Vitamins are expensive and the research is out on whether or not they are as effective as we hope that they are.

Recent studies about the potency of some supplements and multivitamins is discouraging.

“While medications are closely overseen by the federal Food and Drug Administration, supplements like vitamins don’t get regular testing by any government agency. So there’s no way of knowing — outside of independent testing — whether a bottle of supplements contains what it’s supposed to … Although low levels of certain nutrients can be a problem, doses that exceed recommendations are especially worrisome. Several products evaluated … including some designed for children, had this issue.”