More people are becoming aware that some foods can help to manage health conditions, and maybe even be substituted for some medicines in the grand scheme of things. But supplements are being left out of this new awareness. Many people are still buying supplements, to promote good health, with unnatural ingredients that may do damage to health.

Natural Ingredients Absorb Better

When supplements are made from whole foods, they are absorbed better into the body. The body understands natural ingredients and can react differently to synthetic ingredients. Yet, many supplements are still being made with synthetic ingredients.

Take fish oil supplements, which are becoming more popular as the truth about Omega-3 and the benefits it offers are being uncovered. There are two types of fish oil pills: natural and synthetic ethyl ester form. Ethyl esters are a form of fats that are synthetically created by reacting ethanol with free fatty acids. The synthetic ethyl ester form is the majority of what is sold for fish oil supplements globally.

Studies have shown that the absorption of the synthetic version is not absorbed and assimilated as well as the natural version. This can put a lot of stress on the body as it tries to deal with and absorb the chemicals. What it isn’t able to use can get stored in our tissues and cells and cause problems in the long run.

“Maximal plasma levels were about 50% higher with free fatty acids and about 50% lower with ethyl esters as compared to triglycerides.” – NCBI

Natural Supplements Come With Very Few Side Effects

Taking a supplement made from whole food natural ingredients is similar to eating food. But, there is an obvious advantage – you are getting the benefits of the food, or extraction of the food, without the calories. There are very few reported side effects that can occur from natural foods, and any side effects that may result in complications with other drugs or supplements can easily be discovered.

Synthetic ingredients can come with a wide variety of side effects. In fact, you will likely hear about recalls of supplements created with synthetic ingredients due to dangers that the ingredients pose. For instance, phenolphthalein was an ingredient that was often used in weight loss supplements at one time, but has been banned in many places because there were concerns it was a carcinogenic.

Not All Natural Ingredients Are Effective

You have probably heard that some natural ingredients can be just as toxic as some synthetic chemicals, and that is absolutely true. That is why it is important to only take supplements that contain natural ingredients proven to be effective and free of side-effects.

More and more research is being done on natural ingredients and how they interact with the body, which is making it easier for consumers to buy natural supplements without worry.

In the end, if you are thinking about buying a supplement, but see a list of ingredients that you don’t recognize, you may want to look for a more natural supplement that does the same thing. Your body is not designed to take in artificial or synthetic ingredients, there is a risk of side-effects, and you may not absorb much of anything beneficial.