(February 21, 2008) — Wash down that multivitamin tablet with a swig of water and you magically receive all of the essential vitamins you need to nourish your body. These capsules vary in size, shape and color and claim to enrich the physical and mental stamina of its consumer. Every morning before I leave for school my mom reminds me to take my Centrum vitamin, but I never knew why. I simply made it a ritual to take the hard-to-swallow, chalky flavored vitamin. And every time I got sick she’s advise me to take a concentrated 500 milligram Vitamin C pill and maybe an Echinaccia too. One pill here, three pills there, and suddenly my body is loaded with all of these foreign pills it’s trying to dissolve. Doesn’t a normal, healthy diet suffice and provide us with enough nutrients? In an interview in 2005 on the Today Show, Dr. Andrew Weil said that food is the best source for getting the necessary nutrients the body needs to function but “ circumstances may prevent you from eating optimally every day.” “I take a GNC Omega Fish oil pill twice a day,” freshman John Azizian said. “It gives me energy throughout the day and is good for your skin.” Azizian is one out of many people to reap benefits from taking vitamin supplements daily. Now, products like Glaceaus’s Vitamin Water appeal to consumers because they sound healthy to drink and have a multitude of delicious-sounding flavors like Dragonfruit and Tropical Citrus. But recently Gatorade Propel Fitness Water has launched a commercial advertising their low calorie drinks in comparison with vitamin water that “don’t just hydrate, [they] nourish.” Multivitamins like Centrum pack in calcium, vitamins D, A, C, E and Zinc. It’s owned by Wyeth-Ayerst, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and sports a “#1 Doctor recommended multivitamin” label on its bottles. Weil encourages all of his patients to take vitamins because some vitamins like D and E are often difficult to obtain in significant amounts just through eating food. These are essential vitamins and minerals that help prevent diseases. But many people don’t take vitamins on a regular basis, like senior Arpine Vardanian. “I take Flinstones vitamins because they taste good and have different flavors,” she said. She believes vitamins should be taken often because even though we eat nutritious foods “it’s hard to keep up with a difficult lifestyle.”