Some people may have a tendency to view supplements with the stigma of being artificial or synthetic. While some brands certainly do utilize largely artificial ingredients in their formulas, many brands like Better Family’s Liquid Daily have opted to create a healthier alternative to the typical synthetic supplement in the form of organic liquid multivitamins and minerals. In this article, we will explore what makes a supplement organic along with several reasons why organic alternatives are a healthier and more efficient option for the whole family.

What Does “Organic” Really Mean?

In the United States, supplements that are deemed truly organic receive the USDA organic seal. In order to display this seal, the supplement must contain 95% or more organic ingredients. Any supplement with the phrase “made with organic ingredients” on the label only contains 70% or more organic ingredients. For this reason, you should keep an eye on labels when shopping for an organic supplement. The USDA seal is, of course, the most trusted way of knowing that a brand actually utilizes organic ingredients, but it may be tempting to purchase a product merely because the label states that it was “made with organic ingredients.” There are still viable products with this label; however, if you want a supplement that is as close to fully organic as possible, you may want to choose one that sports the official USDA seal. 

So your supplement is made with 95% organic ingredients. But what makes an ingredient qualified to be called organic? All organic ingredients must be harvested naturally in accordance with the standards of organic farming set forth by the USDA. These farming regulations forbid the use of pesticides, insecticides, and GMOs while growing and harvesting ingredients (1). Although not always as large or impressive as crops that are grown with the use of these enhancements, organic crops tend to be of higher quality and are less likely to cause harm to the body than synthetically grown ingredients.

Benefits of Going Organic

With the understanding of what organic supplements are, we can now examine a few of the benefits they provide in comparison to supplements that utilize non-organic ingredients.

No Fillers or Additives

Unfortunately, fillers and additives have become commonplace in many supplement brands, often for the sake of convenience, cost-effectiveness, or superficial appeal. Gummy vitamins, for example, typically have a high amount of added sugars to increase their flavor along with a number of synthetic dyes to make them more visually pleasing. Unnecessary sugars can be harmful to children and adults alike, especially when consumed excessively. Pills and capsules also utilize fillers to bind nutrients together and prevent clumping. 

Although not all fillers are harmful, they are a largely unnecessary addition to your supplement that your body can certainly do without. In the long-run, it will likely be safer and healthier to stick with supplements that keep their additives in check and provide you with only the nutrients you need in a healthy formula. Since they must contain upwards of 95% organic ingredients, most organic supplements will avoid these needless additives, simply packing a burst of nutritional value.

Better Bioavailability

Bioavailability is the ability of a substance to be absorbed and used by the human body. As you might imagine, this concept is extremely important when it comes to supplements. The main purpose of a multivitamin is to provide your body with an extra dosage of nutrients that it can easily absorb to supplement the nutritional value you already receive from your normal diet. If the ingredients in that multivitamin are not bioavailable, then absorption rates will decline, perhaps leading some of your nutrients to end up down the drain. If you are familiar with our product, Liquid Daily, then you might already know that liquid multivitamins sport a higher absorption rate compared to solid supplements. But, organic formulas like ours may also provide an added absorption bump thanks to their bioavailability.

Ingredients that come from a natural source typically have better bioavailability than those derived from synthetic sources. The reason for this may be that the nutrients in whole foods are accompanied by other vitamins, minerals, or antioxidants that are necessary to help your body absorb the main essential nutrients with greater efficiency. Vitamin E is an excellent example of this phenomenon, as studies have shown that the natural form of vitamin E absorbs twice as effectively as the synthetic form (2).

Although supplements made with synthetic ingredients may appear more appealing, flashy, or convenient on the surface, it’s clear that organic multivitamins and minerals reign superior when it comes to accomplishing the real purpose of your supplement in the first place: boosting your body with a healthy source of extra nutrients.

Resources

1. McEvoy, Miles. “Organic 101: What the USDA Organic Label Means.” USDA, 13 March 2019, https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means.
2. Burton, G.W. et al. “Human plasma and tissue alpha-tocopherol concentrations in response to supplementation with deuterated natural and synthetic vitamin E.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9537614.