You're asking and I'm answering . . .
Dear Fit,
I was at the health food store perusing the shelves of vitamins when I saw the words "time-released" on a few bottles. What does this mean and should I be taking these instead of regular vitamins?
— At a Loss About Supplements Suzanne
This is a great question, since I'm sure many of you wonder the same thing. According to Women's Health, when you swallow regular vitamins they begin to dissolve instantly. Time-released vitamins dissolve more slowly, so they take longer to enter your bloodstream. There is no evidence that shows slower is better for your body, and since time-released supplements are usually more expensive, they'll just end up costing more without offering any benefits. One advantage is that a slower releasing vitamin may be easier on your belly, if you tend to get an upset stomach from regular vitamins.
Honestly though, if you're eating a balanced diet that includes whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies, and healthy sources of lowfat proteins, there's really no reason to take vitamins at all.
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Clarks
Manoush
I think you're probably just fine taking a regular old multivitamin most of the time, unless your vitamin is giving you some serious digestive issues. And yeah, if you eat plenty of fruits and veggies, you probably don't need a multi. I know that for me personally, all I need to supplement is my calcium intake. So I take a calcium and Vitamin D pill to bring me up to speed.
1I try to eat healthy but really I'm not perfect so I take a multi just in case. And I take extra B, especially during bug/mosquito season. I get eaten by every bug out there and the B helps me to come out alive.
2This is interesting...
3My vitamin C supplement is "time released"...I didn't even notice the bottle said that until I'd already bought it.
4I think it's Dr. Oz who says you should just cut your vitamin in half, then take one half before work, and the other after. It allows your body to absorb more of the vitamin.
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