Corruption In Capsules: The Unseen Risk in Health Supplements
This is part 3 of my vitamin investigative journey. Part 1 started with The Unpleasant Realities of Calcium Supplements, and Part 2 was titled Supplemental Vitamin D: The Great Poisoning. Now due to questions being posed about other vitamins, I will take a general dive into the subject with Corruption In Capsules.
The synthetic supplement industry is projected to reach $137 BILLION by 2030, with thousands of products of which we actually know little about, except label information or industry/medical expert guidance.
Critics argue that vitamins have proven beneficial in preventing diseases and curing people, but how reliable is the information we’re getting? Supplement companies generally buy their raw ingredients from China or India, wholesale, where they’re cheaper. These two countries make almost all chemicals used in supplements and pharmaceuticals. But does this equate to better quality?
Many supplement manufacturing companies, especially those without extensive testing facilities, rely on trust rather than verification for their raw materials. This poses a significant issue, given that the quality of raw materials from China and India is often compromised by cost-cutting measures, resulting in inadequate quality control for raw materials and potential contamination.
Further compounding the problem, the supplement industry in the United States lacks adequate oversight from the FDA, which does not regulate the efficacy of dietary supplements, and manufacturers are not required to submit evidence to the agency that substantiates product ingredients or claims.
Synthetic Compounds
As we’ve read, most supplements contain synthetic chemicals, and long-term consumption of these is likely to lead to adverse health issues for several reasons:
They lack the synergistic effects of nutrients found together in whole foods.
Their chemical structures are different, leading to being poorly absorbed and utilized by the body.
This foreign chemical bond formation can lead to unwanted gene expressions and alter normal cellular functioning, increasing the risk of metabolic disease, cancer, and heart disease.
Consumers lack insight into the origin, production process, or quality controls of synthetic forms of ingredients. This leaves residues of heavy metals, pesticides, petroleum, hexane, and other environmental contaminants like polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxins.
Long-term exposure to heavy metals can lead to neurological and hormonal issues, impaired liver function and immune defenses, and an increased risk of cancer.
Some studies claim that high-dose synthetic nutrient supplements like beta-carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin A are dangerous to health as they cause hypervitaminosis and lead to increased risk of certain cancers and premature death.
Examples of Synthetic Vitamins
1. Synthetic Vitamin K 1
Phytonadione, a synthetic form of vitamin K1, is used to treat vitamin K deficiency in newborns and certain bleeding or blood-clotting problems, but it may also cause serious side effects. Check out the black box warning on the Merck and Co. site here.
I get it that vitamin K deficiency bleeding is a serious disorder, but I’m guessing the administration of vitamin K1 has a monetary advantage over vitamin K2. Both are synthetic, yet the oral administration of K2 does not present the same risks as the intramuscular administration of vitamin K1.
2. Synthetic Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
The beloved and famous vitamin C supplement has a dark, unhealthy chemical side, shown through an “isolation” process here in a simplified overview:
(1) Use fresh lemon juice (2) Add lead carbonate to decitrate the juice (3) Add lead acetate to decitrate the juice (4) Precipitate with dilute ammonia (5) Undertake resolution with acetic acid (6) Repriciptate with ammonia (7) Remove lead with hydrochloric acid (8) Extract waxes with butyl alcohol (9) Add in ethyl alcohol (10) Evaporate remaining moisture (11) Add in pure acetone (12) Evaporate to remove acetone (13) Remove the active ingredient with acetone (14)Evaporate the acetone solution again (15) Add in petroleum ether. Then it was concluded that this isolated compound (ascorbic acid) is the same thing found in food. Yes, the very same thing!
Basically, ascorbic acid is fractionated, synthetic, crystalline and highly unnatural. It’s manufactured from GMO corn, beets or tapioca, destroys probiotic bacteria in the gut, is a weak anti-oxidant at best, and a pro-oxidant in the presence of excess iron. It also increases iron levels in the liver, destroys ceruloplasmin, inhibits copper absorption and is 10 times more acidic than the naturally occurring vitamin C-complex.
Vitamin C Complex on the other hand is an efficient anti-oxidant, enzymatically ‘alive’, required for the formation of collagen, cartilage and muscle, absolutely necessary for adrenal function, and instrumental in lymphocyte construction. Organic copper functioning as the tyrosinase enzyme is the most active factor of the vitamin C complex. (Source: Library of Atlantis)
3. Synthetic Vitamin B12
Information on Vitamin B12 (also known as Cyanocobalamin) is never found on product labels. It only says it’s made from this chemical:
But if we head to Pubchem, then search under “compounds” of Cyanocobalamin (B12) and hit Hydrogen Cyanide, we find it’s a flammable, acute toxic health hazard. BTW, this is the most common form of B12 worldwide. Here’s the kicker:
Did you catch that? It’s a deadly human poison via all routes, including oral. It also states that cyanide is used as a chemical weapon agent. Folks, you can’t make this up. Cyanide is a literal carcinogen. The argument is that we’re not taking enough to harm us, but cyanocobalamin's long-term use can indeed lead to adverse effects including shortness of breath, swelling, rapid weight gain, pulmonary edema, congestive heart failure, peripheral vascular thrombosis, hypokalemia (leg cramps, irregular heartbeats, tingling/numbness, muscle weakness, or a limp feeling), joint pain, fever, swollen tongue, itching or rash, and polycythemia. (Drugs.com, RxList).
Adding insult to the list, other ingredients used in manufacturing include Cobalt, Cyanide, Sulfuric Acid, Sodium Sulfate, Sodium Cyanide, Benzoyl Alcohol and Alumina. I’ll let you guess if they’re healthy.
4. Synthetic Vitamin A
Retinyl palmitate, also known as vitamin A palmitate or retinol palmitate, is a chemical compound that’s an ester of retinol (vitamin A) and palmitic acid. It’s used as an antioxidant and a source of vitamin A added to low-fat milk and other dairy products to replace the vitamin content lost through the removal of milk fat. We are told its effectiveness and safety are subjects of ongoing research and debate.
Debate about effectiveness and safety? Doesn’t the MSDS sheet say it’s not for human use? Read it yourself:
Should there be a debate when the chemical is clearly dangerous? It says so right on the Pubchem GHS Hazard sheet:
Causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure (such as taking it daily?) Damages fertility or the unborn child, reproductive toxicity? What type of nightmare are we seeing unfold here? Are we to believe the health experts, or the actual Manufacturers Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), a legal requirement for chemical manufacturers to explain to purchasers any health hazard information?
Vitamin A has reproductive toxicity because it’s classified as a category 1 hazard, representing the highest hazard within a class. Still, it’s being marketed to pregnant mothers in prenatal vitamins. Unbelievable!
Animal research shows that Vitamin A Palmitate can lead to birth defects, deformities, still-birth and infertility. In humans, Vitamin A and, other teratogens, account for 5 percent of all birth defects!
There are many more synthetic supplements, but the research is endless. Most people are confused and can’t get the right information on vitamins. I have to confess it took me a great deal of research to get to this point. Investigation on synthetic chemicals can be a complex and challenging endeavor that involves sifting through scattered information, records with unsupported sources or non-existent information, discrepancies between existing documents and claims made in papers that reference them.
You might have questions on other vitamins, but the best answer I can give you is that MOST vitamins contain harsh, unhealthy chemicals (despite claims of health) and may even include heavy metals. Long-term exposure to these can lead to many “unexplained” health problems.
Another point to keep in mind is that about 14 giant corporations (many pharmaceutical) own over 100 of the most popular (even competing) supplement brands.
The situation goes beyond mere suspicion. Pharmaceutical companies may not only employ the scientists who discover the chemicals but also the safety study companies that evaluate them, the drug manufacturing companies that produce them, and even hire the individuals who hold patents to write content for government sites.
So now you’ve been given the big overview in three articles, with enough information to cause some serious concern. Again, you have to make up your mind about whether to believe what you’ve always been told, or the actual truth.
I’ll be writing about how to get nutrients in the best and most effective natural way in the near future, so stay tuned for more e-mails from me. The video below is pretty good in explaining some of the origins of vitamins as well.
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