Regular vitamins used to upset my stomach even if I took them with food. Gummy vitamins don't seem to have that effect on me.

Calcium pills are huge. Was grateful when Viactiv chews first came out.

Be careful if you have crowns or fillings. Those gummies can pull them right out.

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I heard someplace that the gummies really didn't contain much vitamins. Regular vitamins hurt my stomach so I take Flintstones. Same concept without the candy.

I have a tough time swallowing pills so my doctor suggested Flintstones.

I understand the basic concept of why vitamins were first made in a "gummy" style -- so that kids would be more apt to take their daily vitamins if they tasted good and the kid didn't think of them as "yukky medicine." (After all, that's why children's formulas of cough syrup and other liquid medications are usually cherry or bubblegum flavored.)

But, it seems to me that giving things that can be dangerous (in too large a quantity) a candy appearance and flavoring is asking for eventual trouble.

I take the gummies. I can swallow pills but the multivitamins are very large and often have that "chalky" texture that I have trouble getting down. Sometimes pills(even small ones) with that texture get stuck in my throat and gag me.

DD received some gummy pediatric daily vitamins and so used them. We all know gummy candies are especially bad for teeth. Turned out the same with the vitamins. She threw them out.

Actually I would rather take a pill, gummies somehow don't feel good in my belly.

What's with all the vitamins and supplements in general? I understand taking something based on advice of a physician but I somehow don't think that's the case for most vitamin and supplement takers.

It's not that hard to eat a varied and balanced diet and that approach provides all the needed nutrients for most people. Or so my doctor told me ages ago. I wonder how many daily vitamin takers make regular visits to fast food places and eat fried foods regularly too. I suspect we all know what the answer is, can't have it both ways.

My son is 18 and barely learning how to swallow a pill. Guess I've been lucky that neither of my kids have had to take any medications.

My 13 year old has to take about 5 pills a day, because of health issues. Mostly digestion issues. But sometimes I bring home Airborne Immune System Booster gummies, especially when we are traveling. But, that's about all the health gummies I buy.

My dad takes two calcium gummies, twice a day, on the advice of his doctor. I've never had one -- how do they compare to gummy bear candies?

edited to add: are vitamin gummies different in taste, texture, size from calcium gummies, immune booster gummies, etc?

I hate gummies in general, so I would be out. I take one Vitamin D a day. One time I bought this kind that just dissolves on your tongue. It was so sweet I really couldn't stand it. I started following it with a shot of black coffee just to get the sickly sweet taste out of my mouth.

My husband won't take a pill but he'll eat a gummy. He's normally pretty logical so I chalk it up to one of his quirks! He thinks of them as a treat.

I fertilize plants and I notice improvement. Can’t help but think vitamins do the same for me, even if only mental (but that counts). Not talking about going crazy w/them. Have never considered gummies but I do look for smaller sizes as DH chokes on horse pills.

I’ve been wondering the same thing, rhizo. I get it if you have trouble swallowing a pill but are there really that many people who have trouble doing that? Can’t you just crush it like mt mother used to do? I don’t personally have a problem even with the larger calcium supplements.

Funny though, I was recently looking for a bottle of plain, ordinary Tylenol. Could NOT find it in he first store I went to. They had every form possible, chewable, children's, with added Vit C or other additives, gummies, but no plain stuff. WTF?!?

Like many older adults my B12 goes up and down and my doctor wants me to take it along with D3. When I tried using up the gummies my husband insisted on for him because he thought they were easier to take even chewing until small pieces about a minute and a half after finishing or sometimes sooner it feels like a bomb has gone off in my stomach leaving a sharp pain.

Elmer if and when you go to the doctor now that you too are older if your doctor is a good one they should test your B12 and D levels along with the regular things. It is not that the vitamins and minerals are missing from your diet your body can not absorb enough from your food. Both effect several things in your body not just your bones.

I don't like "gummy" anythings and I sure don't want any pills or vitamins in that form. I can swallow a whole fist full of pills....any size. I learned a trick many years ago that some woman posted. She said to take a big gulp of water and turn your head to the RIGHT, then swallow. Don't ask me "why" it works, but for me it sure does. For those of you having trouble swallowing large or hard or rough pills, give it a try. Just be sure to turn your head to the RIGHT as you swallow.

Most of the money spent on 'supplements' is wasted. I remember someone saying, "Americans have the most expensive urine in the world." There is no standard of safety, quality or quantity for these things. People claim to feel better when they take 'XYZ', but the same is true of placebos.

Gummies came along because there's a profit to be made! And, I must concede, because many older people choke on large pills. Further, some seniors do not eat well -- the equivalent of bossyvossy's plants that are growing in tired soil and need fertilizer.

I take Vit. D because if I don't, my D level tests too low. I experimented by discontinuing it once when I knew I had a blood draw coming up. Next test, Vit. D resumed, I was fine.

I don't like candy gummies, so odds of me ever taking a gummy vitamin is slim to none. Besides: when they expire before they sell and we write them off, we have to open the bottle and pour the contents into our "dead drug" bucket to send to a company that incinerates them. Those gummies stink to high, you know............

Yes, maifleur, I know some are not to be crushed. But better than using gummies IMO. My point is, why add more sugars when you could swallow the pills.

My daughter likes the gummies. Hates swallowing giant pills.

Elmer, I think many take vitamins because, they are older, and they live alone, and they most likely do not eat as well, as they did, when they had others at home to cook for. Since, I do not like to cook, and now have no one to cook for, unless I have company, I know I do not eat properly all the time. I do take vitamins, and when checked at doctors office, my vitamin levels are all in the normal range. Without taking vitamins, I am pretty sure, they wouldnt be. All my levels were checked with my blood work etc, about 9 months ago, when I had a bout of kidney stones.

No, I never take gummy vitamins. They are too sweet and they do not set good in my stomach

Cat, I understand the situation you're describing. I'm sure you know that there are very many negative health consequences of not eating a healthy diet. Taking vitamins doesn't "fix" the problem.

You do have someone to take care of and to cook for - YOU! There are lots of ways to address this without cooking every day. There are many recipe books available offering ideas for easy and healthful meal preparation for one. Why not find a few and give it a shot?.

That’s why they are usually called ‘supplements’...to supplement something that is needed in one’s diet that might need to be amped up, such as calcium and vitamin D in the case of many women. In my case I take a high potency fish oil for dry eyes which really helps. It’s not always a matter of healthy diet, but that the diet is healthy and just needs a little help.

Same comment, outside. The best way to ingest fish oil is to eat salt water fish and shellfish several times a week. Not all are great oil sources but many are. Salmon is high on the list but there are many others and the information is easy to find. Even better is to do both (eat fish and take pills) in balance

I take vitamin d because I am always deficient. I don't like being in the sun and I burn easily. I also take fish oil. I do eat fish but I have some concerns about eating too much and mercury levels, especially as I'm trying to get pregnant. The fish oil I take is distilled to help remove impurities.

If your MD says you are deficient in some nutrient, try to eat more foods that contain that nutrient. (EAT, not consume as a liquid.) If that doesn't raise your levels adequately, ask your MD to recommend the dose and brand of supplement. Many supplements contain teeny amounts of the stated product --the maker doesn't want to be open to being sued if you have a bad reaction. There is no way to know the purity of a supplement -- or if it even is what it says it is.

"More" of a supplement is useless if you don't need it or your body can't make us of it. You would need to consume some supplements in small doses throughout the day for your body to make use of them. That 300 mg pill at breakfast may be three times what your body can absorb; the rest is 'flushed'.

I have pernicious anemia. No matter how much food I eat with B-12 I do not absorb it. I can not take a pill because I lack the intrinsic factor to absorb it through my stomach and even my nose so I have to give myself b12 injections. You do not realize the importance on B-12 until it goes low. Mine was 140 and I was having neurological symptoms that made them test me.

Another thing I learned is that some vitamins need certain minerals or other supplement to allow it to be absorbed into your body. So it is always good to speak to your doctor before taking any vitamin on it's own because you never know if it needs that certain supplement to allow it to absorb.

Excellent post Aprile. Taking off the shelf vitamins not only can be a waste of money but harmful. You are the perfect example of those who need them as opposed to just thinking they need them.

Aprile, can you take sublingual vitamin B?

I can't swallow big capsules so I let regular vitamins (Centrum) dissolve in my mouth after a meal. It's gross but otherwise I would be deficient. Before I did that the tests always came back with at least one deficiency.