Real Food vs. Supplements: What's Better for Your Health?

Yahoo

3 days ago

Reviewed by Dietitian Maria Laura Haddad-GarciaKey Points
Nutrients work better in combination—whole foods boost absorption more than supplements.
Simple food pairings, like spinach and lemon, can unlock powerful health benefits.
Supplements have their place, but they can't replicate the full benefits of real food.You're strolling down the vitamin aisle with a list of supplements your favorite podcaster swears by—vitamin D, creatine, magnesium, turmeric, omega-3s. You pause, eyeing price tags, wondering if these pills will really deliver on their promises: better immunity, clearer skin, sharper memory. You hesitate. Do I need all of this?
Later that day, in your kitchen, you build a simple salad—baby spinach, a few sliced strawberries, grilled chicken, maybe a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. It's not a 'superfood' meal. It's just dinner. But what you've made unlocks the behind-the-scenes magic of food: nutrient synergy.
We often hear about individual nutrients—vitamin C for immunity, calcium for bones, iron for energy—but food doesn't work in isolation. They work together as a team. 'All the parts that make up the whole food are greater than the sum of those individual parts,' says Sohaib Imtiaz, M.D., Chief Health Officer for Dotdash Meredith Health Brands and a board-certified lifestyle medicine physician.
So, if you've ever wondered whether it's better to eat your nutrients or take them in a pill form, this guide is for you. Here's what nutrient synergy means, why it matters more than ever in an age of $100 supplements and how to use it to get more nutrition from every bite.
What Is Nutrient Synergy?
Nutrient synergy refers to the way certain nutrients work better when consumed together. Rather than acting alone—as they often do in supplements—some nutrients enhance each other's absorption or benefits when eaten in combination.
'In simple terms, a synergistic effect is how two or more nutrients or foods enhance each other's benefits when they're consumed together,' explains Imtiaz. 'We use the word 'potentiates' to describe this—that synergy potentiates the absorption or biological function.'
Think of it like a band: each musician can perform solo, but it's better when they play in harmony.
Take iron and vitamin C, for example. Non-heme iron (from plant sources like spinach) isn't well absorbed on its own. Pairing it with a source of vitamin C makes it more bioavailable, enhancing its absorption, says Fiorella DiCarlo, RD, CDN. For instance, 'Lemon dressing on spinach salad or strawberries in a side salad.'
Here are other powerful food pairings that demonstrate this concept:
Turmeric + Black Pepper: Curcumin, turmeric's active compound, is poorly absorbed without help. 'When you take turmeric with black pepper, it can increase the absorption [of curcumin] by even 20-fold,' says Imtiaz. Piperine, the active compound in black pepper, dramatically enhances curcumin's bioavailability.
Carotenoids + Fat: Adding a heart-healthy fat to carotenoid-rich vegetables like tomatoes and carrots helps improve the absorption of these nutrients. 'A study found that people who ate salads with avocado absorbed significantly more lutein, beta-carotene and lycopene than those who ate a fat-free salad,' explains Imtiaz.
Garlic or Onions + Legumes or Grains: Sulfur compounds in garlic and onions can enhance zinc and iron absorption from beans and whole grains. 'Beans and rice with garlic and onions—it doesn't just taste better, it's working better,' notes Imtiaz.
Real Foods Deliver More Than the Sum of Their Parts
'Whole foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds aren't just collections of individual nutrients,' says Sarah Berry, Ph.D. 'They combine fiber, fats, plant compounds and vitamins in a structure that affects how they're digested, absorbed and used by the body.'
One striking example? Almonds. "Whole almonds have rigid cell walls that trap fat inside. Around 30% of the calories from whole almonds aren't absorbed because those fats remain locked in the fiber matrix,' says Berry. Rather than being wasted, those leftover calories feed beneficial gut bacteria—a function supplements can't replicate.
That's the power of the entourage effect—when multiple compounds in a plant, such as polyphenols, terpenes and flavonoids, work together to enhance the health benefits of the whole food. 'When we eat a whole food, we are receiving multiple benefits all at once,' says Jessica Garay, Ph.D., RDN, and assistant professor of nutrition and food studies at Syracuse University. 'The orange is a natural source of not only vitamin C, but also potassium and fiber.'
Fiber is often the missing piece in a supplement-heavy diet. It slows digestion, helps modulate blood sugar and delivers nutrients to the lower gut, where they feed your microbiome. 'Whole foods such as vegetables and fruit have other benefits like phytonutrients and fiber that have enormous benefits for health,' says DiCarlo.
Gut health is another area where food outperforms pills. 'We haven't even touched the microbiome,' Imtiaz says. 'But [gut health] supplements don't have the same effect that whole foods do.' Research shows that eating a diverse range of plant foods each week can improve your gut health and may lower the risk of chronic conditions like diabetes, depression and obesity.
How you cook your food matters, too. 'Overcooking can destroy nutrients,' Imtiaz says. 'Boiling vegetables and discarding the water? You've just lost water-soluble vitamins.' Gentle steaming, sautéing and roasting with a bit of fat can preserve nutrients and boost absorption.
Some everyday habits may also block nutrient synergy:
Tea or coffee with iron-rich meals can reduce iron absorption by up to 40%.
Alcohol can damage the gut lining and interfere with folate, vitamin B12 and zinc absorption.
Ultra-low-fat diets may limit the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K.
Ultra-processed foods often lack fiber and crowd out opportunities for synergistic nutrient combinations.
The Limits of Supplements
So what happens when you strip nutrients out of their food matrix and package them into pills?
Supplements can play a role in filling nutrient gaps, but they often don't deliver the same benefits as food does. For instance, Imtiaz mentions that one study showed that participants who drank orange juice experienced less DNA damage than those who took an equal amount of vitamin C in supplement form. The nutrients may have been equal, but the health benefits were not.
This isn't an isolated case. In a well-known trial, researchers found that people who consumed many beta-carotene-rich fruits and vegetables had lower rates of lung cancer than those who didn't. Hoping to replicate those benefits, they gave beta-carotene supplements to people who smoked to see if the pills could help prevent the disease. But the results were surprising and concerning.
'They found an increased incidence of lung cancer among those who took the supplements,' says Imtiaz. 'The supplements did not have the same effect as the foods, and whole foods have never been linked to such harm.'
Similar findings have emerged for vitamin E. 'In a study, the supplement group had higher intake, but randomized controlled trials didn't show the same benefit,' says Imtiaz. 'In fact, high doses may increase risk for heart disease and prostate cancer.'
Bioavailability—how well your body absorbs a nutrient—is another concern. For example, 'You might see 500 milligrams [of calcium] on a label, but you could be absorbing only a fraction of that,' notes Imtiaz. Many factors, such as what you eat with a supplement, when you take it and its form, affect bioavailability. Plus, some nutrients even compete with each other. Too much calcium can reduce magnesium absorption and excess zinc can interfere with copper.
When Supplements Do Make Sense
Supplements aren't all bad, despite their limitations. 'They definitely have their place,' says Imtiaz. 'In cases of deficiency, or where food access is limited, supplements can be really helpful,' says Garay. She compares them to car insurance: 'It will help fill the gaps if we need to fix something, but it doesn't replace the vehicle itself.' However, always make sure to talk to a healthcare provider before starting any supplement. Imtiaz suggests getting bloodwork that can identify any deficiencies.
That said, Imtiaz notes that these nutrients (for certain situations) may be commonly recommended as supplements:
Vitamin D for people with limited sun exposure
Vitamin B12 for those over 50 or following a vegan diet
Folic acid during pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects
Iron for people with anemia or heavy periods
Omega-3s for those who don't eat fish
Electrolytes for endurance athletes
Creatine for muscle and cognitive support
Our Expert Take
'Eat the rainbow, not the capsule,' Imtiaz says. 'Supplements can help close gaps, but they won't give you the benefit of a heart-healthy or cancer-fighting diet.'
Berry agrees: 'Food is more than just nutrients. It's a delivery system. The way you experience it—how it feels in your mouth, how long it takes to digest, how it interacts with your microbiome—all of that matters.'
The good news? You don't need to overhaul your diet to benefit from nutrient synergy. Simple additions like adding lemon to spinach, olive oil to veggies, almonds with fruit can make a big difference.
So the next time you reach for a supplement, ask yourself: could I just build a better meal instead?
Read the original article on EATINGWELL