Either in the morning before school or at night after dinner, my mother often forces me to take a multi-vitamin “candy” formulated “specially for children.” I suspect these “candies” are the cause of killer headaches I sometimes encounter after taking these candies. My brothers often complain of stomach aches after taking multi-vitamin pills, especially on an empty stomach. What are these so-called vitamins? Is there any proof that they help?

A Super B-Complex vitamin container I just inspected for the purposes of the article say “metabolism support.” There is another, less obviously seen label that states: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.” I wonder, then, what does it do?

This particular Super B-Vitamin pill provides 6667% of the necessary vitamin B1 needed in a day. In one pill! Does more mean better? Where does our habit for taking vitamin pills come from? I can’t seem to explain how taking vitamin pills causes headaches or stomach aches, but I think that we can get vitamins from a good diet. Maybe it’s our horrible diets that cause us to take dietary supplements.