Are Whole Food Supplements the New Vitamin?

The much-touted the benefits of whole foods — foods that remain in their least-processed state — could change the way healthy eaters approach their intake of vitamins and supplements.

Like all exciting news, this one includes controversy, with medical studies suggesting that many commonplace vitamins not only are void of health benefits, but may actually do damage.

During a field trip Monday to a whole food supplement company based in Wisconsin, I had the chance to see first-hand how organic supplements, an alternative to the synthetic vitamins purchased at most places, actually are made.

In a sense, the concept behind these supplements could be compared to whole grains versus refined flour, or an apple versus an apple pie; unlike fortified foods, which were stripped down in processing and have synthetic or isolated versions of nutrients added, whole foods include the natural array of beneficial fiber, phytochemicals and compounds provided by nature.

We all know that many busy adults, parents and oftentimes their families take multivitamins or other supplements. But there is much literature available with conflicting views on popular supplements, most of which contain a variety of scientifically isolated or synthetically created forms of nutrients.

Whole food supplement companies take a different approach. Instead of trying to pull out the "best" parts of a vegetable or grain, they include all the original parts, concentrating the varieties at the peak of nutrition.

As a student with Logan College of Chiropractic, we visited Standard Process whole food supplement company in Wisconsin.

I had some reservations travelling there having read an article in the most recent Oprah Magazine about a woman testing water around Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), also known as factory farms.

Thankfully, our tour of Standard Process plant and farm was a starkly different image than that put in mind by my recent reading. The entire production plant and the organic farm that Standard Process sources from looked extremely clean. They also are under the supervision of several agencies as a certified organic producer.

One of the most impressive things about the company was that all products were said to be tested a minimum of six times for quality control. Another was the dedication to research and development for bioavailability and peak nutrition. Standard Process teams up with various educational institutions to further research in whole food supplementation research.

"I was amazed of the meticulous process that goes into assuring a pure organic product," said Roy Damien Ritchey, 33, a senior intern student at Logan and resident of Ballwin.

So why would one even consider whole food vitamins if you can get your vitamins from a big-box retailer? In a nutshell, because there are thousands of compounds found in nature combined with those vitamins which science doesn't know the role of.

We were given the example of a carrot, which is rich in Vitamin A. In a carrot alone, however, there are 200 other compounds. The interaction those compounds have with Vitamin A for most of these are unknown.

On a tour of the farm, we were able to see compost methods and crop rotation, designed to keep the soil rich for the crops. Sometimes, thousands of pounds of vegetables can go into a single batch of supplements. Vegetables are juiced at times indicated by lab work to have peak nutrient value.

It's important to note that whole food supplements never should be used in lieu of actual whole food products. However, people looking to align their supplement-philosophy with their eating-philosophy may want to explore the option.

Regardless of your choice of health supplement provider, don't be afraid to ask questions about their research and methods.