TAKING VITAMINS AT BREAKFAST
SEVEN out of 10 of us take a supplement in the morning, but latest research has found that certain breakfast foods and drinks can stop you absorbing the vitamins in your daily pill pill. A As study by the UniversityU of East Anglia this month found that hot food, such as porridge, inhibited the absorption of iron in multivitamins by nearlyn three-quarters. Similarly, the polyphenolspo contained in tea and coffee could preventp you absorbing other important minerals, such as zinc, magnesium and calcium. CORRECT IT GP and medical nutritionist Dr Sarah Brewer says most supplements are best taken not with food but immediately after it, when the already activated stomach acids will help digest them. In fact, just a few bites of food before taking your vitamin pill will trigger the breakdown process and boost its absorption.
You should only wash down tablets with water, too.
“Ideally, tea, coffee and hot chocolate should not be drunk within two hours of taking an iron-containing supplement,” she adds.