After some preliminary research, I’ve found the consensus to be that you can’t replace fruits and vegetables with multi-vitamins and fiber supplements. But, I can’t find an adequate answer for why this is. What does the food offer that the vitamins don’t (aside from macronutrients that could be attained from foods other than fruits and vegetables)? It seems logical that they wouldn’t be interchangeable – just looking for a more specific answer.
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A diamond and graphite are made out of the exact same elements, its just the structure that is different between the two.
Fruits and vegetables have been around for a long time and our bodies have evolved to digest them. They carry more and different proteins and amino acids. They have certain types of bacteria and fiber and sugars all that change the way you digest them. At the end of the day, vegetables are almost always going to be better but certain people with deficiencies are going to need to take a vitamin especially if your body is already having problems metabolizing certain molecules. So, you mentioned the macro nutrients and that really is the just of it. There is a major structural difference between the pill and food and it is exactly that structural difference that causes the change in digestion. Ever since the pill enters your mouth and you swallow it, it begins the digestive process differently than food. That is why pills can be hard to swallow because your body subconsciously chews food up into little balls that nerds call bolus that is the right shape for your throat muscles and stomach density. Long story short the digestive system is a very long and complex system that is effected majorly over time even by “seemingly” small changes. To satisfy your question about something different than macro nutrients its the combination of those nutrients. People can eat something and it not be very good for them but in certain combinations certain amino acids and proteins break down better for example, eating rice and beans together is way better than just eating rice and beans separately. With a vitamin you have no chance of making these combinations of macro nutrients. To be any more specific would be to pick a specific amino acid and follow it through the cells throughout the body which is sometimes a headache tracking it throughout the body.
Awesome question btw, once I asked my chemistry teacher which types of vitamins are better than others for whatever reason and she looked at me crazy and said, “just eat vegetables.” lol and after years of studying biology later I realize your entire body is just to break down food and feed the brain. Most your body is supporting your digestive system and over time your diet majorly effects all systems in the body.
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