When to take your Multivitamin | PlanYourVitamins.com

What are multivitamins good for?

Short answer: Multivitamins have potential benefits for nutritional deficiencies, the immune system and cancer prevention.

We all know what a multivitamin is... or do we? The truth is that there is no actual standard for what constitutes a multivitamin supplement, and neither is there a strict definition of what a multivitamin should achieve, which means that their ingredients and nutritional profile can vary from one supplement brand to the next.

That said, there is a general consensus that multivitamin supplements should include the essential vitamins and minerals that the human body needs in order to function, and in doses that are appropriate and proportional to the recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, for each.

These generally include vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, boron, calcium, chromium, copper, iodine, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, potassium, selenium, silica, zinc, and all the B vitamins, although each brand of multivitamin usually opts to include some additional compounds, such as choline or quercetin for example.

Multivitamin supplements can come in all shapes and sizes, but generally all include the same core ingredients.

Shortcomings of multivitamins

Multivitamins are invariably marketed as supplements that will improve your overall health, revitalize you, and protect you from illness, however research offers mixed results in this regard, and depending on their age, health status and diet, some people may not really benefit from taking a multivitamin at all.

While it is true that a multivitamin supplement can definitely compensate for light nutritional deficiencies across the board, they are not really designed to assist beyond that, and the fact that they combine vitamins and minerals which could potentially compete for absorption, or interact sub-optimally with each other, leaves much to be desired.

Multivitamin supplements even manage to combine vitamins that are best taken with food together with vitamins that are best taken on an empty stomach (which in some way defeats the entire purpose of this website!).

Reduction of cancer & cardiovascular events

Some studies suggest that multivitamin supplementation has been linked to a reduced risk of suffering a heart attack, and an overall lower mortality rate, while other studies have shown no significant results. For example, the Physician's Health Study II, which involved daily multivitamin supplementation for over 14,000 male doctors for over a decade, found no reduction in cardiovascular events, or mortality, while it did note a reduction in the risk of developing cancer.

On the other hand, a more recent study that involved women taking a multivitamin for several years did actually observe a lower risk of cardiovascular events, and a review of five trials that involved almost 50,000 people concluded that multivitamin supplementation reduced the risk of developing cancer in men by a staggering 31%, while no difference was found in women.

Multivitamins for treating anxiety, depression & memory

Other research has analyzed the mental health aspects of multivitamin supplementation. Several studies have concluded that multivitamin supplementation can indeed reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as improve cognitive functions such as memory in older adults.

A pragmatic approach to multivitamins

It seems that the more research that is done regarding multivitamin supplementation, the more questions are raised than are answered! My personal conclusion is that, if you are young, active, and confident that you follow a healthy diet, you most likely do not need to take multivitamins on a daily basis, and should only focus on individual supplements that target specific areas of health that you want to address.

In fact, if you take a high-potency multivitamin on top of a nutrient-rich diet, you could potentially end up with an excessive intake of certain vitamins or minerals, which will often do more harm than good. However, if you are an older adult, or if you suffer from any health conditions that reduce your body's ability to absorb nutrients from your diet, you may definitely benefit from a high-quality multivitamin supplement, and should consult with your trusted doctor accordingly.

Lastly, regardless of your age or health status, multivitamin supplements are a great tool to have on standby for when you fall ill, in order to help temporarily reinforce your immune system.

Multivitamin supplements are a great tool to have available when dealing with illness or infection to help strengthen your immune response.

When should I take my multivitamin?

Short answer: Multivitamins are best taken with breakfast, or with the first meal of the day, preferably including fatty foods (fish, meat, eggs, dairy, avocado, olive oil, nuts, seeds).

One of the main drawbacks of multivitamin supplements is that they combine different types of vitamins and minerals which are optimally taken at different times, in different combinations, or in different degrees of digestive status.

For example, they contain fat-soluble vitamins, like vitamin D, which are best taken together with a meal that contains dietary fat, but they also contain water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C, which are best taken between meals. They also contain minerals that potentially compete for absorption, such as magnesium and calcium.

With food or without?

That said, there are a couple of factors that we can take into account in order to determine the optimal time of day for taking multivitamin supplements. First of all, it is much easier for us to absorb water-soluble vitamins with a meal, than it is for us to absorb fat-soluble vitamins on an empty stomach, so mealtime emerges victorious in this regard.

Furthermore, a multivitamin's dense nutritional content could be heavy on the stomach, or some of the acidic content could cause gastric upset, so taking your multivitamin with food will help to reduce the risk of any potential discomfort.

Morning or night?

Given that multivitamins contain most, if not all B vitamins, which are known to have a somewhat energizing effect, it is best to take your multivitamin early in the day rather than later in the day. Therefore, taking all of the above into consideration, we can conclude that taking your multivitamin with breakfast (ideally, a breakfast containing dietary fat), or the first meal of the day, is the best way to go.

Some multivitamins are recommended to be taken twice a day, in which case you would benefit from taking your second one at some point in the afternoon, rather than in the evening.

What should I avoid taking my multivitamin with?

Short answer: Avoid taking multivitamin supplements at the same time as calcium, iodine, iron, kelp, vitamin A or vitamin E.

Avoid taking multivitamin with additional supplemental doses of calcium, vitamin A or vitamin E

Multivitamin supplements that already contain calcium, vitamin A or vitamin E should not be combined with separate supplements of the same type, as this could potentially result in excessive intake and lead to toxicity.

As multivitamins often contain much more than the daily RDA for certain vitamins and minerals, you would be wise to double-check with any other supplements that you are taking to ensure that you are not "doubling up" and consuming a toxic amount of any given vitamin or mineral.

Avoid taking multivitamin with additional supplemental doses of iron, iodine or omega-6

The same applies to any multivitamins that contain iron, omega-6 (evening primrose oil, pumpkin seed oil, ...) or iodine (potassium iodide, kelp, ...), and although iron, omega-6 and iodine are found less frequently in multivitamin supplements, it is always worth double-checking the ingredient list just to make sure!

Multivitamin data sources & further reading

Last updated by Asklepios on 30th January, 2025