Deconstructing BS on the internet can be a pretty painful process. This is because internet authors can simply say stuff that sounds like they know what they’re talking about, and then move on. If you’re going to debunk it, though, it’s not enough to simply say, “that’s wrong” – it’s important to explain WHY.  And the “whys” can get pretty darned complicated, pretty darned fast.

Take, for example, a statement like this:

Though synthetic vitamins have the same molecular structure, they are a mirror image of the Natural. A MIRROR IMAGE? This suggests that they are identical in every detail. But a mirror image is the exact opposite of the real thing, in this case Natural organic vitamins.

This was from a larger article that a forum member asked me to critique.  There’s a LOT of BS there, but we’ll just start with this small piece.

Ok, what the author is talking about here are “stereoisomers.”   Stereoisomers are…

Molecules with the same atoms and bond structure, but different three dimensional arrangements of atoms.

Stereochemistry is tough sledding, and I won’t torture you with it.  But a little common sense can fill in the blanks.  Is it reasonable to believe – as the author apparently does - that synthetic reactions are incapable of duping the 3-dimensional arrangements of natural molecules, and can only make wrong, ”mirror image” ones, 100% of the time? 

Sorry if this busts anyone’s bubble, but basic chemical reactions don’t work this way…when different arrangements are possible, then they all get produced.  What you end up with is a “racemic” mixture of all the possible forms…including the “natural” one.

Synthetic alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E) is an excellent example: there are 8 stereoisomers. These are called: RRR, RRS, RSS, SSS, RSR, SRS, SRR and SSR (R and S are opposites). And each one is produced in exactly the same amount.  Thus, 12.5 % of synthetic alpha-tocopherol is actually in the “natural” RRR form.

At this point, you might be thinking, “Ok, but the synthetic form is still only 1/8th natural stuff.  All the rest is garbage.” 

Except that it isn’t:  once again, it’s inaccurate to imply – as the author does in the full article - that the “wrong” molecule is always inactive (or even harmful).  To return to our example, animal bioassays have demonstrated the following activities of the 8 different stereoisomers:

RRR = 100%; RRS = 90%; RSS = 73%; SSS = 60%; RSR = 57%; SRS = 37%; SRR = 31% and SSR = 21%

The natural form is the clear winner, to be sure, but the others are hardly inert.  All told, estimates in larger animals and humans suggest that the synthetic racemic mixture has about one-half to one-third the potency of the pure, natural RRR form.  Not as good, perhaps, but still quite usable.

In fact, here’s a product it gets used in:

“Water, corn syrup, sucrose, soy protein isolate, high oleic sunflower oil or high oleic safflower oil, coconut oil, soy oil, corn starch, tricalcium phosphate, potassium citrate, potassium chloride, mono-and diglycerides, soy lecithin, magnesium chloride, L-methionine, choline bitartrate, sodium chloride, ascorbic acid, carrageenan, taurine, ferrous sulphate, dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, L-carnitine tartrate, zinc sulphate, niacinamide, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A palmitate, cupric sulphate, riboflavin, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, potassium iodide, manganese sulphate, folic acid, phylloquinone, biotin, sodium selenite, vitamin D3, cyanocobalamin. May contain potassium hydroxide and citric acid.”

Know what this is?  It’s Isomil.  Some infants rely on this exclusively for food over the first few months of their lives.  Do they sicken and die?  Hardly…they somehow manage to grow and even thrive.  Now, I would never suggest that Isomil is as good or better than breast milk (which contains growth factors and confers passive immunity), but then again, it sure puts the lie to the author’s claim, that ”taking synthetic vitamins is worse than starvation. The synthetic vitamins will kill you quicker.”

Even worse, it’s ignorant at best, and deceptive at worst to portray the vitamins in supplements as produced exclusively from chemical synthetic processes.  To take alpha-tocopherol once again, it’s not hard to find multis that provide the natural, RRR form exclusively.  Where does it come from?  It’s purified from vegetable oil.

Phew!  Hopefully this wasn’t as painful for you to read, as it was for me to write.  But the world really is a more complicated place than many would-be experts portray – which is something to keep in mind when you read articles like the one linked above.  A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, when it leads you to the wrong conclusion.