3 Vitamin Secrets Everyone Should Know

I’m forever receiving questions, via email, my web chats, and on my blog such as: When should I take my vitamins? What should I take them with? What shouldn’t I take them with?

While many of us might find taking multiple supplements challenging, it’s vital to remember that proper nutrition is essential to good health. Following a few guidelines will make taking your vitamins and other supplements easier to swallow and much more effective. 

SECRET #1: When is the best time to take vitamins? The simple answer to this question is in the morning and/or afternoon. Depending on the number of vitamins and supplements you take, you may want to split them up, half in the morning and half in the afternoon.

Some people may do all right taking their supplements at night. But I always encourage my patients to know as much as possible about how specific vitamins and nutraceuticals function in the body, because that will help them know when best to take them. For example, certain supplements such as SAMe, CoQ10, and L-carnitine may have a tendency to keep some of you awake at night. So if you know that about yourself, take your supplements in the morning or afternoon.

SECRET #2: Should I take my supplements with or without food? Since foods are a major source of nutrients, it makes sense to add supplements to your meals so that they can be digested and absorbed along with the elemental nutrients found in the foods you eat. One exception are carnitines, which I recommend taking alone and on an empty stomach.

But be very careful about drinking grapefruit juice with your vitamins and particularly, your prescription drugs. It contains an enzyme that can literally multiply your normal doses without you realizing it.

SECRET #3: Can I take CoQ10 with my cholesterol medication? Not only can you take CoQ10 with cholesterol medication, I strongly recommend that you take it. Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs can deplete your body of CoQ10, so I recommend that you take at least 200 mg of a highly-absorbable CoQ10 with your statins.

Now it’s your turn: Do you have a vitamin question you want to ask?

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