We, and anyone understanding basic biochemistry, think very little of vitamin water or other “vitamin-spiked” foods or fluids, primarily because people consuming these products end up with no idea as to their daily total intake of vitamins and minerals (VM). Also the ability to stabilize nutrients and deliver them to target tissues is severely compromised when put into a liquid matrix. It's not practical for anyone to add up all the individual nutrients of everything put in their body, which includes traditional foods and whatever else you may be eating or drinking that's spiked (nutrition bars, fortified cereals or orange juice, vitamin water, etc.), a multiple vitamin and any other supplement or shake you may be consuming. However by taking a multivitamin and mineral formula (MVM) and avoiding most fortified foods (especially vitamin-spiked water), you can eliminate any uncertainty, making maintaining proper levels automatic. So, in summary, stay away from the fortified foods or fluids that have recently showed up on store shelves containing VM, herbs and other compounds not naturally occurring in the foods themselves. Don't guess or think about your daily total nutrient intake; just take a well formulated (MVM) as directed daily with your traditional meals and you will be operating at full capacity. The second part of your question: are the vitamins going to be absorbed? Whatever VM are still in the fluid when you purchase the product will probably be absorbed, but the problem with liquid is that some VM may not remain in their natural state while in a fluid medium, and even if they do you wouldn't want them to enter the body all at once, which of course would happen if you delivered the VM in this manner. There are reasons why most VM and drugs are delivered in pill form: 1) the active ingredients remain stable, 2) they can survive the path through stomach acid, which can alter or destroy some substances, 3) the VM contained in a proper pill form can be released over time as the body needs them. Releasing them into the body all at once (as from liquid or other cheap formulas) would be more than the body can use at one time, forcing the body to discard what it can't use, leaving you without a steady stream of nutrients throughout the day. For more info on health supplements see the dotFIT program.