Supplements 101: The Best Times to Take Your Vitamins

Vitamins used to be so simple. You’d pop a Fred Flintstone in the morning, throw on your backpack, and head towards the bus stop. But as your body ages and your nutritional needs change, you’ll find that your body needs more specific nutrients to keep up with your physical activities or just to supplement your needs as you age.

Everything from your diet, your age, and your general level of fitness will dictate what you need to be ensuring reaches your stomach, and that’s a lot to keep track of.

If you need a refresher, or you’re just not sure where to begin, here’s a crash course on supplements, what they do for you, and why you should graduate past those chalky stone age relics.

A Tough Pill to Swallow

There’s absolutely no shame in taking any supplements. They’re a form of preventative medicine. If you’re able to predict your needs and tend to them before they become an issue, then you’re miles ahead of most folks out there.

Taking care of your body is a lot like tending to a car. You can make a vehicle last decades with simple maintenance. If you’re reading this, you’re probably the type of person that’s in the gym regularly and you understand the value of working out a few times a week. Exercise is the closest we can get to rotating our tires and getting new brake pads. 

Supplements, in this metaphor, are the vital fluids in your car. Your body is just a complex as the things we drive around. Your skeletal muscles are many and varied, they all work by performing one hyperspecific task as efficiently as they possibly could, and they’re fueled by something precious.

You can enhance the working order of your body by providing the fuel you need. Supplements are here to ensure you get the nutrition your body craves. You can spend all week balancing the hell out of your diet, tracking your macros, and jotting down every single nutrient from all of your meals, and you still might miss a thing or two.

The simple solution is taking note of the things you tend to miss, and grabbing a supplement on the way out the door. You can pretty easily assess the needs of your own body, you live inside of it after all, and match your symptoms to a supplement. If you don’t feel like it’s right for you, then just drop it.

As long as you’re not overindulging, there won’t really be a detriment to your health one way or the other. Your body tends not to hold onto vitamins and minerals that it won’t use, you’ll just dispose of them when you make it to the restroom next time. 

Supplements can be anything you’re adding to your diet from antacids to calcium capsules, it’s sort of a catch-all term for something you’re adding to your rotation to supplement a deficiency. Healthcare providers can point you in the right direction, every person’s needs are different, and when you have a firm understanding of your body you can make quick, informed decisions. 

Adding supplements to your diet is a quick, easy, safe, and cheap way to keep your body in tip-top shape. If you’re already watching what you eat and hitting the gym regularly, you might as well top things off with some easy-to-implement supplements.

Broad Strokes

Wading into the world of supplements can be daunting at first, how do you know what ferrous sulfate is, and what if you’re monitoring your celiac disease? A fact sheet is an easy resource to refer to when you’re looking for something to slot into your morning routine. The best way to make sure you’re adding the right supplements into your diet is to seek out medical advice. It’s easy to reach for the ferrous gluconate when you’re feeling a little low, but if you’re grappling with underlying medical conditions a supplement isn’t always going to cut it. 

A Morning Probiotic

Grabbing a probiotic in the morning is a great way to settle your stomach, and keep your digestive tract in working order. Your gastrointestinal system is home to a full range of bacteria that your body needs to fully draw on the food that passes through your stomach and intestines.

Your stomach is surprisingly sensitive for all of the punishment we can inflict on it without noticing the consequences. When your gut biome is out of wack you’ll start running into digestive issues, allergies, rapid weight gain, and there are studies that suggest that your gut microbiome is indirectly responsible for mental health issues. 

Balancing friendly bacteria isn’t as hard as it seems. You can just pop a probiotic in the morning, or you can look for probiotic sources in your life. Fermented foods are essentially just foods that have been subjected to probiotics over an extended period of time.

Wine is often touted as having a wide range of positive effects on your body in moderation and this is one of those reasons. Fermenting the grapes imparts a lot of bacteria that your body uses in your gut.

Yogurts are another easy source of probiotics, and second, to a quick probiotic, they’re one of the easiest ways to get some friendly bacteria in your body. Pairing a healthy yogurt with your breakfast on a regular basis will leave you feeling fine in no time.

A Morning Multivitamin

A multivitamin is designed specifically to supplement the nutritional needs of an active and aging body. As your body exits childhood, you’re going to need all sorts of nutrients to keep your body going on a healthy trajectory. You could take the time to scour through all of your foods every day to ensure they’re making their way into your body regularly, or you could find a multivitamin to take on your way out the door every morning.

Getting a multivitamin in early on is a great way to reap the benefits as it digests and propagates through your bloodstream, and getting the vitamin out of the way in the morning is an easy way to relieve your brain of the mental load of remembering in the middle of the day. 

Multivitamins are great for a number of things. Lots of multivitamins are rich in heart-healthy vitamins that aid in combat against heart disease like niacin, magnesium, B1, B2, and K1.

A good multivitamin will also have something for your eyes as well. Some of those vitamins overlap with your heart health like niacin and vitamin B, and some of them are a little more unique like selenium, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Lutein, zeaxanthin, and selenium have been shown to fortify your eyes against the risk of muscular degeneration, which is a phenomenal benefit in the long run. 

Breakfast B-12 

Rounding out your breakfast crew is vitamin B-12. B-12 is one of those vitamins that are constantly in the conversation about physical health because it’s a vitamin that’s used in a wide range of crucial functions in your body. You use vitamin B-12 in producing red blood cells and when your cells divide and replicate your DNA, B-12 is right there facilitating the process.

B-12 is present in the healthy function of your nervous system as well. Everywhere you would want your body to operate optimally you’ll find vitamin B-12 standing stalwart. 

Vitamin B-12 luckily isn’t a rare vitamin to get a hold of. You can find it in a lot of your foods. If you’re regularly eating poultry, fish, and eggs then you’ll probably have no trouble at all keeping up your B-12 levels. Some grains will also be fortified with B-12. This really only means that B-12 has been added to them during the course of processing the food for your consumption.

If your diet has you seeking out foods fortified with B-12, you might be better served by reaching out for a supplement. You can save your calories for something a little more fun, and you’ll know that you’re getting your recommended amount without question.

Frequent Fiber 

You can never really overdo it with fiber. Chances are you’re not getting enough. Fiber helps you pass your waste. If you’re regularly dealing with constipation any healthcare professional will tell you first to make sure you’re getting the fiber you need. If you’re new to fiber intake you might feel a little bloating and a lot of gas initially, but once you’re over the hump, your bowels will be so much more regular, and trips to the restroom will be a million times quicker. 

Increased fiber in your system might lower your blood sugar levels, so your diet might end up adjusting in response to an uptick in fiber supplements, but that’s an easy fix, and a tiny price to pay in the face of erasing irregularity. 

Midday Iron Break

Iron is a mineral your body is stuffed to the brim with. Your body uses iron in your blood cells to supply every single inch of yourself with oxygen. Not having enough iron in your body is a little bit like holding your breath half of the time. Your respiratory system is dependent on everything working smoothly, and if your blood isn’t cooperating, then you’re going to have a bad time.

Iron supplements are a great way to sidestep one of the most common deficiencies in the world. Your body needs a little bit more than you’re probably getting from your food. It’s great to seek out foods that are fortified with iron, and meats that are rich in it, but sometimes you need need a little boost, and iron supplements are excellent for that.

If you’re feeling lethargic no matter how much you’re working out and carefully monitoring your diet, then that’s probably because your body is desperately trying to transmit nutrients in blood that’s not properly outfitting with the iron levels it needs to get its job done right.

Iron stores are tough to upkeep for anybody, but pregnant women are probably going to struggle with iron deficiency anemia the most. Building a human being from scratch takes a lot of work and nutrients, so the amount of iron pregnant women need is, of course, going to be higher than normal. Once they've had their child, breastfeeding is also another common cause of a lack of elemental iron in women. Young children are going to have a tough time keeping their iron up as well.

Iron-rich foods aren’t hard to come by, leafy green vegetables like spinach and kale are an easy vegetarian option, and red meats and seafood are an even easier way to pack in this mineral. Oral iron isn't there to subvert your regular intake, they're called supplements for a reason. The supplements also help because the absorption of iron becomes easier for your body as intake increases.

Slip in an iron supplement when you’re taking an early break from your work, and you’ll feel like you can tackle the rest of your day, no problem. Side effects of an iron deficiency are sinister, and you might not even realize that half-cocked hemoglobin levels are to blame for your cold fingers or your low energy levels. 

Once you understand the importance of iron intake, your low iron levels will become much more obvious in your daily life. iron needs are easy to meet especially with regular iron supplementation boosting your intake. If you think you struggle with iron deficiency anemia, then taking the time to solve it with regular supplements will yield incredible dividends.

Post Workout Protein 

Protein is probably the most obvious and important supplement in this guide. Your protein intake is easily one of the most vital aspects of your diet. Your body is a meticulous pairing of water and protein when you get down to it on a cellular level.

Without proper hydration, you’re going to be running into a world of hurt, and the same goes for a protein deficiency. If you’re hitting the gym regularly, and you’re working out as hard as we think you are, then you’re damaging your muscle fibers, and increasing your energy demands much further than Joe Couch Potato. This means you’re going to need a lot more protein than him too.

Growing in strength and muscle mass is only partially dependent on your exercise. You’re also going to need the protein to back you up. Protein in your diet is directly applied to your muscles and so many other structures in your body. If you want to make sure you’re maximizing the effort you put in at the gym, then make sure you’re loading up with protein afterward. 

Adding protein supplements to your diet is also an excellent way to manage your hunger. The hardest thing about changing up a diet is managing hunger, when you get hungrier than you know how to manage, that’s when you start tossing in empty calories and making snap food judgments. If you’ve always got some sort of easy source of protein on hand, then it’s harder to fall prey to the whims of your body.

Lunchtime Vitamin C

You’re probably not running the risk of scurvy. Vitamin C is probably most famous for keeping sailors from falling to this painful disease on long treks over the ocean. Scurvy is the most extreme form of vitamin C deficiency, and it’s symptoms are all of the reasons you might want to keep yourself full of vitamin C. Who knew a lack of orange juice could bring down a whole ship? 

If you’re lacking vitamin C you’re probably dealing with long unexplainable bouts of fatigue. You might feel weak generally, and especially in your arms and legs.

As a vitamin C deficiency worsens, you’re going to have a heck of a time healing small cuts, and if you’re out at sea, or you keep neglecting your vitamins, you’re going to have drastic personality changes, and once the mutiny starts and your crew starts infighting, you’ll probably die from infection or blood loss after the wounds you’ve sustained refuse to close up. 

Heading that drama off early is easy though, take some vitamin C supplements and leave them near wherever you tend to eat your lunch, and whenever you sit down with your sandwich take a quick vitamin C supplement. Ideally a highly absorbable vitamin C.

Get in Bed with GABA

We tend to take rest for granted in the West. We’re always on our feet, and squeezing as much work as possible out of ourselves. If you’re the type of person looking to maximize the performance of your body, then you’re probably guilty of this too. It’s hard to give ourselves the opportunity to luxuriate in long deep rest.

Without it, though, you’re going to be miserable. If you don’t sleep, you’ll just die. Your body needs it, and when you’re resting your body is pulling overtime. Rest is when we get our repairs done. This is when we start to see results from the hard work in the gym. A long rest is when you’re finally able to apply the protein you’ve ingested to your tired muscles.

If rest is so important, then a dietary supplement that will help you get a good night of sleep is something you’re going to get a lot out of. That’s what gamma-Aminobutyric acid is here for. If reading that long name doesn’t make you tired, then taking GABA will. GABA is “the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the developmentally mature mammalian central nervous system.”

That just means that it’s one of the chemicals in your brain that makes you tired. It helps dampen the neurons in your brain and allows you to sink more easily into sleep. Taking some GABA is great if you’re restless or having trouble relaxing at the end of a stressful day.

Graduating from Supplement 101

This is only a rough guide on how to apply supplements to your everyday life, but this will give you the sort of foundation you need to add a wider range of supplements to your diet.

Whenever you feel like your body is lagging behind somewhere or you’re feeling like you’re sitting in a long-lasting malaise, then take a brief moment to research how your body interacts with different nutrients (or the lack of them). A routine blood test will also show you where you’re lacking if you want to take some of the guess work out. 

Remember to try not to take these on an empty stomach, your stomach is an inhospitable place for a lot of things, and if you’re tossing supplements in there without a safety net of food, you’re more likely to disintegrate your nutrients than absorb them.

The world of supplements is massive, and you’re sure to find something that will give you exactly what you’re lacking. A good supplement is natural, and its claims will be easy to back up. They’re not relying on anything special, it’s just about giving your body what it needs and keeping you well-stocked when it needs it.