According to Advances in Nutrition (Vitamin and Trace Element Supplements), "The fraction of the elderly population is increasing, as is the consumption of vitamin and trace element supplements, which is now a multi-billion dollar industry. Yet the logic behind such supplement intake by the majority can be questioned.” () Questions such as: are vitamin and mineral supplements necessary for life or is our body capable of generating enough micronutrients. from daily nutrition and the environment?; and should vitamin supplements be used as a substitute for natural vitamin intake from whole foods, for people who do not have deficiencies? These are the questions most people have to ask themselves every day Vitamin supplements are widely used throughout the world. Vitamin supplements were never intended to be used as a substitute for a healthy whole-food diet, yet advertising and social media have portrayed supplements as the norm for Americans. Today. Most people believe in the vitamin supplement craze. Today, vitamin supplements are found in many forms such as pills, liquids, chewables, and even powder. Instead of maintaining a balanced diet, most Americans prefer to pop a few pills. Prices, however, can range from affordable to thousands of dollars. Overall, Americans spend more than $10 billion each year on vitamin supplements they don't even need, hoping they will act as a barrier against some major chronic diseases. Vitamins are organic, non-caloric micronutrients that are essential for life. They are divided into two main classifications: fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and water-soluble vitamins (C, B). Vitamins are… middle of the paper… the benefits outweigh most of the risks. Just because you can manage what you put in your body. Works Cited Food Supplements: Do They Help or Hurt? What you need to know before taking a vitamin or mineral supplement. Harvard Women's Health Watch [serial online]. 2013;20 (5):1-7. Available from: CINAHL Plus with full text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 11, 2014. Guallar E, Stranges S, Mulrow C, Appel L, Miller E. Enough: Stop wasting money on vitamin and mineral supplements. Annals of internal medicine [serial online]. December 17, 2013;159(12):850-851. Available from: MEDLINE Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 11, 2014. McCormick D. Vitamin/trace mineral supplements for the elderly. Advances in Nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) [serial online]. November 1, 2012;3(6):822-824. Available from: MEDLINE Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 11, 2014.