Are vitamin and mineral supplements nutritionally the same as fresh foods?

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It depends. Vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is identical in both supplement and natural form. Others are not. (Most synthetic vitamins are not recognized by the body and are flushed out). While you may consume 100% of your RDA of a nutrient in a vitamin pill, you are probably only absorbing 10% from most pills as the binders used to compact the pills make it hard for your system to dissolve them. In the end though, supplements serve exactly their purpose- to supplement the diet and prevent deficiencies. You might eat well, but even an excellent diet won't include 100% of everything, every day. A daily multivitamin can be seen as insurance of meeting those requirements.

Fresh foods provide many more nutrients than vitamins and minerals alone, such as fiber, antioxidants and many others.

Are the vitamins and minerals in supplements identical to fresh foods? No, but they are better than trying to get everything you need out of a can.

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