Kellogg’s Cornflakes, HUEL shakes, Marmite, Cow & Gate baby formula, Tesco’s plain flour, Soreen Bars, Sainsbury’s Orange Juice, Oatly Oat Milk, Nutri-Grain Bars, Slimfast…
All of these products have one thing in common. They contain synthetic (not natural) vitamins and minerals.
What are the synthetic vitamins made of? Do they work like natural vitamins? Are there negative side effects? The clinically proven answers to these questions might surprise you.
With £500k of UK government funding - one startup, ⁠BIOVIT⁠, and a team of scientists are comparing the effects of synthetic vs plant-derived nutrients. Synthetic nutrients, that are in all fortified foods, which over 80% of us consume daily, have been shown to have limited to no effect, and in some cases increase cancer risk.
The fall out of this could have major impacts on food labelling, nutrition guidance, human health, and food production sustainability. With Governments globally being lobbied by companies such as Safe Food Advocacy Europe on broader use of synthetic ingredients, it’s only a matter of time before all certified natural and plant based foods are banned from using synthetic nutrients for good. ⁠SAFE’s campaign here⁠.
The vitamins lurking in your everyday corn flakes are not the wholesome nutrients nature intended, instead, they are lab-made vitamin analogues, often made using unsettling ingredients such as coal tar, cattle brains, and a cocktail of harmful chemicals. These artificial impostors, known as 'synthetic nutrients,' are not identical to natural nutrients. They are missing essential enzymes and cofactors required for absorption and use by the body, and there is a growing body of clinical research that indicates they do not work and may even increase the risk of cancer.
Highly regarded website ⁠Healthline outlines key differences between synthetic and natural nutrients⁠, and lists a large body of evidence showing adverse health effects. “Synthetic nutrients from supplements and fortified foods may have deleterious effects on health, especially when used in high doses”
BIOVIT are the UK’s leading experts in plant-derived nutrients for food. They have developed the world’s first clinically developed and tested plant-derived multinutrient blends that can replace synthetic multinutrients, for use in food manufacture. Now, alongside ⁠Professor Richard Bracken⁠ and his team at Swansea University, they are conducting first-of-its-kind research into the bioavailability and efficacy of plant-derived vs synthetic nutrients.
Ex-CEO of the ‘Vegan Friendly’ certification and founder of vegan rugby club Green Gazelles Brendon Bale commented:
“Consumers of plant based and natural products value transparency and trust most of all… synthetic micronutrients are neither natural or made of plants, and so the labelling needs to declare that. It’s about health and trust”.
Ky Wright, founder of BIOVIT, suggests the shift to natural nutrients should be common sense for the food giants:
“Independent surveys have shown that over half of the public are generally unaware that foods they eat contain synthetic nutrients. They also show that a heavy majority (90%) would prefer their fortified foods to contain only natural nutrients, and 86% would pay more. There’s a massive opportunity here for food companies and consumers.”