Did you know that vitamins were not created to be taken alone?
It's true. Vitamins never appear in nature isolated. They are found in foods along with dozens of other vitamins, minerals, and compounds.
What you may not know is that those other components play a crucial role in how your body absorbs those vitamins. The body was designed to consume whole foods, not the isolated parts, so sometimes, when you give it the isolated parts, it doesn't know what to do with them, and they just pass on through.
This is a large reason why up to 80% of the supplements you take just pass right through your body.
Scientists don't always understand the relationship between a vitamin and its natural source. This has led to the myth that it doesn’t matter, that a vitamin can be taken in isolation and still perform its purpose in your body.
In reality, you are going to benefit far more from eating a steak than a cereal fortified with iron. In a steak, the iron is in its natural and most-absorbable form. Your body knows what to do with it.
In cereal, the iron is added, usually in the form of small iron shavings. Did you know that if you crush a bag of cereal and run a strong magnet along it, you can extract the iron shavings? Yep! See how to do it here.
Besides the fact that you’re consuming metal shavings, there are a couple problems with adding iron to cereal.
Iron absorption is reduced by a substance called phytates. Even a low level can reduce iron absorption by up to 65%. Guess where you find a high level of phytates – cereals and whole grains. Iron absorption is also hindered by calcium, which you’ll find in that milk you’re pouring over your bowl of phytates and metal shavings.
That’s just one example of one food that is sold to us as a source of a mineral that it isn’t really providing us.
What Can You Do About It?
First, the best way to meet your vitamin and mineral needs to to get them from food. Eat a varied diet heavy on fresh vegetables and fruits and healthy meats. The closer to nature a food is, the healthier it likely is for you.
Second, when choosing supplements to fill the gaps in your diet, look for supplements with ingredients that you recognize as food. Instead of listing "vitamin A, vitamin C," it should contain words like "orange, cherry, alfalfa." That way, your supplement is more likely to contain the nutrients that work together for the best absorption.
Want to learn more? Check out my previous post – Reason #1 Why Your Vitamins Aren't Working.
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