Drinking Vitamins through a straw

I try to ignore the AOL news page that pops up at me when I log on and advertises such "top new stories" as "Oops, Britney Carrying Fake Knock-off Bag" and "When Cosmetic Surgery Goes Bad." However, sometimes the popup box that you can't ever click away shows a headline that I just can't resist. Like "Man Sneaks Monkey onto Plane", or, in this case, "Should You Sip Your Vitamins Through a Straw?" Even before reading this article, I was quite sure that no, you should not sip your vitamins in through a straw. The whole vitamin water craze is very bizarre to me - what is so appealing about drinking expensive, high-fructose corn syrup-enriched, water? Sure there are a couple of vitamins tossed in, but nothing truly vital to your health, or nothing that would not be better gained from a fresh piece of fruit or a fresh vegetable. I remember reading a article written by the man who wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma about how what makes fruit and vegetables good for us cannot be isolated down to one component. No, despite what people want you to believe, what is good about vegetables is not their vitamins, minerals, fiber, flavenoids, or whatever. What is good for you about a vegetable is the entire, vegetable experience - minerals, vitamins, fresh food, fiber, taste - all of it in an irreducible package.

Anyways, here is an interesting diagram from the article. You can find the entire article at:
http://money.aol.com/wsj/general/canvas3/_a/should-you-sip-your-vitamins-through-a/20070724121509990001