You’ve no doubt heard from countless books, magazines, and health blogs that multivitamins are a great way to boost your immune system, your cognitive function, and your overall health, which is absolutely true! However, what many of these sources fail to cover are the smaller details about how to take multivitamins, such as the dosage, the different types, and the best time to take them. In this article, we will elaborate on these key aspects of multivitamin usage and explore how you can start making the most of your supplements.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Should I take a multivitamin? Is it really worth it?” you’re not alone! Sometimes it’s hard to tell what the real multivitamins’ benefits are, especially if you’re unsure what all the nutrients they contain actually do. The main benefit of a multivitamin in particular, though, is its ability to combine nutrients together into one dosage. This is essential for modern families. With the hustle and bustle of work, school, activities, and just life in general, it can be hard to make sure every nutrient your body needs is packed into your daily meals. Not to mention, the quality of food has decreased somewhat in recent years. With tons of nutrients like vitamins A, C, D, E, and K, B complex vitamins, zinc, iron, and more packed into each dosage, multivitamins represent the perfect way to fill in the common nutritional gaps that occur across all age groups (1).

With these benefits in mind, you may now be pondering why you shouldn’t take a multivitamin, but anyone who has a pre-existing health condition should always check with their physician before incorporating a new supplement into their diet. In these cases, contraindications like kidney or heart disease, iron metabolism disorder, or hemolytic anemia can put your body at risk of harm when taking multivitamins, as it may be more sensitive to the nutrients they contain (2). But for the most part, side effects from multivitamins are largely harmless or nonexistent, so just be sure to ask your doctor about any supplements you are interested in adding to your routine.

Multivitamin Dosage For Adults

One of the most common uncertainties surrounding multivitamins for many people is the question of just how much you need to take. You may be left wondering anything from “How many multivitamin tablets per day can I take?” to “How much vitamin D3 should I take daily?” However, the answers are often much more straightforward than you may think. Multivitamins are carefully formulated to contain the correct daily amount of each micronutrient your body needs, so the multivitamin dosage for adults, as well as kids and all other members of the family, will normally be one tablet, one pill, one gummy, or one ounce of liquid. Most brands will indicate the recommended dosage on the packaging. You should always follow the recommended dosage, unless instructed otherwise by your physician.

When it comes to dosage, an important detail to consider is the type of multivitamin you take. You want to ensure that your body makes the most of each dosage you consume without any of those valuable nutrients slipping away. If your body is unable to absorb the nutrients fast enough, then you’re not boosting your health as much as you could be with your multivitamin. In terms of absorbability, liquid multivitamins have a huge advantage over tablets, gummies, and capsules. All forms of chewable or solid vitamins must be broken down before the nutrients they contain can be absorbed into the bloodstream (3). Liquid vitamins, however, have all their nutrients present in liquid form, allowing your body to completely skip the digestion step and absorb them much more efficiently. In this way, liquid vitamins guarantee that you will experience more of the health benefits that multivitamins bring.

Best Time To Take Multivitamin

Generally, the best time to take multivitamin supplements or individual vitamin supplements depends on when you eat your meals as well as what sort of food you generally eat for each meal. There are two categories when it comes to vitamins: water-soluble and fat-soluble. The key differences between these two types are how they are absorbed and stored by your body. Water-soluble vitamins, as their name implies, dissolve in water and are thus easily absorbed with or without food. They are not stored within the body and excess amounts are flushed out in urine. Fat-soluble vitamins, on the other hand, dissolve in oil, meaning they require foods that contain fat to be present in your stomach for better absorption. Unlike water-soluble vitamins, they are stored within the body and excess amounts do not leave as easily (4).

If you typically eat a lighter breakfast consisting of fruit or carbs, you may want to wait until dinner when you eat something more substantial with fats and oils to take your multivitamin or any individual supplements that contain fat-soluble vitamins. However, if you’re taking water-soluble vitamins, you can add them in with your breakfast or on an empty stomach first thing in the morning without having to worry about slow absorption (5). Below, we included a list that outlines the different fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins so that you can figure out which meal is best for your supplements.

• When is the best time to take vitamin C and B complex vitamins? These are water-soluble vitamins, so you can take them at any point throughout the day, with or without food. You may find it helpful to wash them down with a water-based beverage.
• When is the best time to take vitamin E, K, D, and A? These are fat-soluble vitamins, so you should take them whenever you eat a substantial meal with foods containing fat or oil, such as yogurt, meat, or any food prepared in oil. Having substantial food in your stomach can also help to avoid queasiness.
• When is the best time to take a multivitamin? Since multivitamins contain both water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins, you should aim to take them with dinner in order to assist with the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins.

Best Time To Take Multivitamins Morning Or Night

If you eat the same types of foods for both your morning and evening meals, then you may be wondering if there are any other factors involved with taking supplements either in the morning or at night, and there are! “Can I take vitamin D at night?” and “Is it bad to take multivitamins before sleep?” are common questions associated with these uncertainties, so let’s take a look at what happens to your body throughout the night. 

When you fall asleep at night, your digestion slows down, sometimes making it more difficult for your body to absorb nutrients. For this reason, you should try to take your supplements early enough in the day or evening to make sure they have time to absorb properly before you fall asleep (6). Some nutrients also have the ability to boost your energy and may keep you up, as we will discuss in the next section on B complex vitamins. Below, we have provided another list detailing the best time to take a variety of different micronutrients.

• When to take vitamin C, morning or night? Since vitamin C is water soluble, you can take it any time, preferably in small doses throughout the day, if possible.
• When to take vitamin D, morning or night? Since vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, it will be absorbed best with a substantial meal. If you often have yogurt for breakfast, feel free to take vitamin D in the morning. If you do not eat foods containing fat or oil until later in the day, wait to add your vitamin D supplement then.
• When to take zinc, morning or night? Ideally, zinc should be taken either one hour before or two hours after a meal, but feel free to take it along with your meal if it upsets your stomach to consume it without substantial food. You can take zinc at any time of the day depending on your personal preference.

So the answer to “When is the best time to take multivitamins, morning or night?” is that it depends on your unique habits, routines, and lifestyle. Since multivitamins contain a variety of nutrients, it’s generally a good idea to take them with a substantial meal and early enough that they are able to absorb before you fall asleep at night.

Best Time To Take Vitamin B12

B complex vitamins are well-known for their ability to provide both a boost of energy and improved cognitive function (7). For this reason, it is often recommended that you take any supplements containing B complex vitamins in the morning, as taking them too late in the evening can result in restlessness or an overactive mind that inhibits your typical sleep schedule. This recommendation includes multivitamins, which almost always have at least the daily recommended amounts of each B complex vitamin.

So, the best time to take vitamin B6 is also the best time to take vitamin B12 and any of the other B complex vitamins. Though they all have their own unique functions in the body, they each have the overall ability to provide you with an energy surge that may interfere with your ability to properly relax in the evening. At the same time, that extra boost may be just what you need to help kickstart your mornings, especially if you tend to avoid caffeine.

Best Time To Take Multivitamins For Bodybuilding

Whether you’re a bodybuilder, a casual fitness enthusiast, or even just starting out on your health journey, everyone can benefit from adding a multivitamin to their daily routine. You do not have to be a fitness buff to use multivitamins, and anyone can benefit from creating a schedule around their supplements. The best time to take multivitamins for bodybuilding is the same as the best time to take multivitamins for anyone. Depending on your schedule and the foods you eat, you can find the ideal time to work your multivitamin into your day and ensure efficient absorption without disrupting your sleep or your digestion.

The best multivitamin for bodybuilding as well as for general use by anyone in the world is Better Family’s Liquid Daily Multivitamin. Our diverse blend of vital micronutrients includes all of the B complex vitamins, vitamins A, E, D, and K, and important minerals like iodine, selenium, and chromium. This all-in-one liquid solution can be consumed sublingually and is more concentrated than other liquid multivitamins, making it the standout choice for fast absorption of only the highest quality micronutrients. Both safe and effective, our Liquid Daily Multivitamin is a great choice for any household and can be given to family members of all ages.

References

1. Rodder, Susan. “5 Signs You’ve Chosen the Right Multivitamin.” UTSouthwestern Medical Center, 20 January 2021, https://utswmed.org/medblog/multivitamins-supplements.
2. “Who should not take multivitamin?” WebMD, 2021, https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-163552/multi-vitamin-oral/details/list-contraindications.
3. Giampapa, Vincent. “The Pro’s and Con’s of Liquid Vitamins for Adults.” healthycell, 21 June 2021, https://www.healthycell.com/blogs/articles/liquid-multivitamins-for-adults. 
4. Healthwise Staff. “Vitamins: Their Functions and Sources.” University of Michigan Health, 17 December 2020, https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/ta3868.
5. “The Best Time to Take Vitamins.” Cleveland Clinic, 26 April 2021, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-best-time-to-take-vitamins.
6. Brissette, Christy. “Morning or night? With food or without? Answers to your questions about taking supplements.” Washington Post, 5 February 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/morning-or-night-with-food-or-without-answers-to-your-questions-about-taking-supplements/2019/02/04/5fcec02a-2577-11e9-81fd-b7b05d5bed90_story.
7. Berkheiser, Kaitlyn. “9 Health Benefits of Vitamin B12, Based on Science.” healthline, 14 June 2018, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-b12-benefits.