Natural vs Synthetic Vitamins: Why I Choose Standard Process
Confused about vitamin supplements? You're not alone.
There is so much conflicting information out there about vitamins and minerals that even healthcare professionals can get it wrong. The confusion often comes down to one key misunderstanding: the difference between synthetic vitamins and whole food vitamins.
Most studies in mainstream media evaluate the effects of synthetic vitamins only. But synthetic vitamins are not the same as the nutrients you get from whole food natural vitamins. They are isolated, man-made compounds created in laboratories—often with the help of chemicals, solvents, and high heat. These synthetic nutrients are designed to mimic the structure of natural vitamins, but they lack the full spectrum of co-factors, enzymes, and phytonutrients that exist in real food.
The problem? These studies are used to claim that "vitamins don't work," without ever testing vitamins in their whole-food form.
My Background With Standard Process
Before we go further, let me share my background. I worked for Standard Process, a whole food supplement company, traveling across North and South Carolina to educate chiropractors and naturopaths on nutrition. I learned directly from some of the top holistic practitioners in the country and helped run seminars on healing through nutrition, herbs, and foundational support.
Over the years, I witnessed one consistent truth: the human body can heal itself when given the right tools—especially high-quality, whole-food nutrients. This post is my attempt to explain the difference between synthetic and whole-food natural vitamins in a clear, honest way.
What Are Whole Food Vitamins?
Whole food vitamins are made from real food—grown in nutrient-rich soil, harvested at peak ripeness, and processed carefully to retain their full nutritional value. At Standard Process, this means cold-pressing ingredients like carrot root, beet, pea vine, wheat germ, and alfalfa from their certified organic farm. These foods contain:
Naturally occuring vitamins
Minerals
Enzymes
Antioxidants
Co-factors
Hundreds of other synergistic compounds your body needs to recognize and use the nutrients properly.
Daily Multivitamin
One example is Catalyn, Standard Process’ flagship multivitamin. It’s made from 12 whole foods and contains over 10,000 naturally occurring compounds. These aren’t synthetic extras—they're naturally part of the food matrix. That makes a huge difference in how your body absorbs and uses each nutrient.
Take carrot root, for example. According to the Handbook of Phytochemical Constituents of GRAS Herbs and Other Economic Plants, carrot root contains: alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamins C, E & K, B vitamins, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, fiber, chlorogenic acid, falcarinol, enzymes, and more.
All of these compounds work together in the body—not in isolation. Whole-food vitamins reflect that complexity.
What Are Synthetic Vitamins?
Synthetic vitamins are isolated compounds created in labs. They may be "bioidentical" to the active part of a natural vitamin, but they're missing the rest of the nutritional picture. It's like pulling one string from a spiderweb and expecting it to hold up the whole structure.
For example:
Ascorbic acid is just one component of vitamin C. In nature, it comes with bioflavonoids, rutin, copper, and tyrosinase.
Vitamin A acetate or palmitate is not the same as the full complex of carotenoids in real food.
dl-alpha tocopherol is a synthetic form of vitamin E, while natural vitamin E includes a family of tocopherols and tocotrienols.
Synthetic vitamins are often made from petroleum byproducts, coal tar, and chemically treated starches. They may contain fillers, dyes, stabilizers, and binders. And because they lack their full natural co-factors, your body may absorb a small fraction of them—or pass them through entirely.
There’s a well-known quote from a Porta-Potty cleaner in Michigan who said he often found thousands of undigested multivitamin tablets when cleaning after festivals. That visual says it all.
Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, a pioneer in biodynamic agriculture, created a visual test called a chromatogram to show the vibrancy of natural vs. synthetic substances.
Natural vs. Synthetic Vitamins
On the left: A chromatogram of a natural vitamin complex.
On the right: A chromatogram of a synthetic vitamin isolate.
The difference is not just visual—it reflects a real difference in how these substances behave biologically. The one on the left is radiant, with symmetrical energy rings and enzyme activity. The one on the right is dull, jagged, and lifeless.
Multivitamin Comparison
Example of Natural (Whole Food) Vitamin
Catalyn by Standard Process Ingredients Include: Defatted wheat germ, calcium lactate, organic carrot, organic sweet potato, nutritional yeast, bovine adrenal, bovine liver, magnesium citrate, bovine spleen, ovine spleen, bovine kidney, organic pea vine juice powder, organic alfalfa (aerial parts) juice powder, organic oat flour, sunflower lecithin, organic shiitake mushroom powder, organic reishi mushroom powder, and rice bran. Other Ingredients: Honey, glycerine, acacia fiber, ascorbic acid, calcium stearate, modified corn starch, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin A palmitate, thiamin hydrochloride, riboflavin, and cholecalciferol.
Example of Synthetic Vitamin
Centrum Adults by Pfizer Ingredients Include: Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Dibasic Calcium Phosphate, Magnesium Oxide, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Ascorbic Acid, Ferrous Fumarate, DL-alpha Tocopheryl Acetate (Vit. E), Maltodextrin. Contains <2% of: Beta-Carotene, BHT (to preserve freshness), Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Cholecalciferol (Vit. D3), Chromium Picolinate, Copper Sulfate, Corn Starch, Crospovidone, Cyanocobalamin (Vit. B12), Folic Acid, Gelatin, Magnesium Stearate, Manganese Sulfate, Modified Corn Starch, Niacinamide, Phytonadione (Vit. K), Polyethylene Glycol, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Potassium Iodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vit. B6), Riboflavin (Vit. B2), Silicon Dioxide, Sodium Ascorbate (to preserve freshness), Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenate, Talc, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vit. B1), Titanium Dioxide, Tocopherols (to preserve freshness), Vitamin A Acetate, Yellow 6 Lake, Zinc Oxide.
The difference is obvious. One is made from food; the other from a chemistry set.
Why Take Supplements?
In a perfect world, we would all get our nutrients from fresh, organic, unprocessed food grown in mineral-rich soil. But modern farming, processed diets, and environmental toxins make that nearly impossible.
Even people eating clean diets often experience gaps—low zinc, poor calcium absorption, sluggish digestion. That’s where whole-food supplementation shines. It fills in the gaps with nutrients your body recognizes and uses.
In our home, we still eat organic whole foods as the foundation—but we supplement with:
Catalyn - for general well-being and energy metabolism
Calcium Lactate - for healthy bone density and nervous system support
Tuna Omega-3 Oil - for nervous system support, inflammation, and skin health
How to Read Supplement Labels
Knowing the difference starts with knowing how to read labels. Here are some tips:
Look for Whole Food Ingredients: If a label lists carrot root, pea vine, beet, alfalfa, or similar whole foods, it’s a sign of a whole-food supplement.
Watch for Isolates: If the label lists "Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid)" or "Vitamin A acetate," it’s synthetic. These nutrients don't exist in isolated form in nature.
Beware of Salt Forms: Ingredients that end in -ate or -ide (like magnesium oxide, calcium carbonate, or niacinamide) are synthetic salt versions used for stability.
Check for "dl-" Prefixes: "dl-alpha tocopherol" is a dead giveaway of a synthetic form of vitamin E.
The Word "Natural" Means Almost Nothing: The FDA allows products with as little as 10% natural content to be labeled "natural."
The Takeaway
If you're going to invest in supplements, choose ones that come from real food. Your body knows the difference. Whole food vitamins offer the synergy, bioavailability, and complexity that synthetic isolates simply can’t replicate. Keep this in mind when looking for vitamins:
Where do these nutrients come from?
Are they truly helping my body, or just passing through?
Do I feel and see a difference?
With Standard Process, I can answer yes to all of those questions. I've seen the farm. I've met the team. I've experienced the results. I encourage you to do your own research, ask questions, and trust your instincts. Your body deserves real nourishment—from soil to supplement.
Affiliate Disclosure:
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Your support helps cover the cost and time it takes to keep this blog running, and I truly appreciate it!
Image Disclaimer:
Some images on this blog are created or enhanced using artificial intelligence (AI), including AI-generated backgrounds or fully AI-generated representations. These are for illustrative purposes only—please refer to the official Amazon product pages for accurate and up-to-date product information.
