Vitamins are only backup for gaining nutrients from eating food

We all know popping that morning multivitamin isn't as healthy as washing down a slice of whole-grain toast with all-natural wheatgrass. Clinical studies now are finding multivitamin supplements also don't do as much to prevent chronic disease as researchers once thought.

So, the question of whether vitamins are a sound investment in your health or just a waste of money lingers.

For the average person, the best source of vitamins is food - where they naturally exist - not pills. That's because fruits, vegetables and whole grains include not just vitamins, but fiber and a mix of nutrients that may protect against disease.

The majority of Americans don't eat the Food and Drug Administration-recommended portions of fruits and vegetables, said Paul Mach, a Sterling nutritionist and practitioner of holistic medicine.

The S.A.D., Mach's tongue-in-cheek reference to the standard American diet, is a primary contributing factor to major killers like heart disease and cancer, he said, stressing that vitamin supplements of any variety aren't a magic bullet for weight loss or prolonged life.

Many Americans don't eat healthfully so a daily multivitamin can be a nutritional safety net for them, said Christina Krueger, a registered dietitian at ViaHealth's Diabetes Care and Resource Center in Rochester, N.Y. Yet, Krueger stresses, supplements don't erase the need for a healthy diet.

Gannett News service contributed to this report.