You should try to meet your nutritional needs through foods rather than taking vitamin or mineral supplements, advise the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. The guidelines do identify some specific groups of people who should take vitamins, such as pregnant women, who need folic acid, iron and vitamin C. If you vitamins, you probably want to take them correctly. The time of day you take vitamins is less important than some other considerations.
Nutrient Adequacy
Consider whether you need to take vitamins at all. The Office of Dietary Supplements reports that one study of vitamin use in a large group assessed dietary intake and multivitamin use to determine total nutrient intake. The nutrient intake from diet alone was adequate for about three-fourths of the study participants, but multivitamin use increased the nutrient adequacy for both men and women by about 8 percentage points.
Vitamins and Time of Day
Neither the Office of Dietary Supplements nor the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommend you take vitamins at a certain time of day. You may find it helpful to take them with your breakfast, if that is when it’s easiest to remember them. If you become nauseated easily, taking vitamins with a meal may help to prevent digestive upsets. Higher doses of some vitamins, such as vitamin C, may cause stomach upsets, so you may have fewer problems if you take them with food.
What to Take With Vitamins
While it may not matter when you take vitamins, it does matter what you take with them. Vitamin C helps you absorb iron, so taking them together can be beneficial. Vitamin C can also increase absorption of aluminum, which is found in antacids, so you should take it two hours before or four hours after an antacid. Sometimes, one vitamin can interfere with another vitamin; if you take larges doses of vitamin C, it may decrease absorption of vitamin B-12.
Vitamins and Medications
Vitamin E interferes with absorption of some antidepressants and can make them less effective. Cholesterol-lowering medications can decrease the absorption of vitamin E and reduce vitamin E levels in the blood. If you are taking the anticoagulant warfarin, taking vitamin E with it can increase the risk of abnormal bleeding. Vitamin C also interacts with estrogen, warfarin, acetaminophen and aspirin, so you should not take it in combination with any of those medications.
Other Considerations
To determine if you need to take vitamins, the FDA suggests you consider such questions as whether your diet is restricted, whether you eat fewer than two meals a day, whether you are losing or gaining weight, whether you take three or more medicines a day and whether you drink three or more alcoholic beverages a day. Take your vitamins at the time of day that is most convenient for you. Consult a health care professional about your personal situation and follow any instructions about when to take certain vitamins.
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