Whole Food Supplements are usually balanced, complete, and better absorbed and used by the body

On this page, I explain why I usually prefer whole food supplements.

If you are looking to purchase natural health supplements of good quality, click here for what, in my view, are a few reliable online sources of effective health supplements.


Introduction

I repeatedly emphasize my preference for whole food supplements (for example, wheat grass powder) over single-substance supplements (for example, Vitamin C tablets, or Zinc capsules). There are several reasons for this.


Much less likely to suffer an overdose

Firstly, whole foods are generally safer to consume. If you take too much Vitamin A at a go, you could suffer a toxic overdose. However, it is virtually impossible to suffer an overdose while eating whole carrots, even though carrots are high in carotenes, which convert to Vitamin A in the body.


Whole foods are in their natural state

In addition, whole foods are in their natural, unprocessed state. This means they are in a form which is more bio-available, which the human body can more easily recognize, and then better absorb, assimilate and use. In this state, they are also safer.

On the flip side, many isolated single-substance supplements are produced using man-made, artificial chemicals and substances. These include disgusting substances, such as the cheap by-products of industrial waste and even, get this – sewage sludge! Are these then health supplements, or disease supplements?


Nutrients in whole foods regulate each other, offer synergy, and are balanced

Even if isolated-substance supplements are made from natural ingredients, they still cannot match up to supplements made from whole foods.

One reason why whole food supplements are safer is that whole foods often contain substances which naturally regulate each other. This lowers the chances of an overdose. For example, a particular substance in a food may be dangerous if taken in too high concentrations, but another substance may help neutralize excessive amounts which are not used by the body.

One more thing to consider is synergy. The substances in a whole food work synergistically together to enhance each others’ absorption and effectiveness. An example is one substance in a whole food helping to carry another substance in the bloodstream to various body tissues.

The various vitamins, minerals and other substances in a whole food supplement work synergistically together in a balanced fashion, according to Nature’s plan for whole foods. One example is Vitamin C. When taken as part of a whole food supplement, together with the entire complex family of bioflavonoids, flavenols and other antioxidants, the health benefits far outweigh the consumption of Vitamin C on its own.


Nutritional imbalances can harm the body

This is not well-known to most people, but taking an isolated vitamin, mineral or other such supplements can actually do more harm than good. This is because, without its natural co-factors, an isolated substance may create a nutritional imbalance in the body. This imbalance may then have the tendency to cause other substances or nutrients to be depleted or leached from the body. Ironically, long-term consumption of such isolated single-substance supplements may actually lead to certain deficiencies in the body.


Reaping the full nutritional benefits of whole foods

Whole foods contain many nutrients and substances which are not yet known and studied by Man, yet are beneficial to the body. By taking whole food supplements, you are also reaping the benefits of these health-promoting substances.


Population studies on diet, food and nutrition

When epidemiological studies are carried out on certain populations to prove the health effects of certain food substances, they are always based on the consumption of whole foods or entire diets.

When it comes to nutrition, it is difficult, if not impossible, to prove that isolated food substances promote long-term human health.


Conclusion

The points discussed above make the results of whole food supplements better than isolated-substance supplements. If your body is not accepting and using the nutrients properly, then you are probably just wasting your money and producing expensive urine. The worst case scenario would be that you are wasting your money and harming your body in the process.

Whole food supplements come from whole foods, and whole foods contain comprehensive sets of substances and nutrients, put together in a way to ensure minimal harm and maximum nutrition to the body.

Look at Nature. Can you find a Zinc leaf or a Vitamin A fruit? Never. Nutrients in food always come in packages, well designed by Nature itself. It would be wise for us to tap on Nature’s wisdom when selecting our natural health food supplements.


If you haven’t already done so, click here to read some of my thoughts on how to seek out quality natural supplements which are more likely to be safe and effective.

Click here for links to, in my opinion, reliable online sources of safe, high quality and effective natural health supplements, including herbal supplements.