Doctors recommend that infants, the elderly, and everyone in-between, including menopausal women, pregnant women, young adults, and children take various mineral and vitamin supplements for a variety of reasons. Minerals such as iron, calcium and copper as well as vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K that we get from our food all help strengthen our bones, teeth and immune system. These nutrients also boost energy and improve overall health. 

Best Time of the Day to Take Vitamins 

1. Take in the Morning
The ideal time to take vitamins is during the morning as this is when your body does not have nutrients and requires additional energy in order to rise and then function. You should usually take supplements and vitamins within 30 minutes of consuming a healthy breakfast, especially one that has high quantities of calcium, protein and fruit. It helps ensure that your body will process it because it will be both broken down then digested with the food. When you take your vitamins during the morning, you can also ensure that its nutrients will be effectively used during the day. Some vitamins like B12 and C can have stimulating effects. If your body is sensitive to the stimulation, you should take care not to take them close to your bedtime as this could cause a sleep disturbance. You should talk with your doctor before starting any vitamins. 

2. Take with Meals
There are many different types of vitamins as well as multivitamins and therefore, there are limitless combinations. The best time to consume various vitamins and minerals depends on the function and nature of these nutrients. Because most minerals and vitamins are simple nutritional elements that can be found in our normal food, they are absorbed and digested best when taken with a meal. That is why most doctors recommend you take your vitamin supplements during a meal. 

3. TakeRegularly
Vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K are all fat soluble, but B Vitamin complex as well as vitamin C aren’t, being water soluble instead. These water soluble vitamins are regularly eliminated from your body through excretory products such as urine while the fat soluble vitamins will remain stored in your body. Because of this, you must take water soluble vitamins regularly. 

Instructions for taking Vitamins and Minerals 

Be careful with Calcium and Iron interaction
You must consider how vitamins can interfere with the absorption or function of other vitamins. People who take calcium for osteoporosis and iron for anemia should consume iron during the morning and their calcium at another time. Otherwise, they will fight for absorption in your alimentary tract. If you take multiple minerals at once, you may develop stomach acid imbalance. 

Be careful with Vitamin K and Vitamin E interaction
Some other vitamins can also react negatively with other nutrients. For example, large quantities of vitamin E can interfere with the ability of your body to utilize vitamin K. This vitamin is essential to ensure proper blood clotting so this interaction could increase the risk of bleeding. 

Take Vitamin B12 and Folic acid together
If you take folic acid supplements by themselves, they may end up masking anemia that is caused by a deficiency of vitamin B12 and this can lead to nerve damage which cannot be reversed. Vitamin B12 and folic acid can be taken together for best results. 

(Written by: Susan ElGendy, a health, lifestyle, & fitness writer with an eBook in Arabic & English)