C4D, it depends on what kind of supplements. Pharmaceutical companies generally use isolated, synthetic vitamins in their studies, as opposed to whole food supplements. This is very misleading but not surprising.
The author of the article you posted, Dr. Paul Offit, is on the board of trustees of the American Council on Science and Health – they describe themselves as a consumer education group – but they are a front group for corporate interests. Their funding is from pharmaceutical, oil and chemical companies, and they’ve defended DDT, asbestos, agent orange and various other pesticides, saying they do no harm.
Here is an excellent article on the difference between synthetic and whole food supplements.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/01/19/whole-food-supplements.aspx
