The difference between naturally-derived supplements & conventional, synthetically made supplements

By Michelle Palmer, Advanced Master Herbalist, Certified Mental Health Integrative Medicine Provider

I wanted to take the time to explain the difference in full detail, because I believe your health is important. I want to be the best provider I can be, and that starts with educating my clientele. You deserve to know the answers and more importantly the truth about how your bodies work. I want to highlight that I am not a medical doctor, and encourage you to please seek medical advice prior to taking any sort of supplement, herb, etc. I am however an advanced master herbalist, a certified integrative medicine provider and have several years of experience healing my family, my clients, and my own health.

Naturally-derived supplements are supplements that are made from organic, natural sources for example bovine adrenal extract or porcine stomach extract, organically grown herbs, and organically grown plants. These types of supplements are made directly from animal organ extracts organic, naturally raised, and humanely processed for development of the supplement. Why is that so important? There is much research to show how important animal organs, herbs, and plants are for our overall health. In fact, think back about your own ancestry. Which regions of the world did your family come from? When you sit back I bet you will come to the conclusion that you have stopped eating as your ancestors once did. For example, I am mostly Mediterranean heritage from Italy and I can trace my family back centuries. Because I was very close to the first-generation of my family that came to America, we have kept lots of traditions, but lost a lot as well. Does my family always seek out buffalo mozzarella instead of cows mozzarella? The answer is no (even though buffalo is sooooo good!). And that is an issue for Mediterranean bodies. Why? Because there were no cows in Italy at that time, there were only buffalo. So the theory goes that your DNA, your gut microbiome which is passed down from generation to generation (parasites included), are built from the foods that our ancestors ate. And when we are giving our bodies stuff that we are not designed bacteria-wise to break down, we have problems- like auto-immune issues, bloating, IBS, and the list goes on and on.

Back to the supplements. It's important to supplement with animal organ extracts, herbs and organic foods because that's what our bodies are designed to break down, and they are what gives us essential nutrients that we just aren't getting from our Standard American Diet. Another reason to choose naturally-derived supplements is because they are limited filler, meaning they're only adding in what they have to in order to preserve the supplement, and nothing else. In a synthetically made supplement, it's loaded with fillers, the actual vitamin or mineral itself is synthetically made and our bodies aren't able to absorb it well. In theory, we may need 10, 20 or 100x the amount in a synthetic supplement versus a naturally-derived one, where our body is better able to absorb it more fully.

Interested in finding a naturally-derived supplement but not sure where to look? Well, you're here for a reason, and I'm here to help you. I only give the best of the best to my clients, and I have some really great supplements to help you with any ailment! Schedule your Holistic Health Evaluation with me, today!