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Hi All--

There are still one or two replies trickling in, but I thought I should get
the summary done before I forget to do it. There were a lot of interesting
things in what people had to say. Once again, thanks so much to everyone who
responded! I've quoted a few replies for the content of what they said,
followed by shorter snips of what people recommended. Pretty basically, we
don't know if our vitamins contain what the label says they do, but there
are a few things we can do to ensure we're more likely to get a good
product.

1.  Deal with a reputable company
2.  Research the company
3.  Find out what others are taking and ask how satisfied they are.

Some of the following replies don't answer the question, but I included them
for information.

Also, a number of people mentioned Solgar as one of the most reputable
companies with a pharmaceutical grade plant. Check it out. I've only made
one comment, enclosed in square brackets [  ].
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Price doesn't guarantee quality. I buy the huge bottle of multivitamins at
Costco. Cheap and effective. People waste a great deal of money on special
supplements and vitamins that promote their magical qualities to get to the
'cellular level' or that they are totally organic. Glutenfree is all that we
need. Spend the money on something else.
_____
{Paraphrase by request...}One of the celiac specialists we all know used to
advocate for vitamin supplements, but now does not do so, except for adding
vitamin C and D. [IMHO, I believe that it's difficult for all of us to get
enough calcium and vitamin D without supplements - and for those of us who
were dx'd over the age of 30 and will not totally heal, any vitamin is
better than none if we also consume a healthy diet.]
_____
I don't think you can fully *know *when a supplement is good. In any case,
you have to put your trust in someone or some organization (and, quite
frankly, the FDA is one of the last organizations I would trust! If you read
up on the FDA and past actions, they do not appear at all to actually be
concerned about consumers.) Finding a good supplement is more trial and
error, in my opinion. You have to have a certain amount of faith in the
claims that a company or its customers makes and then, from that point, you
try it and see for yourself.

The best supplements are ones that are from whole food sources, not
chemically derived in a lab. Your body was not made to ingest chemicals and
that is why you can "overdose" on chemically-made vitamins, but not on
natural ones. But, even with a lot of "natural" supplements, you have to be
careful. Several years ago, there was a popular children's vitamin
sold in a lot of health food stores that was found to contain heavy metals.
I would research a company very well before using their vitamins regularly.
Anything you put into your body daily is worth doing some good research
over.
_____
Not sure about the US, but in Canada all supplements that have a DIN number
on the bottle are standardized so we know bottle has in it what it says it
has. Doesn't mean all supplements have a DIN though, and there is no
co-relation between price and presence of a DIN. If the product doesn't have
a DIN it may still have a NPN, an indication it has been approved by Health
Canada.
_____
 Many of the vitamins (GF and not) do NOT contain what they state they do.
I just read a study done on certain vitamins and was disturbed to find there
is not "truth" in advertising.
The only one I specifically remember was Centrum--it had the correct amounts
of vitamins and minerals stated on the packaging.  (also stated to be GF) You
might find this study if you search Google.  It came to my e-mail from
either Mayo or one of the other sites.
_____
Only take vitamins with USP seal. (the U.S. version of a standardization of
quality and quantity - not related to the FDA)
_____
Food-based vitamins are best: Rainbow Light, Solgar, New Chapter, just to
name a few
_____
Liquid vitamins are more easily absorbed
_____
Join ConsumerLab.com for evaluations
_____
Vitamins by prescription...Designs for Health is one brand.
_____
Drop vitamin in small glass of vinegar - it should desolve in 30 minutes. If
there's still a solid pill in the glass after 20-30 minutes, time to find a
new vitamin. The vinegar simulates the stomach's acid content.
*********
Thanks, again, everyone!!  ~~Ayn in Alabama

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