The time you take your supplements can affect how well your body uses them. Follow our simple tips on timing, to help you get the most from your supplements.

Energy

It makes sense to take supplements that support energy production early in the day, this way you get the benefits when you most need them during waking hours.

• Multivitamin and Mineral, CoQ10, and Energy supplements  - Ideally best taken with food in the morning.

Sleep

• Sleep - As a general guide take sleep formulas about an hour before bed.
• Calcium – Best taken before bed with a light snack, as it is utilised most effectively overnight.
• Magnesium – To support a restful sleep it is best taken before bed. However, magnesium competes for the same absorption pathway as calcium, so if you are taking both, you could take your calcium with the evening meal then a few hours later take your magnesium.

Exercise performance and recovery

• Tienchi Ginseng – To promote stamina and endurance take an hour before and or after exercise
• Magnesium – To assist muscle recovery after exercise and help reduce exercise-induced muscle cramps take before and after exercise.

Chinese body clock

There are twelve organ-meridian systems that circulate a flow of Qi (pronounced chee) or vital energy around your body. Times in the day and night correspond to when the Qi flows most strongly through the 12 systems. Appropriate herbal medicines taken at peak Qi times can provide optimal health benefits. Whilst it’s not always practical to do this, using the Chinese Body Clock as a guide can be helpful in getting the most from your supplements.

• Take a Kidney Tonic between 5-7pm to correspond with ‘Kidney time’.
• Take a Liver Tonic before bed, so the supplement is in your system during 1-3am which is ‘Liver time’.

When it comes to getting the most from your supplements, drop by Mr Vitamins and ‘ask a Naturopath’.

Mr Vitamins recommends

Fusion Health - Fusion Health Organic Calcium Advanced and Fusion Health Organic Magnesium Advanced Find out more about Fusion Calcium Advanced and Magnesium Advanced here References DiSilvestro R 2013, ‘Current Research on Comparative Utility of Magnesium Supplements’, Natural Products Insider, May/June, pp. 76-73.