ingestion timing of supplements

[L3]

Hey all,

A buddy and I have been debating the timing schedule of taking vitamins/supps compared to eating.

Currently, I take all my vitamins/sups 15-25 minutes before every meal. I was just reading a post where Gustavo mentioned that taking calmag vits inhibits the absorption of the other compounds.

If I were to wait and take my calmag DK right before I eat, ie. 20 mins after the other vitamins, would it being broken down with food have any effect on the absorption of the calmag?

Also, another debate about glutamine. My bud is adamant about not taking glutamine with your protein, but doing it like 10 minutes before and letting it absorb. He says something about it not being utilized properly if you take it at the same time as whey, but since my body breaks down protein into amino’s, I don’t really see a difference?

And a third topic. Would stacking c-monohydrate with c-ethyl-ester diminish the effect of the ethyl-ester? I know the e-e is just a more bioavailable form of the monohydrate, but am I just pissing away my money by stacking both? I take the monohydrate about 45 mins before workout and the ethyl-ester 15-20 mins pre workout.
Further to that, if my commercial NO supplement already has creatine derivatives in it, is adding the ethyl ester really do anything (other than the placebo effect)? At how many mg do muscles get saturated? Would it be more effective if you take some halfway through the workout?

yay for taking more than the recommended dosage :P

[Gettin'r'round]

Take your vitamins with food. Remember some of those vit's are fat soluble so on an empty stomach they will not be absorbed as well. Personally i think glutamine is a waste.

[Tank]

You should take all supplements after food or half way between the meal. AMino acids, digestive enzyme and probiotics and supplements for neural transmitters are the only supplements that need to be taken prior to a meal.

[L3]

thanks for the info tank. ironically enough, i forgot to take my bcaa's with me today.

this probably doesnt belong in this forum, but i might as well post in this thread... what about the ingestion of oral aas -> do you preffer before/during/after food?

any input on the creatine question?

thanks bro

[fathead]

agreed- unless you are buying very expensive vitamins processed from whole foods they need to be taken with food to be absorbed.

glutamine is in my opinion, useless. most will tend to agree, except for a few zealots who swear by it. again, glutamine gets thrashed by your body and is very poorly absorbed, so to get benefit you tend to need to eat like a kilo of it at a time. IV glutamine is a different story all together.

creatine- your body can only utilize so much of it. taking more wont be any more effective after a certain point. unless your taking certain aas, mega dosing of creatine isnt worthwhile.

I also think youre over thinking all these supplements and how to take them lol!

[GTZ3]

It is actually beneficial to take most supplements immediatley before a meal ... the food then acts as a buffer, and helps move the supp along quicker out of the gut and into the SI where the ingrediants are absorbed and ultimatley it ellicits its effects.

[Demonwolf]

I agree with these oterh fellows.

[SteveMan]

protein contains glutamine so taking additional glutamine with your protein should not pose an issue.

:pb