NOT ALL SUPPLEMENTS ARE CREATED EQUAL: THE CASE FOR WHOLE FOOD NUTRITION

Written by Emily Hohler, BA(Oxon), dipION, Registered Nutritional Therapist and Nature Doc practitioner 

Many of us buy supplements on the basis of what a friend or Dr Google has advised, an article we  have read, or an advert we  have seen. This can be unwise, not just because you may not  actually need them, but because not all supplements are created equal in terms of quality, their effect on their gut, and by extension, on overall health. Although there is often a case to be made for tailored supplementation based on a professional assessment by a Nutritional Therapist or Functional Medicine Practitioner, the safest way to ‘supplement’ your diet is to buy products –whole food supplements or food state supplements - that are as close to real food as possible. This was the thinking behind NEWROAD 30, our  whole food supplement made entirely from organic plants. The chemical structure of a vitamin or mineral might be identical regardless of whether it is found in a food or synthesised in a laboratory, but whole foods contain a complex array of nutrients and phytochemicals that work synergistically and tend to be easier to digest. Food also contains fibre and water as well as vitamins and minerals found in their natural forms, bound into proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

So why bother with supplements at all, even if they are food state or whole food supplements? Unfortunately, many of us are nutrient deficient. In the West, our diets are frequently high in processed foods and even whole foods are the result of intensive agriculture and grown in depleted soils. In 1900, for instance, it is estimated that we consumed an average of 500mg daily of Magnesium. Today in the West, we consume around 200mg. This vital mineral is involved in a huge number of biochemical processes in our bodies; it acts as a co-factor for over 300 enzymes and is therefore directly or indirectly necessary for many aspects of our health from bone health to blood glucose control. Shockingly, in 2023/4, there were around 190,000 hospital admissions for iron deficiency in England. This is a tenfold increase on the 1989/99 figure. Admissions for a number of other nutrient deficiencies including vitamins B, C and calcium are also on the rise. 

Supplements clearly have a role to play. For those wondering about the difference between whole food supplements and food state supplements, the later often use natural food bases that naturally contain the required nutrients, but the term doesn’t have a strict legal definition and there’s no guarantee that the supplement will only contain ingredients directly extracted from real food. Whole food supplements are generally made from concentrated and dehydrated whole foods. Though not perfect, freeze-drying – the process used by NEWROAD - is considered to be one of the best methods of preserving the nutritional content of fruits and vegetables. There is very little mineral loss, the fibre content is largely unchanged and many antioxidants and phytochemicals are retained at levels comparable to fresh produce (often more than 90%). Although there can be some vitamin loss, studies suggest that even Vitamin C, which is one of the less stable vitamins, is retained at a level of 80-90%.