Is Use of (water soluble) supplement Vitamins a waste of money? 

Ideally, we all should get all the vitamins and minerals and such we need through our diet and not need supplementation. And we do, insofar as few here in America on a truly varied diet get so little of a given nutrient as to develop a clinical or “primary” deficiency. However, this said there are many people who develop what are called secondary deficiencies. These are often due to lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol abuse, coffee, use of certain drugs that interfere with absorption or utilization of a particular nutrient or nutrients, restrictive or lop-side diets, and even variations in how some people handle specific nutrients (Something famed nutrition scientist Dr. Roger Williams at the University of Texas-Austin called

 Food-bound vitamin B₁₂ malabsorption is defined as an impaired ability to absorb food or protein-bound vitamin B₁₂, although the free form is fully absorbable (11). In the elderly, food-bound vitamin B₁₂ malabsorption is thought to result mainly from atrophic gastritis, a chronic inflammation of the lining of the stomach that ultimately results in the loss of glands in the stomach (atrophy) and decreased stomach acid production. Because stomach acid is required for the release of vitamin B₁₂ from the proteins in food, vitamin B₁₂ absorption is diminished. Decreased stomach acid production also provides an environment conducive to the overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria in the stomach, which further interferes with vitamin B₁₂ absorption

One of the better ways is to use slow release supplements such as NUTRACENE, products that release these vitamins and such slowly over 6 to 12 hours.

How does one supplement or replenish needed nutrients without their winding up in the toilet bowl? 

However, taking a vitamin that needs regular replenishment in large doses can exceed the body’s processing and storage mechanisms with the end result being spillover (so to speak) into the urine.

Also, there is the matter of vitamin storage. Fat soluble vitamins like A & D are socked away in the liver and elsewhere and, as such, the body can only handle so much before building up toxic levels. Some B vitamins on the other hand are not well stored and thus need replenishment on a regular basis.

Prolonged deficiencies of a particular vitamin or nutrient can lead to the onset of potentially serious diseases and conditions. For example, inadequate folic acid intake or its compromised utilization in the body can result in a deficiency. This deficiency can result in rises in the level of homocysteine, which has been identified as a player in the development of arterial blockage.

(3). Because vitamin B₁₂ in supplements is not bound to protein, and because intrinsic factor (IF) is still available, the absorption of supplemental vitamin B₁₂ is not reduced as it is in pernicious anemia. Thus, individuals with food-bound vitamin B₁₂ malabsorption do not have an increased requirement for vitamin B₁₂; they simply need it in the crystalline form found in fortified foods and dietary supplements.

Food-bound vitamin B₁₂ malabsorption

Here is but one example of compromised vitamin availability from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University: 

Biochemical Individuality )

Some critics argue that taking a vitamin supplement rich in water soluble vitamins such as those in the B family is a waste of money, because the excess will be wind up in urine and thus in the toilet. One well known consumer advocate noted that those who use such supplements basically have the most expensive urine in the world. This does apply in many instances, but not all. Consider: