From supporting strong bones to helping with your mood and fighting inflammation, vitamin D has a lot of potential benefits. The vitamin is also important for reducing the risk of certain health issues, like cardiovascular disease, says Jessica Cording, RD, the author of The Little Book of Game-Changers. But while it’s recommended that most adults get 600 IU of vitamin D a day, many Americans aren’t getting enough.
Here’s why that may be: Vitamin D is produced by your body when UV rays hit your skin, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) explains. So if you live somewhere not especially sunny, or you just really keep up your sun protection game (nice!), you might come up short. And while there *are* food sources of the sunshine vitamin (including cod liver oil, trout, salmon, and mushrooms) most of them aren’t staples in the typical American diet.
Enter: supplements. Now, your decision to take any vitamin is personal, and one you shouldn’t hesitate to chat with your doctor about. But if you are going to add vitamin D to your routine, experts say there are a few factors that can influence how well your body absorbs it, like timing and whether or not you take it with food. We asked three nutritionists to break it down for us.
Meet the experts: Jessica Cording, RD, is the author of The Little Book of Game-Changers. Keri Gans, RD, is the author of The Small Change Diet. Sonya Angelone, RD, is a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
When To Consider A Vitamin D Supplement
“Since food options are somewhat limited with vitamin D, a person who rarely gets any direct sun on their body might want to consider [a supplement],” says Keri Gans, RD, author of The Small Change Diet. People who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet may also want to take a vitamin D supplement, she says, simply because many of the food sources that do exist are animal-based.
If you’re considering a vitamin D supplement, it’s a good idea to ask your doctor for a blood test to make sure that your levels are, in fact, low, says Sonya Angelone, RD, spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “It is also important to check your blood level of vitamin D before supplementing so you know just how much to take,” she adds.
Can you take vitamin D on an empty stomach?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. “That means absorption will be enhanced by consuming it with something that contains fat,” Cording explains.
“This is important so it can travel in blood, which is water-based,” Angelone says.
While you could take vitamin D with, say, a scoop of peanut butter or something else that contains fat, it’s usually just easier—and better—to have it with a meal, Angelone says. “Taking this vitamin with a meal ensures better absorption since it most likely contains more fat than snacks,” she says. “Research studies have consistently shown that vitamin D increases blood levels better when taken with a fat-containing meal.”
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When is the best time to take vitamin D?
There is no magic time when everyone should take vitamin D. It’s worth pointing out that there’s some data that suggests taking vitamin D later in the day may mess with your sleep, but the studies done so far are pretty specific and not conclusive. At the same time, some research has shown that lack of vitamin D increases your risk for sleep disorders, so…there’s a lot to still be explored here.
“Limited evidence suggests that it may affect melatonin production,” Angelone says. “I haven’t seen it to be a problem when taken before bed, however, I don’t usually recommend taking supplements before bedtime since it is important to take supplements with a full glass of water.”
In general, experts tend to recommend that you take your vitamin D in the morning, ideally with breakfast or your first meal of the day. “For a lot of people, it’s convenient to take vitamin D—or any vitamin—in the morning,” Cording says. “It can become a part of your daily getting-ready ritual.” If you happen to eat your first meal of the day at work, she suggests keeping vitamin D at your office. If it’s at home, keep your supplement in your kitchen.
“I have seen it work well for people to keep vitamin D in easy reach,” Cording says.
The bottom line? Talk to your doctor if you’re unsure whether you should supplement with vitamin D. If you do decide to take it, do so in the morning if possible.
Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.
