Supplements are like skincare: used incorrectly, an expensive waste of time. Turns out there’s a science to getting the most out of your daily intake. We spoke to licensed medical professionals to find out the best time to take your supplements, from B vitamins before breakfast to magnesium glycinate at bedtime.
In the morning, on an empty stomach
“The first 30 minutes of the day set your metabolic baseline,” says Dr. Jean-Marc Sobczyk, an integrative medicine and longevity physician at Hooke London. “Forget the coffee, and opt for B-complex vitamins and iron instead.”
B vitamins
B vitamins are “cofactors” in cellular energy production, which means they help boost your system into gear, making energy more readily available when you need it most. “Take them with food, and they will compete with your scrambled eggs for absorption,” says Sobczyk. “Separate them, and they get straight to work.”
“Iron’s even more finicky,” says Sobczyk. “There’s a 2017 Lancet Haematology study that completely changed how I prescribe it. It turns out that taking iron on an empty stomach, and crucially, every other day, not daily, keeps something called hepcidin in check.” Hepcidin acts a bit like a bouncer for your gut: if you take iron too frequently, hepcidin shoots up, arms crossed, blocking its absorption.
Rhodiola rosea
“Around 200-400mg before 10 a.m. recalibrates your HPA (brain-adrenal glands) axis, essentially your body’s stress command centre,” says Sobczyk, pointing to a study in the International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice. As a reminder, this is a supplement that has been shown to modulate stress while boosting energy—exactly the kind of thing we need more of first thing in the morning.
At lunch, with food
Some supplements are best taken with food as a way to aid your digestion of the pills.
Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K
“These are all completely useless without dietary fat,” says Sobczyk. So load up on things like oily fish, avocados, and nuts when you take these. “Without lipids (fats) as a transport vehicle, you’re literally creating very expensive urine.”
“It’s true that stomach acid destroys probiotics, but here’s the thing: a meal containing fat creates a pH buffer that dramatically improves bacterial survival,” Sobczyk explains. In other words, the food you eat protects them.
Mid-afternoon
Coenzyme Q10
Don’t worry about pronouncing this one, you just need to know when to take it. “CoQ10 is best absorbed alongside fat, and helps with cellular energy production,” says Dr. Louise Rix, clinical lead at Unfabled. Pop a pill alongside a health bar for an energy kick to see you through your work day. until home time.
Evening
If you’re one of those people who works in the evening, a few choice supplements can help your performance. “It’s often better to focus on performance support rather than stimulation, as caffeine later in the day can interfere with sleep,” says Rix. Translation: leave the Celcius at home.
