The first vitamin was discovered around early 1910 when a scientist in the United States discovered there is much more than just carbohydrate, protein and fat in food. Since then, vitamins have been sold to society claiming for numerous health benefits. However, it was during World War II that multivitamins were created to address soldiers at the time who were facing disabilities due to poor nutrition. In the 1950s, it was promoted in stores for the public and up until now, we can see so many ranges of multivitamins available in the market.
Multivitamin is defined as a combination of vitamins and minerals that is essential for the body. A brand’s multivitamins products may differ from one another as dosage of ingredients can greatly vary to cater the needs of people with different health backgrounds. Consumers nowadays have so many choices of how they want to consume it as multivitamins exist in many kinds such as tablet, pill, powder, liquid sachet or even chewy gummies. Society nowadays is much health conscious as they have wide access to health tips and even medical content.
In order to get the best out of the multivitamin we buy, we need to know when it should be taken. Firstly, we need to identify the vitamins contained inside the multivitamins. Basically, vitamin A, D, E and K are fat-soluble while vitamin B and C are water-soluble. The rule of thumb is if your multivitamin contains fat soluble vitamins, it is much better to take in the morning after having a meal or before bed time. This is important as this type of vitamins can irritate your stomach if you decide to take it with an empty stomach and may cause you to have an upset stomach. Plus, taking it early in the morning can help optimise the vitamin working for your body. Vitamin D and E has been proved in much research to aid people sleeping better by increasing sleep duration and preventing someone from sleep deprived which can cause memory impairment. Well, you might want to try taking it right before bedtime and after having dinner. However, it is a different story for vitamin B and C. You may want to take vitamin B in the morning as taking it later in the evening might cause some disruption to your usual sleep pattern. Good thing for vitamin C, you can have it any time of the day and best taken on an empty stomach to maximise the vitamin absorption in the gut. In the event that you are taking two or more pills for the day, it is recommended to divide the dose into parts, for instance, a pill in the morning and a pill in the night. This will help your body absorb the nutrients better and effectively.
Even so, what is most important is for you to adhere to daily intake of multivitamins itself and to be consistent throughout the time. Indeed, taking multivitamins according to recommended time can help achieve the maximum level of what each ingredient can offer. However, if you experience issues such as nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting or stomach pain after taking multivitamin, you can try adjusting it by making sure to have a meal beforehand and adjust the time you usually take. If the problem still persists, you might need to speak to a physician to find out what is the cause of those symptoms.
Remember, multivitamin is a supplement. It is not supposed to replace our daily meal where most nutrients come from real food. A good multivitamin should be tailored according to your individual body needs and not simply because it seems to work on others.
