I do not because
a) most vitamins you buy as pills are superficial which means that they
b) may not come in the same chemical structure as the natural product and
c) they certainly don't come in the same context as the natural product which means that
d) the body cannot absorb most of these superficial products properly which leaves us with
e) they are a waste of money and
f) there might be other stuff in there that is harmful and
g) in case you now decide to buy a high quality and expensive vitamin product, produced from real fruit or vegetables, you might overdose which with some vitamins is more harmful than the opposite and
h) there is a study from 2007 which concludes that "Treatment with beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E may increase mortality. The potential roles of vitamin C and selenium on mortality need further study." The publication is freely available, so you can see for yourself: http://tinyurl.com/6o4bq5

The previous comment argued that the study is biased because people who take vitamins generally had a bad diet, which may be the real reason for the increased mortality. However, the study compared subjects that took a placebo with subjects that took a vitamin or a combination of vitamins, and neither group knew what exactly they were taking. I believe the data came from double blind studies, meaning that not even the experimenter knew who was taking what.

On the other hand there are studies that prove the classic proverb
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away"
holds true.

Yup. Trying to get pregnant, so I pop a prenatal every morning.

I take a centrum multivitamin, well, because my dad has done it all his life and he's healthy as a horse and eat fried foods everyday with sweet tea like a true southerner, a B-complex because I stopped drinking caffeine and I'm looking for more energy in a healthier way, a vitamin D, and two calciums with vitamin D. I went for a physical last week and the doctor said my vitamin D was low so he suggested I take more D. I also take metamucil fiber pills as well, if I feel like I need it. I have this irrational fear of dying young because I didn't get enough vitamins in my daily diet. I don't want to be the woman who dies at 65 and someone breezes past my open casket and says, "Well, just look at her. You know, she would've lived another 10 years had she taken those vitamins!" And my family medical history includes high cholesterol, heart disease, ovarian cancer, and leukemia. And I'm worried about not enough vitamins. GO FIGURE.

I am 32 years old and I take a Flintstone vitamin every day. They have pretty much the same vitamin & mineral percentages as the "adult" vitamins and I like the way they taste! Pre-natal vitamins made me sick so I just kept taking a Flintstone a day and my baby turned out just fine! : )

Absolutely. There are many different types of supplements available and some are more effective than others. I look for Amino Acid Chelates. These have been bonded to the mineral via proteins and are easier to absorb. I try to avoid carbonates since the bonding doesn't take place.

While genetics also plays into our longevity I know that our mass produced food supply is getting further and further away from the rich nutrient base it had even ten years ago. While clinical tests can be effective, you also have to take them with a grain of salt...many different factors can affect outcomes and everyone is different. I just know I feel better, more alert, and I've noticed how fantastic my annual blood chem tests have been since I've taken supplements. I have also heard that it's a good idea to stop taking supplements every three months (for one month) to rid the body of any excess.
My 86 year old father has been taking supplements since the 70's and is very alert (despite the fact he doesn't exercise). I'm convinced.
I would just suggest you do your research. Making blanket statements that all supplements are bad for you is simply not accurate.

As a scientist concerned about health, and having read thousands of scientific papers on vitamins and other dietary supplement ingredients, I chose my current position as VP Research for a dietary supplement company because the evidence is clear to anyone without bias that ingesting more healthy nutrients (from food or supplements - our bodies do not care which) leads to better health, regardless of diet quality. Check out the article in the Nutrition Journal from 2007 by Gladys Block of UC Berkeley comparing nonusers to multivit users to Shaklee users taking lots of supplements for over 20 years. Very convincing evidence that more is better when it comes to taking supplements for maintaining health. A multi is clearly not enough. I think everyone would benefit from a multi, extra antioxidants, probiotics/prebiotics and omega-3 fatty acid supplements, at least.
Now, about that trumped-up, so-called meta-analysis that garnerd headlines about supplements being dangerous... Since I know the literature and studies they threw out, their conclusion is completely bogus, cherry-picked, and mutated to come up with that conclusion. In fact, they also came up with additional selenium prolonging lives, yet that was seldom reported. If you torture the data enough, it will confess, and I have yet to see data more tortured than that miscarriage of science. They threw out ALL the studies of people taking antioxidants and nobody died. Ask yourself is that fair - of course not. Why if I did a similar statistical analysis choosing only the studies I wanted, it would make vitamins look better than anything. For some people, they are.

i take a multi vitamin daily and a calcium pill everyday. I do take them they make me feel better and I have a touch of osteroporis, a doctor told me to take a claium supplement. I went through menopause at the age of 38. It has been ten years and I have already lost a 1/2 inch of my height.

I take a calcium supplement every morning and each morning I make a "Power Smoothie" for my husband and I. The recipe is:

1/2 cup froz. strawberries
1/4 cup froz blueberries
1 banana
1 tbsp Flax seed oil
1/2 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
enough orange juice to cover over all these ingredients so it blends well

I use frozen strawberries and blueberries which are less expensive and don't spoil and keep the drink cold. The flax seed oil gives us some omega 3s and the yogurt some calcium and protein. We both have better digestion, more energy, and stay pretty full until a mid-morning snack ever since I started making these.

I detest taking vitamins!

My daily vitamins are all in the foods I eat everyday which consists of fresh fruits and vegetables with a balanced diet and exercise. I stay away from junk food. This is a conscious choice since my mom, a retired Nurse/Midwife, practically force fed me vitamins most of my young life and every conversation in my adult life is usually punctuated with 'are you taking your vitamins?'.

I recently had my physical and as per my doctor all my blood work, stool samples, and cholesterol levels indicate that I am healthy and doing the right thing.

So I'm happy to report that all the money I spend at whole foods, etc. are paying off.

I take multi, calcium, B12, and omega-3, and I can tell when I skip! I have much more energy these days, and the B12 calms me and makes me less irritable. These were recommendations by doctor and health books, and I am sticking to them!

I've been taking a multi-vitamin (Centrum Performance- Energy Formula) for about a year. I started taking a vitamin when my fiance and I decided we would start trying to conceive after our wedding this fall. I'm primarily taking it for the folic acid; although, I have to admit the B12 and ginseng have been a lifesaver since I quit smoking. I would recommend this vitamin to anyone trying to quit smoking.