Given that, it’s no surprise that vitamin D supplementation has become such a massive and important topic. Thing is, though, reaping the benefits of the sunshine vitamin in supplement form isn’t as simple as grabbing the first bottle you see and popping it haphazardly. Instead, getting your supplement routine right ensures you’re doing right by your health and your wallet. So, when is the best time to take vitamin D—and how can you get the most out of your regimen? Here’s what the experts have to say. Since a three-ounce serving of farmed salmon contains about 447 IU2, a cup of fortified milk offers up to 100 IU3, and eight ounces of vanilla yogurt provides just 86 IU2, you’d have to eat a truly unrealistic amount of D-containing foods to rack up a significant amount (i.e., an amount to achieve vitamin D sufficiency). “You really cannot get enough vitamin D from your diet,” Holick confirms. In fact, his research on vitamin D levels4 has found that average serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels (the body’s clinical biomarker of vitamin D status) of adults in the U.S. were only hovering around 18 to 22 ng/ml at the end of winter, and still only at 29 ng/ml at the end of summer. Both fall below the 30 ng/ml cutoff for baseline vitamin D sufficiency5. (i.e., the cutoff, not the goal). “The difference is small regardless of season,” Holick says. “You still can’t get enough.” Because of these different factors, Holick (along with many other health practitioners and researchers) recommends supplementing with vitamin D daily. (Want some recommendations that’ll actually help you meet your needs? Check out our favorite vitamin D supplements.) There’s one important exception here, though. “If your supplement is already packaged with adequate fats included, there’s no need to take it with food,” Crouch adds. This is a rare feature among vitamin D supplements offered today, so it’s important to check product labels to make sure yours contains some kind of fat or oil to foster absorption, Holick says. If that is the case, though, you can feel free to take your vitamin D sans food. And if not, you’ll still absorb some vitamin D. “We’ve done studies and shown that vitamin D with oil can be taken with a full meal, on an empty stomach, with additional fat or without it,” says Holick. To optimize absorption, mindbodygreen uniquely and expertly formulated our vitamin D3 potency+ with three built-in, high-quality organic oils (from extra-virgin olive oil, avocado, and flaxseed) to be sure you’re maximizing the fat-soluble bioavailability of this critical nutrient.* With this absorption support, you can get the most out of your vitamin D, regardless of when you take it (not to mention the healthy omega-3 and omega-9 fatty acids).* Holick concurs, “There is some evidence to suggest that vitamin D promotes sleep, but research is ongoing.” Indeed, vitamin D deficiency has been linked with several sleep issues10, and a recent Nutrients meta-analysis11 even found that individuals that take a vitamin D supplement have better sleep quality than those that don’t.* And if your D supplement contains some healthy fats, you’ve got plenty of flexibility. To stay consistent, though, Crouch suggests tying your vitamin D supplement to some other part of your routine that happens daily, like drinking your morning coffee or brushing your teeth, or timed with some other daily regimen. If your D3 supplement doesn’t contain fat, try tying it to your breakfast (and just make sure you’ve got some healthy fat like avocado in there). If lunch or dinner works better for your D ritual, go for it! And if you happen to take your vitamin D at different times or even forget to take it here and there, don’t panic. “Vitamin D is very forgiving,” Holick says. “If you forget it one day, you can take double the next day.” No sweat! Remember: If your supplement doesn’t contain fats to support absorption, you’ll want to pair your vitamin D with some sort of fat, preferably something healthy like avocado, fish, olive oil, etc. Want specific recommendations? Check out our vitamin D supplement roundup.
