It doesn't matter how you try, vitamin supplements cannot match the combinations of compounds in whole foods. Nutrients that are taken together as a whole (minimally processed) food, contain substances that are synergistic, producing a stronger effect than any of the individual nutritents does on its own, says Rui Hai Liu - Cornell University Food Scientist

Liu and his colleagues came to their conclustion after years of studying more than 8,000 antioxidants and other chemicals found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. They found that because the nutrients (antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, etc.) differ in their molecular size, polarity and solubility, they produce a powerful natural combination that is more biologically available to human cells, organs and tissues than any single or combination of nutrients in the form of a pill.

For example, one medium apple has only 6 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C, but it has enough other antioxidants (quercetin, procyanidins, carcchin and epicatcchin, etc.) to produce as much antioxidant activity as 1,500 mg of vitamin C supplement. It would appear that nature knows what it's doing. And it also appears that food and supplement manufacturers who boast of their scientific acuity and prowess haven't a clue. They refine and process foods stripping away all of the enzymes, vitamins, minerals, co-factors, buffers, synergists, fiber and antioxidants until they end up with a sterile white powder, then they add a dozen vitamins and minerals and call their product "enriched". So 'Wonder bread' is enriched with12 vitamins and minerals, what about the other 7,988 that they stripped away?

I am convinced that most people take vitamins and supplements out of fear. They take them because they are afraid not to. Afraid they might be missing something. You read an article or watch the News and hear of the latest scientific discovery of some chemical that is in your body or your food that has now been synthesized so that we can take it as a pill. You've got to have it. And of course, after two or three weeks, it gets religated to the cupboard along with the other half used bottles. Too many of us spend far too much money on supplements that just don't live up to their promises. The issue here is that the nutrients we ingest as supplements were never meant to be taken in isolation. Our physical bodies are designed to eat food. Whole food - not fragmented, isolated compounds that have been manipulated, processed and sterilized. This is not to say that all of the non-whole food supplements are of no value. Many do help. But I will say that no supplement (vitamin, mineral, herbal or chemical) can make up for a poor diet. Too many of you eat junk and think you can be forgiven by drinking a chocolate shake laden with megadoses of synthesized nutrients! You can do that, but don't expect health to be the result. You really can't fool Mother Nature. Science, technology and medicine will continue to try to find the magic pill, the elusive gene that makes us fat, or that medical procedure that will reverse the consequences of our poor choices, but there will never to a shortcut to health.

A couple of years ago, I had a company boast that their supplements were made and formulated by 75 scientists balancing all of the vitamins and minerals perfectly. They asserted they were the best supplements anywhere. I disagreed with them and told them that my vitamin/mineral supplement was designed and perfected by Nature and contained nothing but whole foods with all of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, including everything science has discovered and has not yet discovered. In addition, these nutrients are in perfect balance, in the precise ratio and form to be best absorbed and assimilated by the body. Herbs are nothing more than natural whole foods in forms that are perfectly designed for the inhabitants of this planet. Our Earth's Nutrition and our new antioxidant drink, Bountiful Blend are rich sources of whole foods that are naturally high in nutients and in perfect balance with nature and our needs.

~ Dr. Kyle D. Christensen D.C. ~

"Herbal first Aid is insightful, clear, and an easy to follow resource book on herbs. It covers herbal lifesaving techniques, storage of herbal remedies and ancient herbal wisdom. This book is a must for alternative health practitioners and I am looking forward to having it in my collection of books on remedies and first aid". - Ellen w. Cutler, D.C. Author of The Food Allergy Cure