It seems oxymoronic that there is such a thing as fake vitamins. We take for granted that because it is a vitamin supplement, it has to be good for us. The fact is, there is such a thing as fake vitamins and it probably is in a store near you!

The market is flooded with many different variations of vitamin supplements to make your head spin. The way most people choose a vitamin is either, by asking their pharmacist, or picking one out that they think is what their bodies need. Unfortunately, all vitamins supplements are not created equal, especially synthetic vitamins.

If this were an open hall, we would see the real vitamins taking one giant step back and leaving the imposters exposed. The only health benefit synthetic vitamins have, is on the pockets of the manufacturers and distributors and marketers. Synthetic vitamins take a long time for your body to absorb it, if at all, it is bad for your kidneys, immune system and because it is "chemically made or synthesized" it has the potential for toxicity in the body.

We are conditioned to always read the label, but little good it does when we do not know what to look for. The next time you read the bottle label, search for the ingredient cyanocobalamin that is sometimes contained in B-12. This ingredient is found in nearly all multi-vitamins and ranks as one of the worst things to put in a vitamin supplement. Created in a laboratory, cyanocobalamin, is so frequently used in vitamins because it is the cheapest and easiest to produce. There is no nutritional benefit by using this synthetic vitamin, as it runs through the body without being absorbed.

The recommended vitamin to use would contain the ingredient in the B-12 vitamin, called methylcobalamin. This biologically active ingredient is agreeable to the body as it is almost immediately absorbed. Visit your local herbal shop to get good quality natural vitamins, which sells vitamin supplements in glass bottles, while most synthetic (if not all) vitamins are sold in plastic bottles. If you see "USP" on the bottle then it is a synthetic vitamin.

Only two vitamins were highlighted, which tells us as consumers how unwittingly we have been harming our bodies and throwing good money down the drain. Our health is our wealth, as well as our responsibility, to take care for as long as we live.