Supplement timing!
Posted by scratch on Mar 21, 2007 · Member since Jun 2006 · 9 posts
Alright, so I take two vitamin supplements, iron and B12, every morning after breakfast. My question is, is it okay to take them at the same time, or will only one absorb? When buying them, the clerk told me that if I were to take a calcium and an iron at the same time, the calcium wouldn't absorb, only the iron would. Would this happen to either of the two I'm taking?
The Doctor's Comlete Guide to Vitamins and Minerals has this to say:
"Excess calcium (over 2 grams a day) completes with iron in your intestine for absorption into the body."
It also says iron requires adequate levels vitamins B2 & B6 in the body to absorb properly and that large amounts of Vitamin C interferes with the absorption of B12.
I'd assume that means B12 and iron taken together would be fine??? MizzouKitten might know, she's majoring in Nutritional Science.
I take B12 and Iron daily too. Some Iron supplements have Vitamin C in them, if they don't then you want to take them close to eating or drinking something with Vitamin C - I prefer blackcurrant juice.
It works for me, I get my blood checked 3 to 4 times a year to track my Iron and B12 levels. That way my Doc know if the supplements are working or not. (My body doesn't absorb Iron or B12 from food, hasn't since before I went vegan).