Myth Buster: Healthy Foods Are No Better Than Vitamin Supplements

Myth: When it comes to getting your vitamins, supplements work just as well as eating healthy foods.

Facts: Vitamin supplements can be helpful, but always look first to foods to get the nutrients you need, says Elisa Zied, a registered dietitian and national spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. “Food sources offer a combination of nutrients that are often much more beneficial than a supplement alone,” she says. “An orange, for example, has vitamin C, folate, potassium and fiber, and if you just pop a vitamin C pill, you don’t get all those other wonderful nutrients.” Supplements can be expensive, she says, and “there is a greater risk of overdosing.”