Nutrients form Natural Organic Foods vs. Multi Vitamin Pills

Would you say that there is big difference between the health benefits of nutrients from these two sources? It just seems like I feel better when I eat organic foods rather than try to just pop a multi vitamin to make up for eating low quality food. What are your thoughts? Multi vitamins from pills just don't seem to have the same effect on me as nutrients from fresh organic fruit and vegetables. As matter of fact, I usually get a stomach ache from vitamin pills which makes me feel terrible.

 

most vitamin pills need to be taken with food before/after a meal. not enough people realize this. without food, the vitamins cannot be absorbed and are just pissed or pooped out.

 

Vitamin supplements are of use only on specific cases like for example iron during pregnancy or folate before and at the start of pregnancy. Also keep in mind that if you eat junk food high in saturated fatty acids, cholesterol and simple carbohydrates a supplement will not reverse the effect of the above to your health.
Bioavailability is also an important factor (how well is a nutrient absorbed) that is really complex to analyse in general.
Generally, supplements are useless for anyone with a relatively balanced diet that doesn't have any special conditions or doesn't live in an area that may affect his nutritional intake (examples Vit D and northern countries, iodine and places with soil poor in iodine).

Edit to add: Keep in mind that multivitamins may contain high ammounts of lipid soluble vitamins, the problem with that is that if you already consumme large ammounts of lipid soluble vitamins, those don't get excreted but are stored mainly in the liver and in large quantities may have toxic effects. If you are taking supplements it's always best to take supplements of specific vitamins of minerals and not multivitamins.

 

I had not heard this idea of only taking specific vitamins and it really sounds like good sense. The only supplement I take is calcium because I have acid reflux every once in a while. Is it ever dangerous to take too much calcium?