Did you know that vitamins and other dietary supplements are a part of a $30 billion industry annually just in the United States alone? Many people are not getting the nutrients that their body needs to function at its best from their diet alone so they reach for supplementation to help bridge the nutritional gap. Today, more than half of the U.S. population relies on synthetic nutrients to help meet the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) daily, however the truth is that many of these supplements are not created equal.
The vitamin market is flooded with different tablets, powders, gummies and capsules that all claim to help with one thing or another, however in many cases, these synthetic supplements are created from questionable sources that come from a lab full of chemicals. Synthetic nutrients – also known as isolated nutrients – are made artificially in an industrial process and don’t include any natural whole food nutrients like plant based vitamins do.
What are Plant Based Vitamins?
If you are trying to figure out what plant based vitamins are then you are not alone! Many people are under the impression that vitamins either come from food or are only synthetically created from a lab. However, this could not be further from the truth. Simply put, vitamins that are made with ingredients that come from all natural whole foods from the ground rather than a chemical lab are plant based vitamins. Some of the best ingredients to make these super plant based vitamins include:
- Chlorella
- Pumpkin seeds
- Ashwagandha herb
- Curry leaves
- Coconut
- Mushrooms
- Chickpeas
- Spirulina
- Chia seeds
- Dates
- Sea minerals
- Quinoa
- Red algae
Okay, so how do they work?
That is a great question! Your body was never designed to absorb synthetic ingredients. It was designed to absorb nutrients from all natural ingredients. Think about it this way, your hunter-gatherer ancestors didn’t cultivate chemicals in a lab to create a synthetic multivitamin. Instead, they searched for their food and found the nutrients that their body needed from vegetables, fruits, seeds, leaves and other botanical ingredients.
Believe it or not, but your body is extremely smart. It knows the difference between synthetic nutrients and natural nutrients. This means that when you consume natural ingredients like plant based vitamins, it will absorb much better into your body giving you a much better benefit than a synthetic vitamin. Here are some of the most popular benefits of plant based vitamins:
- Lower toxicity risk – vitamins and minerals are extremely good for you but too much of anything is not always better! Plant based vitamins come with a lower toxicity risk from minerals than synthetic supplements because the ingredients come from natural food sources.
- Better bioavailability – simply put, bioavailability refers to how easily the body can absorb any given vitamin or mineral.
- All natural – like we mentioned, plant based vitamins are made from natural ingredients. They do not have any harmful derivatives, added sugar,synthetic colorants, or toxic chemicals that are commonly found in synthetic supplmenets.
So, are plant based vitamins safe? The answer is: yes! Plant based vitamins come from all natural sources to work naturally with your body- not against it. The body does not fully absorb synthetic nutrients so purchasing anything other than plant based vitamins is like essentially throwing your money out the window.
Vitamins are extremely beneficial, but like we mentioned, not all supplements are created equal. If you are looking to improve your health, then we highly suggest reaching for a plant based vitamin. They offer better bioavailability, have a lower toxicity risk, and are all natural to help support your active and healthy lifestyle!