NutraTalk Blog

Whole Foods vs. Synthetic: What Kind of Vitamins Should You Be Taking?

Posted on : August 01, 2020 by Hardy Nutritionals® No Comments

There is no doubt that absorbing vitamins the natural way—that is, through whole foods—is the best way to get your daily intake. That’s best. Period. But what happens when that option isn’t completely realistic?

It has been demonstrated that whole foods don’t always have optimum levels of essential nutrients, which means that we are often left short in our diets. Sure, we could eat more calories in order to get more vitamins and minerals, but that’s not always the healthiest route. 

As the Kresser Institute for Functional and Evolutionary Medicine points out, “research indicates that Americans are significantly deficient in many critical nutrients.” In short, they say we’re well-fed but undernourished. This could be why 92% of the population is suffering from at least one mineral vitamin deficiency. 

So what’s the solution? At Hardy Nutritionals, we believe people need a supplement, not a replacement. 

Defining Synthetic in Realistic Terms

The term "synthetic" means different things to different people. So far, the terms have no legal/regulatory definition, so depending on the definition of synthetic, you could make the case that nearly all of the ingredients in our products are "synthetic."  Even removing a vitamin from its whole food environment (an extract) can be considered synthetic.

On the other hand, you could make an equally strong and legitimate argument that most of the ingredients in Hardy Nutritionals products are completely natural. 

In light of the fact that undefined terms are essentially useless, we approach the subject another way. The Hardy Nutritionals products are intended to supplement the essential micronutrients that are found in a healthy diet. 

Our product is not designed to replace whole foods (and so the term "organic" is not any more relevant than the terms "natural" or "synthetic") but rather to increase the density of essential nutrients in the existing diet. Therefore, Hardy Nutritionals products should not be thought of or used as a food replacement but as a supplement to a healthy diet. (We define a "healthy diet" as substances known to be essential for health that the human body cannot produce on its own and therefore must be consumed.) 

The Downside of Whole Foods

Don’t get us wrong: whole foods are essential. But they may also increase your risk of exposure to pesticides, herbicides, mold biotoxins, and more. So choosing whole food vitamins might actually confront you with more chemicals.

For example, in a study published last year, researchers found that, over the past two decades, “variable amounts of contaminants were reported in a significant number of commercially available food supplements.”

In addition, the amount of nutrients in these whole food vitamins, compared to Daily Essential Nutrients, falls flat. No other company gives such high doses or such a complete array of micronutrients as Hardy's does, and our published research proves how vital that is to our health. Plus, the levels in our supplements are all well within safety levels established by the Institute of Medicine.

This begs the question, how good are the nutrients being used to enrich our foods?

The iron used to enrich breakfast cereals is often in the form of very fine iron filings (iron oxide), and when that cereal is digested with acid, these iron filings are often visible. Some companies describe how they puree the foods, enrich them with nutrients, then dry them out and grind them to powder. After going through this process, companies tend to claim that the nutrients are in food form; but the reality is that those enriching nutrients may not have improved the food much at all, depending on their bioavailability.

There is no doubt that whole food supplements many contain desirable macronutrients such as protein, fat, carbohydrate, and various non-essential phytonutrients like polyphenols, non-vitamin carotenoids, and lycopene. However, the argument can be made that if additional vitamins and minerals need to be added to processed “whole food” supplements for potency. Then why not stop paying for the processed whole food and supplement your diet with potent broad-spectrum micronutrients such as Hardy Nutritionals Daily Essential Nutrients or Optimal Balance?

Why You Should Choose Hardy’s

Overall, Hardy offers a wide range of products that have been proven to work. With over thirty published independent studies, third-party (independent) researchers have found that the levels of micronutrients offered in our supplements are actually what the body needs to perform optimally.

But don’t just take our word for it. 

Check out our testimonials to see how Hardy Nutritionals has helped people all over the world overcome mood and mental health symptoms, with no side effects. That’s why healthcare professionals worldwide have been recommending our micronutrients to their patients for years. 

Hardy Nutritionals® multivitamin-mineral products are powered by our proprietary NutraTek™ mineral delivery technology, which combines each mineral with specialized organic molecules—just like nature—to optimize absorption and distribution to body cells. Our flagship supplement, Daily Essential Nutrients, is widely considered to be the most research-backed micronutrient treatment.
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