Natural vitamins are derived directly from food sources. Vitamins that are found naturally in some types of foods come with different components like enzymes, co-enzymes and co-factors. All these components work together to produce their intended biologic effects. For instance, bioflavonoids are co-factors found in Vitamin C.

The majority of vitamins that are sold in pharmacies, grocery stores and vitamin shops are synthetic vitamins. They are only isolated portions of the vitamins that occur naturally in food.

It is best to get vitamins from whole foods since they provide complete vitamins rather than fractions of them. In many cases, whole foods also provide the minerals that are necessary for optimal vitamin activity. For example, sunflower seeds are an excellent whole food source of vitamin E and the mineral selenium, which work together to create optimum health benefits.

In the last decade, research has confirmed that synthetic vitamins are dangerous, whereas the same vitamins from foods show no evidence of harm. In 1995, a direct co-relation between consumption of synthetic vitamin A and birth defects was established in a four-year study involving 22,748 pregnant women. The results showed a 240% increase in birth defects when the women took 10,000iu per day and a 400% increase in risk from taking 20,000iu per day of synthetic vitamin A. No birth defects or other risk were found in actual foods containing vitamin A. No amount of consumption of naturally occurring vitamin A, even liver containing as much as 30,000iu in three ounces, showed any evidence of contributing to birth defects.

It is best to use nutritional supplements that list actual foods as an ingredient. While some synthetic and isolated vitamins have been shown to provide minimal health benefits, on the whole, most of them cause more harm than good. Most doctors these days recommend natural vitamin sources for their patients.