A common question I receive is when is the best time of day to take my multivitamin?

As always, the More your Know the Faster You Run.

First, anytime is better than no time to take your multivitamin. If you have decided to introduce a multivitamin to complement your healthy diet, that is itself a good decision. From there, focus on taking a multivitamin every day.

Once taking a multivitamin is a daily habit, focus on taking your multivitamin with meals for two reasons. 

The first reason is routine and consistency. Linking meals and multivitamin creates another trigger for your daily routine.

The second reason is to increase multivitamin absorption. Vitamins are either water soluble or fat soluble. (See our previous video on the topic.) Vitamins B and C are water soluble. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat soluble. Water soluble vitamins dissolve in water and then are absorbed by the body. Fat soluble vitamins need fat for dissolving and absorbing by the body. Most foods (or beverages with meals) contain water. As such, absorbing Vitamins B and C are rarely the limiting factor. Instead, the consumption of fat in meals is the limiting factor.

Therefore, the best time of day to take your multivitamin is with the meal where you are consuming a small amount of fat. For runner, this could be breakfast with eggs, pre-run snack of bagel with peanut butter, or dinner while cooking vegetables with olive oil.

See you at the Finish Line,