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> Like, I wonder where the pill manufacturers get the vitamins they > put in their pills, eh? Do they buy naturally grown food at a > great expense, or do they buy the cheap food the rest of us buy? Most are manufactured chemically, either wholly, or as a substance from which the body can derive the vitamin. Some, like vitamin E, are derived from natural substances, in this case, wheat germ. Some, like vitamin D3, are obtained from animal products, in this case, oily fish or fish liver. Even when obtained from natural sources, I don't think I would eat the source material. Let's face it, the body is a hugely complex biochemical factory; it doesn't care where a source chemical comes from, just that it be there when required. Some of the things floating around would make one blanch - cobalt is a dangerous heavy metal, cyanide is a poison but both are part of the essential vitamin B12 - nicotine is a poisonous alkaloid, used to destroy insect pests, but nicotinamide and nicotinic acid are components of the vitamin B complex - chlorine is a corrosive gas, chlorate is a defoliant weedkiller, chlorate is part of common salt. Naturalness, freshness, flavour, etc., are meaningless "human" terms. Just the same, I would rather bite into a delicious, tree-ripened navel orange, than scoff a pinch of ascorbic acid. BTW, did you know that the average volume of vitamins and essential minerals needed weekly is just about one teaspoonful? Jim