Last week I kept having the same horrible sick feeling right as I sat down at my desk to start work. It happened every day at exactly the same time and I couldn’t work out what was causing it. Then, it suddenly dawned on me – my multivitamin.
At the start of the week I had started taking a multivitamin tablet in an attempt to boost my overall health, but it was giving me an annoying wave of nausea every morning. That got me thinking… what is the best time to take a multivitamin supplement?
Best time to take your multivitamin
Dr. Hana Patel, NHS GP and GP Medico-Legal Expert Witness, told The Focus the best time to take your multivitamin is in the morning, but after you’ve eaten your breakfast.
“Multivitamin supplements are best taken in the morning with food to help promote optimal absorption,” she said. “It is generally advisable to take multivitamins after consuming food rather than on an empty stomach, as the latter may lead to nausea and diarrhoea.”
“Multivitamins contain a combination of water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins and minerals, such as iron, copper and calcium. Mineral intake can vary, so it is recommended to take some with food to avoid gastrointestinal distress.”
A multivitamin (MVM) is any supplement that contains a combination of vitamins and minerals, the National Institutes of Health explains. They are taken to improve general health and reduce risk of disease.
MVMs should never replace eating a variety of foods as the food we consume provides far more than just vitamins and minerals, with other ingredients that benefit health such as fiber. People should always get most of their nutrients from food and beverages.
Why multivitamins can cause sickness
Christine Lee, MD, from Cleveland Clinic, explains that taking vitamins on an empty stomach can frequently upset the GI tract, which can cause some people to experience stomach pains, nausea and diarrhoea.
Vitamins and supplements can also aggravate gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcers, gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome and other digestive conditions, so people with these conditions might be even more likely to experience side effects from taking vitamins.
Ones that contain calcium, vitamin C or iron are more likely than others to irritate the stomach lining, and most multivitamins contain all three of these. Rarely, vitamins and supplements can also affect the way certain medications are absorbed in the body.
6 tips to avoid nausea after vitamins
Lee recommends the following tips to skip the stomach ache, nausea and diarrhoea after taking your vitamin supplements.
- Always take vitamins with food
- Don’t take them before exercising
- Try easy-to-digest forms like dissolvable, chewable, powder or gummy vitamins instead of tablets
- Reduce your dose size if you’re feeling nauseous
- Eat a diet rich in vitamins, trying to get most of them naturally
- Don’t take too much, as vitamin overdose can make you feel sick
