I’ve been told that you just pass them through your digestive system like a seed by some and then that they are critical to your health by others.
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They work. They don’t just “pass through your system like a seed” – that would imply the pill came out whole on the other side. No, the vitamins in there do get absorbed. Whether they always get absorbed optimally, compared to taking those same vitamins as part of whole foods, is a matter of some research and debate and can vary from vitamin to vitamin, and depend on the specific form of the vitamin that is included in a supplement.
If you eat a varied diet then likely they are not critical to your health. Specific groups of people may be at risk for certain nutrient deficiencies, and may be recommended or prescribed specific supplements for those nutrients (e.g. menstruating women have a higher risk of iron deficiency, vegans need to supplement vitamin B12, and so on). Multivitamins are never recommended or prescribed by doctors or nutrition experts, as far as I know, but nor are they likely to do any harm, if used responsibly. Most vitamins are water-soluble and so taking more of them then you need simply results in you peeing them out with no harm done (they get filtered out by your kidneys). Some vitamins (like vitamin A) are fat-soluble, and those can pose a risk when taken in excessive amounts, as they can build up in the liver and reach toxic concentrations. However, again you’re unlikely to approach those levels if you follow the appropriate recommendations & instructions (and most multivitamin supplements don’t contain large doses of these vitamins, precisely for this reason).
If you are worried about your vitamin intake but you’re not sure exactly what vitamins you risk taking too little of, then multivitamins can be a convenient solution that, even if it doesn’t actually help you, most likely won’t hurt either. Just be careful not too take too much, which includes being mindful of other products that you consume that might be fortified with vitamins, like breakfast cereals. And whatever you do, don’t waste money on “vitamin water”. Buy a nice lemonade and take a multivitamin tablet and save yourself a few bucks.
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