Answer
Verdict
Not enough evidence
Fat-soluble vitamins work best with a fatty meal, and sedating supplements work best at night.
2 sources: 2 partly
By Arun AgrahriLast reviewed 4 timecoded sources
Short answer
Two rules cover most of it. Take fat-soluble vitamins with a meal that has fat in it, and put anything sedating at night. Andrew Huberman takes magnesium 30 to 60 minutes before sleep, and Peter Attia takes 600 mg of ashwagandha at night. Rhonda Patrick times melatonin to the 2 to 3 hours before bed when the body makes its own.
positive partly neutral negative Each researcher and each study counts once per claim, however often they come up.
Fat-soluble vitamins work best with a fatty meal, and sedating supplements work best at night.
2 sources: 2 partly. Fewer than 3 sources so far.
Researchers say
2 partly
Mark Hyman, 2 mentions on this claim
Partly Video
on The Dr. Hyman Show, at 1:06:56 · partly
“the vitamin e they they require fat to be absorbed so you need to have it with a meal”
on The Dr. Hyman Show, at 40:26 · partly
“make sure you take it with food particularly fat which helps absorption”
Roger Seheult, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 27:46
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 27:46 →“if you're taking vitamin d and vitamin k both of which are fast soluble vitamins that you take it with something that is fat soluble”
Studies show
No study counted yet.
Mark Hyman Video · partly · 2 mentions
on The Dr. Hyman Show, at 1:06:56 · partly · Opinion
“the vitamin e they they require fat to be absorbed so you need to have it with a meal”
on The Dr. Hyman Show, at 40:26 · partly · Opinion
“make sure you take it with food particularly fat which helps absorption”
Roger Seheult, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 27:46 Video · partly · Opinion
“if you're taking vitamin d and vitamin k both of which are fast soluble vitamins that you take it with something that is fat soluble”
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Fat-soluble vitamins work best with a fatty meal, and sedating supplements work best at night. Timing changes the outcome for a small number of supplements and almost nothing for the rest, so get the two rules right and stop optimizing.
Vitamins A, D, E and K need dietary fat to cross the gut wall. Taken on an empty stomach with water, less of them gets in. Mark Hyman makes this point directly about vitamin D, and it applies to the whole fat-soluble group.
Andrew Huberman extends the same logic to B vitamins, zinc and CoQ10 for a different reason: they tend to upset the stomach without food rather than absorb poorly.
Magnesium is the clearest case. Huberman's line is that if you take it for sleep, it belongs 30 to 60 minutes before bed, because that is what it is for. He also restricts ashwagandha to the late afternoon and evening to keep cortisol low. Peter Attia takes his 600 mg of ashwagandha at night.
Rhonda Patrick applies the sharpest version to melatonin. Your own melatonin starts rising 2 to 3 hours before sleep, so that is the window a supplement should match.
Creatine is the standard example. Total daily intake fills the muscle and brain stores, so taking it before or after training changes very little. Bryan Johnson takes his 2.5 g before the workout, but out of routine, not for absorption. Omega-3 and vitamin D behave the same way: take them with a meal, daily, and stop tuning the clock.
The schedule has to be one you keep. A supplement taken at the ideal moment four days a week loses to the same supplement taken with breakfast every day.
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