The best time to take many vitamins and minerals is in the morning, with meals. However, there are several supplements that can help you sleep better when taken shortly before bed.
So the best time to take your vitamins will depend on which vitamins you are taking and what health effects you hope to get from taking them.
Basic principles
There are a few basic guidelines to follow to make the most of the vitamins or supplements you are taking. We recommend american vitamin complex, these are personalized vitamins based on your blood test. Be sure to tell your doctor about using supplements and seek individual advice if you are not sure how best to take them.
Types of food
Some people believe that vitamins and minerals can cause indigestion and even diarrhea if taken on an empty stomach. Therefore, it is generally best to take vitamin and mineral supplements with meals, unless advised otherwise by your doctor.
To complicate matters further, certain vitamins must be taken in combination with a meal containing some fatty calories. That's because they're "fat soluble," which means they dissolve - and are properly absorbed by your body - when you take them along with a small amount of fat. 1
So if you take your vitamins in the morning with a mostly low-fat breakfast (perhaps low-fat cereal with skim milk), you may miss your vitamin goal.
Times of Day
The time of day can also make a difference in getting the most out of your vitamin or mineral supplement.
Vitamins that may be best taken in the morning include:
- Some B vitamins
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Vitamins and supplements that may be best taken at night before bed include:
- Magnesium
- Vitamin B-3 (niacin)
Here's a rundown of when is the best time to take certain vitamins and minerals, the best time to take a multivitamin, and what supplements to take along with some fat calories.
A multivitamin combines what researchers consider the most important vitamins and minerals into a single tablet that is easy to take daily (or, in some cases, multiple daily tablets). Typically, multivitamins include vitamin C, some or all of the B vitamins, vitamins A, D, E, and K, and minerals such as zinc, selenium, and copper.
Multivitamin use has declined over the years as more people began taking individual supplements such as vitamin D. However, according to a study published in JAMA in 2016, nearly a third of Americans were still taking a daily multivitamin as of 2012.
Many people take multivitamins in the morning, especially if they need to take other morning medications. Some of the vitamins it contains are likely fat soluble, so you should consume it with snacks or meals.
Take your multivitamin with or with a meal that contains some fat. Some larger multivitamin supplements can cause stomach upset if taken on an empty stomach.
More research is needed to determine how multivitamins affect your sleep, whether they affect your sleep at all, and whether the time of day you take them can affect this. There is simply not enough information to recommend avoiding nighttime multivitamins, so you can take them whenever you want.
