The Supplement Timing Guide

Most people take the right things at the wrong time, with the wrong thing, or alongside something that cancels them out. Here is when to take what, and what to keep apart.

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Three rules that matter more than perfect timing.

1. Consistency beats the clock. The best time to take something is the time you will actually remember. Taken at 7am every day beats a perfect time you hit three days a week.
2. Fat-soluble vitamins need fat. A, D, E and K only absorb properly alongside dietary fat. A black coffee does not count as a meal.
3. Minerals compete. Iron, zinc, calcium and magnesium share absorption routes. In big doses together they get in each other's way, so space them out.

Morning

With breakfast, or whatever the first thing you eat is.

Vitamin D3 + K2Morning, with a meal that has fat in it

Vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the immune system and to the maintenance of normal bones and normal muscle function. It is fat-soluble, so pair it with eggs, yoghurt, avocado, nuts or oily fish. Taken with a black coffee, most of it is wasted.

Vitamin B-ComplexMorning, with food

B vitamins contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. They are water-soluble so they do not need fat, but they can feel stimulating, which is why morning suits most people better than evening.

ProbioticMorning, with breakfast

Spore-forming cultures are stable through stomach acid, so the empty-stomach argument matters less than people think. Pick a slot you will keep. If you are taking a course of antibiotics, leave 2 to 3 hours between the two.

Greens, Reds and MatchaMorning, in water

Matcha contains caffeine, so treat it like a coffee and keep it before about 2pm if you are sensitive to it.

AshwagandhaSame time every day, with food

Morning and evening both work. The thing that matters is picking one and staying with it rather than moving it around.

With your biggest meal

Whichever meal carries the most fat. For most people that is dinner.

Omega 3 and Krill OilWith your biggest meal

EPA and DHA contribute to the normal function of the heart, with a daily intake of 250mg. Dietary fat carries them, so the bigger the meal the better. A full stomach also cuts down the fishy repeat that puts people off taking them.

CurcuminWith a meal containing fat

Curcumin is poorly absorbed on its own. That is why the good formulas pair it with piperine from black pepper, and why taking it with a proper meal beats taking it with water.

Any multivitaminWith food

If it makes you feel queasy, split the dose across two meals instead of taking it all at once.

Before training

30 to 60 minutes before you start.

Collagen45 minutes before training, with vitamin C

Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage, bones and skin, which is why the two are taken together. A glass of orange juice or a vitamin C capsule alongside it does the job.

Essential Amino Acids15 to 30 minutes before, or sipped through the session

Most useful if you train fasted or first thing in the morning, when you have not eaten since the night before.

ElectrolytesBefore you sweat, not after

Potassium contributes to normal muscle function. If a session runs past an hour, or it is hot, or you are a heavy sweater, water on its own is not replacing what you are losing. Start drinking before you start training.

Any time

Where the clock genuinely does not matter.

CreatineAny time. Same time every day beats the perfect time

Creatine works by saturating a store in your muscle over weeks, not by giving you a hit on the day, so the timing debate is mostly noise. Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise, with a daily intake of 3g. The only rule that counts is not skipping days, which is why a lot of people switch to chews they can keep in a bag.

Lion's Mane and mushroom extractsAny time, most people take them in the morning

With food if an empty stomach does not agree with you.

ShilajitMorning or early afternoon, in water

ProteinWhenever it fills the gap in your day

Protein contributes to the growth and maintenance of muscle mass. Your total for the day matters far more than the 30-minute window you have probably read about.

Evening

The last hour before bed.

Magnesium Glycinate30 to 60 minutes before bed

Magnesium contributes to normal muscle function, to the normal functioning of the nervous system and to a reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Glycinate, also written bisglycinate, is the form that sits easiest on the stomach, which is what makes it the one people manage to take every night.

ZincEvening, with food

Zinc on an empty stomach is one of the most common causes of supplement nausea. Take it with food, and keep it away from high-dose iron and calcium.

What not to take together

The part nobody puts on the label.

The one-screen version

Screenshot this bit.

Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Do not exceed the stated dose. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking prescription medication, speak to your doctor or pharmacist first.