspective, function follows form. If one vitamin molecule comes from a plant, and an identical vitamin molecule comes from a stainless steel vat, the two molecules will have identical behavior in your body. That's certainly true for Vitamin C. In the manufacture of Vitamin C supplements, bacteria do part of the work, and chemical engineers also do their part. A molecule of natural-source Vitamin C is indistinguishable from a molecule of partially synthetic Vitamin C. Most of the world's Vitamin C supplements come from China. In addition to the recent melamine scare over Chinese dairy products, there's been some concern about lead contamination in their multivitamins. If Chinese C contains measurable amounts of lead, it's certainly not stated on the label! Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3 are similar albeit nonidentical molecules. Obviously they both qualify as having Vitamin D activity. If you eat sardines, you get D3. If you eat mushrooms, you get D2. D2 is added to most milk in the U.S. D2 interferes with my sleep, whereas an equivalent amount of D3 does not. Synthetic Vitamin E is a 50-50 mix of left-handed and right-handed alpha tocopherol molecules. Natural alpha tocopherol is all of the same handedness. Does that make a real difference? I don't know. Many of the studies on the effects of Vitamin E have used the synthetic. Natural sources of alpha tocopherol also contain gamma tocopherol. There's been some good press on the anti-carcinogenicity of the gamma. And if you buy 'natural source' Vitamin E, you'll get a little of the gamma. For many single-item vitamin supplements, the individual dose of that vitamin is much greater than one could possibly get from ordinary food. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? My answer: Yes. The meal replacement drinks are processed food mixed with supplementary vitamins and minerals. I don't regard them as heroes or as villains. I've never tasted meal replacement drinks, and I'm not particularly motivated to do so. |
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