Made by man versus made by nature
I believe that if something is not present in nature, then it is probably not natural for us to put it into our bodies. The reason for my belief is quite simple - the things found in nature are what our bodies have coexisted with for eons and become compatible with, whereas the things made by man are foreign to our bodies. I fear that all too soon genetically modified organisms (GMO) will again prove my belief, and likely in horrific ways. In the meanwhile, I believe that man-made drugs have proven it to be true for well over a century.
The synthetic drugs created entirely in the laboratories of man, the synthetic versions of compounds found in nature, and the natural compounds isolated unnaturally in the labs are seldom compatible with our bodies, because none of them are found in that form in nature. In the synthetic versions, we have a substance that our bodies have not naturally adapted to or encountered - no matter how close it may be in molecular structure to a natural compound. In the isolated compound taken directly from a natural plant or other organic form, we have a single compound without all the synergistic components that accompany it in the natural form which we encounter in nature.
Nature works synergistically, just like the human body itself, where the total organism is much greater than the sum of the parts. Remove one key supporting compound and you have changed the effectiveness and compatibility of the entire substance. Similarly, a deficiency in one vital nutrient among a great many can cause other nutrients to be less effectively utilized in the human body, just as an impairment in one organ or system in the body can cause impairments in others and lead to poor overall health for the entire body.
Big Pharma either fails to realize that, or else just doesn't care because only the unnatural synthetics and isolates are patentable and profitable. Which is no doubt why over 95% of all FDA approved drugs have side effects. And which fits right in with the great failing of mainstream medicine itself - treating the body as a collection of parts and only treating the part where a symptom manifests itself instead of treating the underlying causes and the whole body.
When man plays God, or when profit becomes God, mankind invariably suffers.
Live long, live healthy, live happy!
Tony Isaacs