Jane Brody, long retired from the NY Times, pens interesting articles on health.  She is a reporter not an expert on health matters.  I suggest readers who are curious about the benefits of supplements go to Dr. Weil's web site on integrative medicine and research his findings as well as others in the medical field and that of naturalpaths.

Medical doctor have training in the area of pharmaceuticals as compared to supplements, consequently they are wary of recommending vitamins, etc. Personally I have benefitted from supplements over the years, especially using Magnesium compounds to eliminate kidney stones along  with changes of diet.

The USA needs a thorough study on supplements with double blind studies as they do in Germany. 
In the meantime, Americans will keep using supplements as an alternative to expensive drugs many with serious side effects. Deaths from vitamin supplements were zero in 2012.  From prescriptions in the same years, over 200,000.