Unquestionably, the greatest approach to make sure your body obtains the necessary daily nutrient intake is to eat a balanced diet. However, hectic schedules often require more than food to achieve this, in which case vitamins or multivitamins—a safe and efficient method to augment your diet—come in handy. This is what the professionals have to say about vitamins, including when is the best to take them if you’re thinking about adding any to your regimen.
Are multivitamins necessary?
At any age, according to nutritionist Suman Agarwal, a multivitamin might be helpful. “Anyone whose vitamin and mineral requirements are not met through regular food should consult their healthcare provider and consider starting a daily multivitamin,” she advises.
Different vitamins are important at different times of life, as Dr. Vishakha Shivdasani notes. “For instance, pregnant women need iron and folic acid; women need iron while menstruating; vegetarians are most often B12 deficient; older people may need calcium; and most people need vitamin D.”
Your multivitamins should include what?
Agarwal advises including all B-complex vitamins in your multivitamins to support the nutrients that are typically lost from our diets and modern lifestyles. Along with fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and E, she also emphasizes the advantages of trace elements including zinc, selenium, iron, and calcium. Additionally helpful are antioxidants such as astaxanthin and lycopene.
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When should one take vitamins?
Vitamin C: After breakfast.
Omega-3 like fish oil: After lunch. Taking Omega-3 with food may improve absorption and reduce unpleasant side effects.
Iron: Iron is best absorbed on an empty stomach, so take it one hour before or two hours after eating.
B-Complex: Make sure to consume it in the first half of the day. According to Dr Shivdasani, it can cause wakefulness for some people if taken later in the day.
Calcium: Best absorbed with food–particularly foods that are rich in vitamin D, which aids calcium absorption.
Magnesium: Best taken 15 minutes before bedtime, for better sleep and relaxation.
Vitamins you should combine
Taking vitamin C with iron improves the absorption of the iron, therefore the two go hand in hand. The combination of calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, and K2 has a synergistic effect on bone health, says Dr. Shivdasani.
Supplemental vitamins that block
Zinc and copper are two minerals that the body needs, but they fight for absorption. Taking excessive amounts of zinc can impede the absorption of copper. Dr. Shivdasani typically recommends taking them at different times during the day. Zinc is normally taken in the morning, whereas copper in the afternoon or evening. She went on to say that taking calcium and iron at the same time might prevent the absorption of the iron.
