Vitamins are great, right? We need them to survive and thrive—but it turns out that we might not need quite as many as pop culture suggests. Synthetic vitamins abound in everything from meal replacements to regular supplements—but what are synthetic vitamins, and do they work in Poplar Bluff, MO?

What are synthetic vitamins?

Regular vitamins—the type you get from food—are 13 organic chemicals that are normally found in the body. If you regularly take multivitamins, you’re getting those 13 chemicals plus minerals, which help your body operate properly. From preventing scurvy to improving bone health, vitamins are important.

Synthetic vitamins are identical to the organic vitamins you get from your food, except that they were recreated in a lab, not in a piece of citrus fruit. The problem with only getting your nutrients from supplements is that you’re missing out on other major dietary benefits, like fiber. In other words, synthetic vitamins can help if you’re in a nutritional void, but it’s always better to get your nutrition straight from the food you eat. (Score one for salad.)

Should I use synthetic vitamins?

Generally, you can’t get all of your nutritional needs from synthetic vitamins or meal replacements, so you’re going to have to consume some healthy food. However, if you have trouble getting enough of one particular vitamin, it’s smart to use synthetic vitamins to help make up that deficiency.

You should also be aware that no matter how healthy a food is, if it’s processed, it likely is missing a lot of the natural vitamins that make it good for you. Many companies add synthetic vitamins during or after processing to replace those missing vitamins, so you’re probably consuming synthetic vitamins on a regular basis, unless you make every single meal and beverage from scratch.

Another major problem is that just because a supplement says it has 1,000 percent of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C per serving, it doesn’t mean it actually does. There have been numerous recent lawsuits where plaintiffs have discovered that their supplements aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. If you’re wondering where the FDA is in all of this, they are legally unable to pass standards for vitamins and supplements.

So, what are you to do, if you don’t have the time or inclination to eat all-organic, fresh and home-cooked meals? In that case, synthetic vitamins in Poplar Bluff, MO are just fine, within reason. You should talk to your doctor about which supplements you can safely take and how much. Many supplements overload you with vitamins, and “more” does not necessarily equal “better.” In a lot of cases, excess vitamins exit the body when you urinate, making for a very expensive bathroom visit.

The bottom line is that there’s nothing wrong with synthetic vitamins, especially if you’re having trouble meeting a nutritional need from food alone—but whenever you can get vitamins from food, you should.

For a selection of high-quality organic foods and supplements, pay a visit to The Bee Hive Natural Foods today.