Food vs Supplements
Numerous studies have shown that there is a difference between nutrients derived from food versus nutrients derived from supplements and that sometimes there are distinct disadvantages to using supplements.
Yet there are definite healthy uses of supplements, both food-based and synthetic.
So how do you know when it's appropriate to use supplements versus getting your nutrients from food? And when are synthetic supplements OK to use?
In general, it is better to get nutrients from food and/or food-based supplements because nutrients from food and food-based supplements come in their completely natural form, amid and entourage of other nutrients--known and unknown--all complementing one another's functions in ways that we do not yet fully understand.
And isolated nutrients, especially if they are synthetic can create imbalances.
A key example is vitamin E. Synthetic vitamin E is usually just one form of vitamin E, whereas vitamin E has multiple forms in food. Taking the one synthetic form of vitamin E appears to compete with other forms of vitamin E and create vitamin E imbalance in the body.
Beta carotene is another example of a supplement that should not be taken in a synthetic form because it has been associated with unfavorable health outcomes in studies.
But sometimes people cannot get enough of certain nutrients from food, and with certain nutrients it can be safe to use supplements.
This is especially true with minerals.
Once you become deficient in certain minerals, it can be challenging to replenish them just by eating food.
Magnesium is probably the best example of a mineral that is difficult to replenish from food alone if you are substantially deficient, and many of us are.
On the other hand, copper is probably best obtained from foods rich in copper, especially those that have been less affected by the dramatic declines in copper in food crops, such as liver, nuts and seeds, spirulina, and shiitake mushrooms.
Whether supplements are appropriate for a given nutrient depends on which nutrient it is, how deficient you are, and your particular genetic makeup.
Genetic variants can affect how efficient you are at absorbing, transporting, and utilizing various nutrients.
Unfortunately, most people self-prscribe supplements without knowing much about their nutrient status, their genetics, how nutrients interact with one another, or how their health condition or current nutrient imbalances should inform their supplementation.
This can sometimes ceate serious problems.
For ecample, oversupplementing with B12 can create lithium deficiecy, making the NMDA receptor in the brain more sensitive to the excittory neurotransmitter glutamate. Tthis can lead to headaches, anxiety, and even psychosis.
Taking too much B6 can cause neuropathy, and in people with a certain genetic variant can lead to high levels of glutamate and sulfite.
Taking iron when the issue is not the total amount of iron in the body, but rather how it is getting regulated, can promote oxidative stress and elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease.
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