There is a vast difference in raw materials used, purity, quality, nutritional value, absorbability, and healthful formulations between natural vitamins and supplements, and synthetics. Synthetics are cheap because they contain cheap ingredients and are cheap to make.

All organic living matter is made of carbon atoms. Petroleum and Coal tar are also carbon atoms commonly used to reconstruct the vitamin molecule chemically. They are also a very cheap source from which to manufacture synthetic vitamins.

Synthetic Vitamin E involves manufacturing processes from turpentine, acetone and acetylin. Many of the B vitamins are made from Coal Tar. Virtually all of the synthetic beta-carotene found on the market is made from an isolated compound of Acetylene gas.

Many people are allergic to the chemicals used as a base for synthetic vitamins including toxic chemicals like nicotine, coal tar, and alloxal. Cut rate products often contain additives, food allergens, artificial coloring and flavoring, and sugar. Many are coated with shellac, or contain potentially hazardous chemicals like chlorine.

The artificial colors and flavors used in synthetic products are purchased by manufacturers by the truckload because they get cheaper prices when buying in huge quantities. These ingredients won't go bad in their warehouses so they can remain in storage for very long periods prior to manufacture.

It's also much more difficult to manufacture a natural tablet or capsule than it is to make a synthetic one. Synthetic products with sticking agents are designed to save the manufacturer money by quickly flowing through the tablet or encapsulating machinery. Natural products tend to gum up equipment, so far more care and expense to preserve their properties has to be taken in their manufacture.

Natural supplements are made from food concentrates such as carrot powder, or wheat germ and have natural flavors and sweeteners that come from fruits, vegetables and other foods. They're more expensive to produce, but are a perfectly natural food that's more easily absorbed because the necessary molecular and biochemical combinations remain.

Synthetic Nutritional Value:

Synthetic supplements are split into singular products and don't contain the total complex family of micro-nutrients as they are found in nature. The body can only properly metabolize and absorb natural supplements in the presence of these micro-nutrients. This supporting family is missing in synthetic products.

Because synthetics are produced in isolation without the family of micro-nutrients necessary for maximum utilization, they are far less potent than natural products. For example, it takes 50 to 70 percent more synthetic Vitamins E than the natural one to get the same effect. The same is true for all of the synthetics, and in many cases synthetics can cause actual harm.

Synthetic Identification:

Polarized light is used to determine the difference between synthetic and natural vitamins. Due to its molecular rotation, a natural vitamin will bend a beam of polarized light passing through it to the right. It will therefore be designed with the letter "d" representing "dextro" which means "right".

A synthetic vitamin will split the beam passing through it both to the right and to the left. With the synthetic vitamin being half right "dextro" and half left "levo" it is designed "dl". These letters will appear on the label ahead of the synthetic name.

Another means to help identify a synthetic is to look for the salt forms added to the product to increase its stability. You may see succinate, hydrochloride, bitartrate, chloride, gluconate, nitrate or acetate added to the vitamin name on the label.

You can normally identify a natural vitamin from its food source such as fish oil, plant oil, vegetable, bean or grain etc. If the label is blank or chemicals are listed, it's a synthetic.

Like everything else in life that you buy, you get what you pay for. Now that you know some of the differences between synthetic vitamins and natural ones, you can make an informed choice. If price is the only consideration in choosing a supplement, there is a vast array of cheap synthetics on the market.

For more information may I suggest the book by Judith DeCava entitled, The Real Truth About Vitamins and Antioxidants. There you will find all the scientific references and proof you will need. A good source for the book is: http://www.price-pottenger.org/Books/real_truth_about_vitamins.htm