A study in the peer-reviewed journal Internal Medicine states that regularly consuming the RDA of vitamins can help you live seven percent longer. Add that to the discovery that good nutrition can help reduce your likelihood of catching a cold by 20 percent, and that bottle of Centrum probably doesn't seem so overpriced anymore, does it?

But if choking down horse pills really isn't your thing, there are still plenty of vitamins and minerals to be had from -- get this -- actual food (surely no!! It can't be!!).

Among the best sources for your daily dose of health are leafy green vegetables, the kind that could be growing right now in your outdoor garden. Kale and spinach are great options, but so are more of the less thought of choices, such as parsley and mint. The former serves up 70 percent of your RDA of vitamin C, 50 percent of vitamin A, and 10 percent of your iron in a single handful. And the latter also has a great deal of vitamin A, in addition to pepping-up the taste of bland foods.