What is the best time to take your vitamins?
Whether you want more energy, to build muscle, sleep better, or simply support your health. In addition to a healthy diet and lifestyle, supplements can offer that little extra to support your health. But when should you take your daily vitamins and minerals for the best effect?
Why bread and supplements are not a good combination
Let's get straight to the point: the least optimal time to take your supplements is around a grain-rich breakfast or lunch with a cup of coffee. Both coffee and grains contain phytic acid. Phytic acid is a substance that binds to minerals (such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc) from food or supplements, preventing them from being (properly) absorbed.
If you consume a lot of minerals (from vegetables and meat) and little phytic acid (found in grains, coffee, nuts, legumes, and oats), you need not worry. However, for many people in the Netherlands, the opposite is true: our diet generally does not contain many minerals from vegetables or meat, but does include a lot of phytic acid from bread and coffee. In such cases, many minerals are not well absorbed.
Are you now thinking, "Help, I have bread for breakfast and always take my supplements right after"? Try taking the supplements from your morning routine an hour after breakfast. Or replace your usual porridge with overnight oats and your regular sandwich with an organic sourdough one. You can reduce the phytic acid content in foods by soaking, fermenting, or sprouting them.
What is the best time for your vitamins and minerals?
Your vitamin routine: when should you take your go-to supplements for the best results? To distinguish this, it is important to know that vitamins are divided into water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins.
Water-soluble vitamins
As the name suggests, water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water. This means you essentially only need some water to absorb them well.
There are nine water-soluble vitamins, including vitamin C plus the eight B-vitamins:
- B1 (thiamine)
- B2 (riboflavin)
- B3 (niacin)
- B5 (pantothenic acid)
- B6 (pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P))
- B7 (biotin)
- B11 (folate)
- B12 (cobalamin)
It is important that we get enough of the water-soluble vitamins daily through our diet, because unlike fat-soluble vitamins, we do not store them in our bodies. Instead, we excrete the excess vitamins. For vitamin B6 in supplements, it is slightly different; the inactive form of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) can accumulate in the body at high doses from supplements and cause problems. When buying a multivitamin or vitamin B-complex, it is important that it contains the active (well-absorbed) form pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P5P).
Fat-soluble vitamins
Unlike water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins rely on a bit of fat to be well absorbed. For this reason, it is advisable to take these vitamins around a larger meal, as it is likely to contain some fat. The fat-soluble vitamins are vitamins A, D, E, and K.
Minerals and trace elements
Just like vitamins, we cannot produce minerals ourselves, so we must get enough through our diet. Trace elements are also classified as minerals, but we call them trace elements because we need them in much smaller amounts compared to minerals.
- The minerals include: calcium, chloride, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and sodium.
- The trace elements include: chromium, fluoride, iron, iodine, copper, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc.
Minerals are generally water-soluble but are better absorbed with a bit of fat. For minerals, it is particularly important not to take them around your coffee break or a meal high in phytic acid.
When to take magnesium? This is the best time
The versatile magnesium is needed for numerous functions in our body. Although it is present in many foods, the levels are often quite low, making it difficult to get enough magnesium.
Do not take magnesium during a meal. Magnesium is a basic (alkaline) mineral. When you take magnesium, it temporarily reduces the acidity of your stomach. A less acidic stomach can slow down the digestion of food — especially proteins. Therefore, it is better to take magnesium between meals and preferably in the evening.
When to take fish oil? After dinner
If you don't like fish or eat fatty fish less than twice a week, it might be wise to take an omega-3 supplement to ensure you get your essential fatty acids DHA and EPA. The timing of your omega-3 intake doesn't matter much. However, research shows that taking it with or just after dinner can support sleep in children and adults.
When to take probiotics? Before bedtime
Probiotics are the live bacterial strains found in our gut flora, among other places. These live bacterial strains are found in fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, sourdough bread, miso, tempeh, and kefir. If you're taking a probiotic supplement, take it on an empty stomach to ensure all the bacteria reach the right place intact. For the best results, take the live bacterial strains on an empty stomach, but only after food is already present in your digestive system; just before bedtime, for example.
Optimise your vitamin routine
Do you want to optimise your vitamin routine and love lists? Use the following overview as a suggestion for the order of your vitamin routine:
- In the morning: B-vitamins (because they support our energy levels) and/or a multivitamin
- In between: possibly magnesium
- At lunch or dinner: vitamin D and possibly B-vitamins and/or multivitamin
- At dinner: omega-3
- An hour after dinner: magnesium
- Just before bedtime: live bacterial strains
- Avoid taking supplements with coffee or whole grains (due to phytic acid, especially for minerals)
But also remember: our days don't always go as planned. Don't worry if you occasionally have coffee or a sandwich right after taking magnesium. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good!
Sources
- Wang, R., & Guo, S. (2021). Phytic acid and its interactions: Contributions to protein functionality, food processing, and safety. Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety, 20(2), 2081–2105. https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12714
- Pramitha, J. L., Rana, S., Aggarwal, P. R., Ravikesavan, R., Joel, A. J., & Muthamilarasan, M. (2021). Diverse role of phytic acid in plants and approaches to develop low-phytate grains to enhance bioavailability of micronutrients. Advances in genetics, 107, 89–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.adgen.2020.11.003
- Montgomery, P., Burton, J. R., Sewell, R. P., Spreckelsen, T. F., & Richardson, A. J. (2014). Fatty acids and sleep in UK children: subjective and pilot objective sleep results from the DOLAB study--a randomized controlled trial. Journal of sleep research, 23(4), 364–388. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.12135
- Scorza, F. A., Cavalheiro, E. A., Scorza, C. A., Galduróz, J. C., Tufik, S., & Andersen, M. L. (2013). Sleep Apnea and Inflammation - Getting a Good Night's Sleep with Omega-3 Supplementation. Frontiers in neurology, 4, 193. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2013.00193
