WHY BLIND OBSESSION OVER NATURAL AND ORGANIC IS NONSENSE
Natural versus Synthetic Chemicals Is a Grey Matter
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As consumers, we are constantly bombarded with advertisements for natural and organic products or surrounded by friends, family and colleagues who obsess over this subject. There are websites and news stories beyond counting dedicated to sharing the following message: “man-made is bad and natural is good”. The growing popularity of this belief shows that this subject is in dire need of clarification and this mad obsession needs to be curtailed.
The idea that nature can harm us is not new. Have you ever heard of malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, botulism or tetanus? Why, then, are so many convinced that anything and everything natural is healthier for us than synthetic products? It's true that modern chemistry has brought us a number of toxic chemicals, like DDT and dioxins, but do you really think that nature's chemicals are any less harmful to you? In fact, the most toxic chemicals to humans are completely natural! Not only that, but there is much evidence that natural pesticides allowed in organic farming are just as toxic as synthetic pesticides. It would be wonderful if it were simply a black versus white topic.
Unfortunately, the natural versus synthetic debate falls very much in the grey region, and each and every chemical, or class of chemicals, must be considered on a case by case basis. To make the situation more frustrating, the number of useful and accessible resources for consumers is limited. It’s no wonder that this idea of organic/natural has been able to take hold so well! The purpose of this post is to briefly discuss the most common misunderstandings about natural and synthetic chemicals:
1. Synthetic chemicals are more toxic than natural chemicals.
2. Organically grown food is better for you because it’s all natural.
3. Synthetic copies of natural chemicals are not as good for you.
Before we get to the nitty gritty points we need some definitions since there is a huge discrepancy between what the terms “natural” and “synthetic” mean. Natural chemicals are produced by nature without any human intervention. Synthetic chemicals are made by humans using methods different than those nature uses, and these chemical structures may or may not be found in nature. This definition means a synthetic chemical can be made from a natural product (i.e. naturally derived). Note that in the food industry, “artificial” is used instead of “synthetic”.
MISCONCEPTIONS
1: Synthetic chemicals are more toxic than natural chemicals
The two most toxic chemicals for humans, that we know of, are botulinum toxin and tetanospasmin. Botulism is caused by botulinum toxin, which is a protein and neurotoxin produced by bacteria spores. Tetanospasmin is a neurotoxin produced by bacteria that causes Tetanus. The most toxic natural chemical, botulinum toxin is over a million times more toxic than all of the synthetic chemicals, except dioxin, which is still substantially less toxic (about one hundred thousand times less)!
This point is summed up well by researchers in California who studied natural and synthetic chemicals in the human diet in 2001 and wrote, “Among the agents identified as human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research in Cancer 62% occur naturally: 16 are natural chemicals, 11 are mixtures of natural chemicals, and 10 are infectious agents. Thus, the idea that a chemical is “safe” because it is natural, is not correct”.
2: Organically grown food is better for you because it’s all natural
Not many who obsess over organic produce are aware of what organic farming entails, and that it still involves toxic chemicals. It is true that there are, and have been, a plethora of horrifying synthetic chemicals used in the agricultural industry, especially pesticides. These toxic chemicals are very important from an environmental perspective (leaching into soil and water, impacting animal life in the surrounding areas, etc.), but that is a whole other topic for discussion.
Organic farming can still use naturally derived pesticides - in fact, they can even use some synthetic pesticides too! Research studies have shown that both organic and conventional food have the same nutritional content, and both contain residues of synthetic pesticides (albeit organic food does have less of these than conventional foods). There is much less known about the toxicity of natural and naturally derived pesticides, but some studies show that they can be just as harmful and carcinogenic.
1: Synthetic chemicals are more toxic than natural chemicals
The two most toxic chemicals for humans, that we know of, are botulinum toxin and tetanospasmin. Botulism is caused by botulinum toxin, which is a protein and neurotoxin produced by bacteria spores. Tetanospasmin is a neurotoxin produced by bacteria that causes Tetanus. The most toxic natural chemical, botulinum toxin is over a million times more toxic than all of the synthetic chemicals, except dioxin, which is still substantially less toxic (about one hundred thousand times less)!
This point is summed up well by researchers in California who studied natural and synthetic chemicals in the human diet in 2001 and wrote, “Among the agents identified as human carcinogens by the International Agency for Research in Cancer 62% occur naturally: 16 are natural chemicals, 11 are mixtures of natural chemicals, and 10 are infectious agents. Thus, the idea that a chemical is “safe” because it is natural, is not correct”.
Not many who obsess over organic produce are aware of what organic farming entails, and that it still involves toxic chemicals. It is true that there are, and have been, a plethora of horrifying synthetic chemicals used in the agricultural industry, especially pesticides. These toxic chemicals are very important from an environmental perspective (leaching into soil and water, impacting animal life in the surrounding areas, etc.), but that is a whole other topic for discussion.
Below is a summary of a risk assessment review of natural and synthetic pesticides:
1. The biological activity of a chemical is a function of its structure rather than its origin.
2. The biological properties, especially safety, of a chemical depend on its structure and the way in which the chemical is used (i.e. exposure).
3. Perceived risks are not always consistent with actual risks.
3: Synthetic copies of natural chemicals are not as good for you
The chemical structure of a synthesized compound is exactly the same as the natural compound it is supposed to supplement, such as ascorbic acid, which is the primary form of Vitamin C. It will taste the same, smell the same, and it will function the same in your body. This is true for most cases, however, sometimes there are additional and unintended products. For example, naturally derived Vitamin E is called d-α-tocopherol and synthetic Vitamin E is called dl-α -tocopherol. The difference between the two is that the “dl” refers to a mixture of both d- and l-α-tocopherol. There is no evidence that the “l” version is harmful to the human body at all, but it is about 1.4 times less effective than naturally derived Vitamin E. Since this is a debated topic, it’s understandable that consumers may want to stick to natural sources of Vitamin E, but it does not mean that synthetic Vitamin E is toxic.
Inactive ingredients may differ between natural and synthetic products, such as additives, fillers, by-products, and additional naturally extracted chemicals (these may be active but are not the target compound) in naturally derived products. These are important to consider in any product, whether it is naturally derived or synthetic. For example, a number of synthetic food colorings have been banned due to suspected carcinogenicity.
Melatonin and butterbur extracts are interesting examples of naturally derived products that consumers must be wary of are. Melatonin is a popular natural “sleep aid”, and naturally derived melatonin comes from the pineal glands of animals, which may contain viral material. Synthetic melatonin is chemically exactly the same, and is much safer to take.
Butterbur are plants that contain an anti-inflammatory compound called petasin, which is a natural remedy for migraine treatment and prevention. Unfortunately, butterbur plants also contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) that can cause severe liver damage, and thus it’s important that butterbur extract is purified to remove PAs.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The amount of toxic chemicals, whether they are synthetic or natural, in our produce is negligible compared to other negative chemical and biological species we are exposed to, such as through smoking, drinking and recreational drugs. However, we see and hear people talk and write all the time about eating organic produce because it has less toxic chemicals.
1. The biological activity of a chemical is a function of its structure rather than its origin.
2. The biological properties, especially safety, of a chemical depend on its structure and the way in which the chemical is used (i.e. exposure).
3. Perceived risks are not always consistent with actual risks.
3: Synthetic copies of natural chemicals are not as good for you
The chemical structure of a synthesized compound is exactly the same as the natural compound it is supposed to supplement, such as ascorbic acid, which is the primary form of Vitamin C. It will taste the same, smell the same, and it will function the same in your body. This is true for most cases, however, sometimes there are additional and unintended products. For example, naturally derived Vitamin E is called d-α-tocopherol and synthetic Vitamin E is called dl-α -tocopherol. The difference between the two is that the “dl” refers to a mixture of both d- and l-α-tocopherol. There is no evidence that the “l” version is harmful to the human body at all, but it is about 1.4 times less effective than naturally derived Vitamin E. Since this is a debated topic, it’s understandable that consumers may want to stick to natural sources of Vitamin E, but it does not mean that synthetic Vitamin E is toxic.
Inactive ingredients may differ between natural and synthetic products, such as additives, fillers, by-products, and additional naturally extracted chemicals (these may be active but are not the target compound) in naturally derived products. These are important to consider in any product, whether it is naturally derived or synthetic. For example, a number of synthetic food colorings have been banned due to suspected carcinogenicity.
Melatonin and butterbur extracts are interesting examples of naturally derived products that consumers must be wary of are. Melatonin is a popular natural “sleep aid”, and naturally derived melatonin comes from the pineal glands of animals, which may contain viral material. Synthetic melatonin is chemically exactly the same, and is much safer to take.
Butterbur are plants that contain an anti-inflammatory compound called petasin, which is a natural remedy for migraine treatment and prevention. Unfortunately, butterbur plants also contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) that can cause severe liver damage, and thus it’s important that butterbur extract is purified to remove PAs.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The amount of toxic chemicals, whether they are synthetic or natural, in our produce is negligible compared to other negative chemical and biological species we are exposed to, such as through smoking, drinking and recreational drugs. However, we see and hear people talk and write all the time about eating organic produce because it has less toxic chemicals.
We all have to accept that the natural vs synthetic chemical debate is not a black vs white issue, and it is actually a complicated and massive grey matter. Both natural and synthetic chemicals need to be considered on a case by case basis for our personal health, whether it’s a drug, a food additive, beauty product or the pesticides being used on our crops.
In my opinion, in general, you are better off buying standard products rather than wasting your hard earned money on expensive natural/organic products and, instead, focusing on making overall healthier lifestyle choices.
In my opinion, in general, you are better off buying standard products rather than wasting your hard earned money on expensive natural/organic products and, instead, focusing on making overall healthier lifestyle choices.
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