Dietary supplements are vitamins that come in pill or liquid form. Some dietary supplements may be labeled as natural because the ingredients in the pills come from herbs or whole foods. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not set an exact definition for products labeled as natural. Your body absorbs natural, or food-based supplements, just as well as it absorbs synthetic vitamins.
Absorption
Natural and synthetic supplements often contain high levels of vitamins because your body cannot absorb all of the nutrients in a supplement. Your body can more easily pull vitamins and nutrients from whole foods than from supplements, no matter how the supplement is created. Vitamin pills can supplement your intake of nutrients if your diet is poor, but they cannot entirely make up for a poor diet that is very low in essential nutrients.
Amounts
If you are concerned about getting enough vitamin supplementation in your diet, look up your recommended daily intake for certain vitamins and aim for getting those levels through your diet, or supplements if necessary. It does not benefit you to take more than the daily recommended amount of a vitamin. If you choose a natural supplement, look for one that does not contain more than 100 percent of your daily recommended intake of vitamins or other nutrients.
Warning
Getting too many vitamins in your diet can actually be detrimental to your health. It's unlikely that you can consume too many nutrients through eating whole foods, but it's possible if you take supplemental pills, even natural supplements. Getting too much vitamin E through supplements could cause your blood to become thinner, which can be an issue before undergoing surgery. Taking large amounts of vitamin B-6 in pill form could cause nerve damage. Consuming too many vitamin C supplements might lead to nausea and diarrhea.
Considerations
Always talk to your doctor before adding any supplements, even natural supplements, to your diet. If you need supplementation due to health issues, your doctor can recommend a supplement that will give you only the nutrients your body needs without unnecessary extras. It's not a good idea to diagnose your own nutritional deficiencies and use natural supplements to treat illness instead of seeking out expert medical care.
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