Supplement timing
Best Time to Take Supplements: Sourced Timing, One by One
By Midline. Last reviewed .
The question
What is the best time to take each supplement?
Short answer
Take vitamin D with a meal that has some fat, and omega-3 with a meal. Take creatine every day; the time of day is up to you. Have your last caffeine early in the afternoon, well before bed. Where we have no sourced time, we say follow the label.
Midline cannot measure visceral fat and is not medical advice. Check with a doctor before making medical decisions.
What do the sources say, supplement by supplement?
| Supplement | What the sources support |
|---|---|
| Vitamin D | Take vitamin D with a meal that has some fat, with K2 if you take it. |
| Fish oil (omega-3) | Take omega-3 with a meal. |
| Creatine | Take creatine every day. The time of day is up to you, so pick one you will remember. |
| Fiber | No sourced time of day. Add fiber a bit at a time and see how your gut feels. |
| Caffeine | Have your last caffeine early in the afternoon, well before bed. |
Which supplements have no sourced time yet?
We do not have a public timing recommendation for these yet, so Midline says follow the label:
- Magnesium
- Zinc
- Collagen
- Probiotic
Two more do have a time: take vitamin K2 with your vitamin D, and a multivitamin earlier in the day, not at night. Follow the label for the dose.
More on vitamin K2.
Do supplements help you lose weight?
Supplements sold to fix your gut and speed up weight loss do too little to matter. Habits come first.
Supplements earn their place as part of a routine, at the right time, not as a result.
Who should check first?
Follow the label. If you take any medicine, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a kidney or liver condition, check with your pharmacist or doctor first.
Check with your pharmacist or doctor about supplements if you take medication.
Prefer third-party tested supplements, like NSF certified. You cannot always be sure what is in a bottle. A seal tells you what is in it, not whether it works.
See what third-party tested means, or build a simple schedule.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to take vitamin D?
Take vitamin D with a meal that has some fat, with K2 if you take it.
What is the best time to take fish oil?
Take omega-3 with a meal.
Does the time of day matter for creatine?
Take creatine every day. The time of day is up to you, so pick one you will remember.
When should I stop caffeine?
Have your last caffeine early in the afternoon, well before bed.
Should I check with a pharmacist before taking supplements?
Check with your pharmacist or doctor about supplements if you take medication.
Keep reading
More answers
Sources
- Alan Aragon on The Diary Of A CEO. Alan Aragon, The Diary Of A CEOSupplements sold to fix the gut and boost weight loss show effects too small to matter in practice.
- Andrew Huberman on The Diary Of A CEO. Andrew Huberman, The Diary Of A CEODescribed Stanford work in which eating more fiber raised inflammatory markers in many people. He says too much fiber can be bad for some people.Study they described: Gut-microbiota-targeted diets modulate human immune status (Wastyk et al.) (Cell, 2021).
- Andy Galpin on The Diary Of A CEO. Andy Galpin, The Diary Of A CEOIf you use supplements, buy from third-party tested companies that post their testing on their websites.
- Darren Candow on The Diary Of A CEO. Darren Candow, The Diary Of A CEOIdeally take it every day, not only on training days. Morning, evening or during a workout all work, and you can split the amount.
- David Unwin on The Diary Of A CEO. David Unwin, The Diary Of A CEOMagnesium is hard to get enough of from food today, so he supports a supplement.
- Layne Norton on The Diary Of A CEO. Layne Norton, The Diary Of A CEOPuts creatine monohydrate in his first tier of supplements and takes it every day.
- Matthew Walker on The Diary Of A CEO. Matthew Walker, The Diary Of A CEOMost forms of magnesium do not reach the brain, so for sleep he says they mostly do nothing.
- Michael Breus on The Diary Of A CEO. Michael Breus, The Diary Of A CEOStop coffee by about 2 pm. He says caffeine has a half-life of six to eight hours, and 2 pm is about eight hours before a 10 pm bedtime.
- Pradeep Jamnadas on The Diary Of A CEO. Pradeep Jamnadas, The Diary Of A CEOGives vitamin K2 with D3 to his patients.
- Rhonda Patrick on The Diary Of A CEO. Rhonda Patrick, The Diary Of A CEOTaken consistently every day, creatine fills your muscles in about three to four weeks, so no loading phase is needed.
- Thomas DeLauer on YouTube. Thomas DeLauer, YouTubeTake D3 and K2 together, in the morning, with some fat, such as with eggs or coffee with fat. He says never take D3 on its own.
- Thomas DeLauer on YouTube. Thomas DeLauer, YouTubeTake fish oil, or eat salmon or sardines, alongside a carb meal like rice. He says this slightly slows the blood sugar rise from the rice.
- Thomas DeLauer on YouTube. Thomas DeLauer, YouTubeCut caffeine about eight hours before bed (his own number). He described a study that gave caffeine 0, 3 or 6 hours before bedtime.Study they described: Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed (Drake et al.) (Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2013).
All sources across the site are listed on the sources page.
Last reviewed . Educational only, not medical advice. Check with your pharmacist if you take medication.
We draft articles with AI help. A reviewer checks every health statement against the expert's own words in the video before it goes up.