When should I take my supplements?

Before we get into timing, the most important thing is that you take the supplement, so don’t stress if the information below is too much for you and doesn’t fit your lifestyle. We are all human with lots of other things going on around us that we must think of everyday so we want to make this approach to supplements as attainable and sustainable as possible.

1. If you are new to taking supplements, keep it simple, put them beside your toothbrush so you’ll remember to take it everyday.

2. If you are taking a separate B vitamin or a multivtamin containing B vitamins, its best you take this in the morning as they can be energising. They are best avoided taking in the evening if you are having trouble sleeping at night time.

3. Magnesium is best taken in the evening as it helps to relax the body (muscles, bowels, body) in preparation for sleep. Magnesium citrate is best taken at night time to help with a bowel movement in the morning (which may benefit some clients).

4. Fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) are best taken with a fat source. If you are taking a Vitamin D for example it will already be paired with a fat source in liquid or capsule form but it is still beneficial to take with a meal that contains fat.

5. Take your prenatal multivitamin with food. Not to get to scientific but certain vitamins require co-factors to be absorbed into the body so it is hoped that if the multi is taken with food this will help with the absorption of the nutrients so they are better utilised in the body. Also, if you are experiencing nausea or morning sickness it is best you do not take the multivitamin on an empty stomach as this can increase nausea.

   A high quality prenatal will require you to split your dosage in 3 (take 1 at breakfast, 1 at lunch and 1 at 3/4pm - not too late close to sleep time as B vitamins in prenatal can be energising) as your body can only absorb so many nutrients at one time.

6. Iron, calcium and magnesium are competing nutrients, meaning they fight for absorption in the body so they are best taken separately. This is of particular importance if you are severely anemic or suffered a post-partum haemorrhage - e.g. take an iron supplement at a different time to when you are eating a calcium/ magnesium rich meal or your multi-vitamin. If you are taking a multivitamin that contains all of these nutrients this cannot be avoided (unless your multivitamin contains less than 250mg of calcium or magnesium).

7. Vitamin C increases the absorption of iron. So if you are eating an iron rich meal or taking an iron supplement it is best to have it with foods high in vitamin C (e.g. oranges, lemon, kiwi, strawberries, red peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts)

8. Some supplements interact with medications so again its best they are taken at different times of the day (4 hours apart). For example, some thyroid medications aren’t as well absorbed if taken with iron or calcium. We always encourage our clients to speak with their doctor before incorporating new supplements.

Remember it may seem easier just to "pop a pill”, but the nutrients found in whole foods work synergistically and contain many necessary co-factors and enzymes required by the body to be properly activated and absorbed so foods first supplements second.