The question is...can all that pill popping be good for you? According to nutritionists, the short answer is no. At the very least, say many nutritionists -- if you're missing the mark on a healthy diet, then whole food supplements are at least a step in the right direction.

Whole food supplements are made from organic, animal and plant tissues. In other words: fruits and vegetables grown in mineral-rich soils, without chemicals, pesticides, preservatives, or additives of any kind. This non-toxic nutrient-rich produce is made into supplements, which are clinically designed to target nutritional deficiencies that affect various parts of our bodies.

Whole food supplements are what their name suggests: Supplements made from concentrated whole foods. Here is an example. Tomatoes are rich in both Vitamin C and Vitamin E. However, to get the full benefit of these vitamins you would have to consume close to a dozen good size tomatoes a day. It would be hard to find a person that would or could do that on a daily basis. But... dehydrate them grind them up and put them into a soluble capsule and you are good to go. It takes only a moment to take a few capsules and you have gotten the benefits of a whole garden of tomatoes.

Because these supplements are made from natural foods, they contain the entire complex of vitamins and minerals as well as all the micro-nutrients and synergistic factors found in nature. Which -- in case you didn't know - are necessary for the vitamin or mineral to complete its action in the body.

Synthetic vitamins recreate only a potion of what is need to reap the full benefits of its nutrition. When vitamins appear in nature there is a slew of accompanying enzymes, coenzymes, antioxidants, trace elements, and activators that help the body absorb the vitamins. When a vitamin is created synthetically, the team of other elements that help the vitamin be absorbed are not recreated. No evidence suggests that synthetics are damaging to one's health in the recommended dosage but, at very least, they are poor investment in your overall health. Much of a synthetics offered nutrients are lost because it cannot be absorbed.

Synthetics are appealing when sitting on the store shelves next to whole food supplements because whole food are often up to twice the price. Think next time you are at the market. It doesn't matter if it is cheaper if it doesn't work. Also keep in mind, many vitamins and minerals require fats to be absorbed correctly. Diets that remove all or most fats from the diet usually keep your body from getting the nutrients it needs.