Is it ok to take vitamins on an empty stomach?
We all know that taking a daily multivitamin is like giving your body a high-five, except the vitamin doesn’t feel anything because it’s an inanimate object. But have you ever wondered whether it’s better to take those vitamins with food, or if it’s alright to pop them on an empty stomach? Let’s dive in and find out.
To eat or not to eat
You’re probably thinking that since most medications are taken with a meal for maximum absorption and minimum discomfort, the same rule applies for vitamins. However, that might not necessarily be true.
According to some studies,^1 taking certain vitamins like Vitamin C and B Vitamins on an empty stomach could actually lead to better absorption than when taken with food. The reason is that when taken with food, the digestive enzymes in your gut break down the nutrients of both the food and supplements together, leading to decreased bioavailability of each individual nutrient (that was a mouthful). On top of that,^2 taking fat-soluble supplements like Vitamin A,D,E,K on an empty stomach could lead to uncomfortable side effects as these supplements require fat from food for proper absorption by your body.
But hold up; before you go throwing away those multi-vitamins bottles or start gulping them down first thing in the morning (not advisable), let us explore this topic more thoroughly through these following subheadings:
Fat-Soluble Vitamins Are Not Your Friend (on Empty Stomach)
When we talk about supplementation of fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A,D,E,K… well don’t worry I am sure you are bored already so let’s jump straight into their role as being susceptible towards causing nausea/vomiting/dizziness/headaches(sorry but they do)when consumed without any fats accompanying them due to their potential accumulation in liver or other parts of the body.
So, If you were planning on taking your vitamin D consumption up a notch by taking it without any food then let me tell you: Paul McCartney was right all along, all we need is ‘a little help from our friends, to get by’. To avoid these issues just consume them with some sort of fat based food, like omegas or avocado maybe? Not only will it reduce the chance for gastrointestinal distress but also expose adequate amounts of these vitamins for their absorption in bloodstream.
Exceptions are always there
If consuming Vitamin deficient supplements on empty stomach could lead to more efficient utilization and increased bioavailability. Then why do doctors recommend a meal before ingestion? Well, as they say – exceptions are always there!
For example; Iron Supplements tend towards causing serious gastritis that can potentially be fatal because your body simply doesn’t have enough mechanism installed naturally to accommodate such infusion rather frequent dosages so defaulting on meals here might make things worse! So consult an expert if you don’t know how to proceed folks.
Some Absorption Must Go Down (With Food)
Absorption rates play critical role when discussing becoming healthy over time through multi-vitamin supplementations…which reminds me does this mean I can stop drinking my chia seeds coolers that taste like grass now?
Coming back to topic: Certain components within multivitamin formulations require at least a certain amount of organic material present alongside otherwise their effectiveness diminishes considerably during passage down gut. This implies that eating something with nutrition packed profile should accompany multivitamins most times than not especially minerals since they generally struggle getting absorbed in acidic environment inside stomach unless present in certain binding form (chelated mineral instead simple ionic bonded ones).
Some important note-worthy examples include Zinc/Copper/Magnesium/Calcium(Vitamin C Accompanied) supplementation regime which show favorable results among study groups who consumed multivitamins with a meal, supporting the suggestion of complimentary organic entity assisting in their bioavailability.
Wrapping up
Knowing when to take vitamins can be as important as taking vitamins themselves especially when it comes to avoiding health mishaps like upset stomachs and indigestion…yeah those things! As we saw earlier,on an empty stomach could lead to increased absorption rates for few selected vitamin intakes but that doesn’t imply empty-stomach-intake should become default option because every supplement works differently on human’s digestive ecosystem.
Thus anyone entering murky waters where this topic resides,seek expert opinions instead finding your equilibrium by following generic stuff online about supplementations since they vary from person-to-person’s metabolism levels and nutritional profiles.Anyways all said and done folks, my personal preference is downing these pills during meals anyway so I don’t forget whether or not I did swallow them – multitaskers unite!