Dietary supplement craze: Are pills really needed?

(CBS) Americans sure love their vitamins. About half of all U.S. adults take multivitamins and other dietary supplements, according to a new report from the CDC - a level that hasn't changed much in recent years.

The report shows a rise in the proportion of older women who take calcium. More than two-thirds of women over 60 now take supplements of the bone-building mineral. Vitamin D supplements are popular too. About 44 percent of women and 45 percent of men take the vitamin.

Is all this pill swallowing really justified?

Government health experts say most people can get the 13 essential vitamins - A, C, D, E, K and the B vitamins B6, B12, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and biotin - from food, although people who eat a vegetarian diet may need to take a B12 supplement. And overdosing on vitamins can make you sick.

Best bet? Ask your doctor.

The government website Medline Plus has more on supplements.