It seems that everywhere you look, food and drink is fortified with something or other. While in some cases this can be very good (milk fortified with vitamin D has eliminated widespread deficiency in children), other times these vitamin packed foods come with a price–the price of spending too much.
I am buy no means anti fortified food. What I am against is energy bars that are the size of my little finger and cost practically the same amount for one bar as it costs me to pack an entire lunch. Often, these extra nutrients aren’t even used by the body. For example, a vitamin drink may boast of 300 percent of recommended vitamin C. What they don’t tell you is that your body eliminates any extra vitamin C that it can’t use anyway.
Eating nutritious, whole foods will provide all of your needed nutrients for a small percentage of the cost of these so called vitamin foods. If you know you are lacking in a certain area (we don’t eat fish because of allergies, for example) then by all means talk to your doctor about taking a supplement to make up for any deficiency. It will cost you less.
Often it is the convenience that gets us as well. Knowing that you can drink and drink and get all of your proper servings with ease can be tempting. And a vitamin drink may be better than soda (some of these drinks still pack a whopping of sugar). But just realize that the trade off is the expense.
To save money but still have the convenience, why not put together your own vitamin foods? Take an hour to make up a huge batch of granola, for example. Purchase some edame or raisins to eat as a snack. My kids love to munch on frozen peas, although they groan at cooked peas. If you are eating out, order some water with a slice of lemon. The lemon will add vitamin C without the sugar or the cost.