All those vitamins and supplements are useless if they're not taken properly. Here are five ways to help your body absorb vitamins well.

Vitamins A, D, E, and Fish Oil: Vitamins A, D, E, fish oil and other oil-based supplements like cod liver oil protect the heart, prevent hardening of arteries and calm a stressed mind since they are all antioxidants. These should all be eaten daily with food. The time of the day for these is not important. If you are taking Vitamin D with calcium, do not take any fish oil supplements with this.

Calcium: High doses of calcium are best taken at night, one hour after dinner or between meals, leaving a gap of at least an hour after you have eaten your last meal, as it can interfere with other dietary nutrients.

Iron: Iron needs to be taken after a good breakfast for highest absorption. Iron, when taken with vitamin C and Zinc, is absorbed better by the body. Tea, coffee or alcohol taken after a meal rich in iron or an iron supplement, can destroy the iron.

Vitamin C and Zinc: Vitamin C and Zinc are immunity building supplements. Most people who get allergies, frequent coughs, colds and flus are deficient in these. These are time-released supplements, which means they get absorbed by the body over a period of a few hours. Ideally, these need to be taken with a main meal as the digestion of the main meal takes longer, thus enhancing the absorption of these supplements. In fact, Zinc, when taken on an empty stomach, causes nausea. All timed-release supplements need to have a slow journey through the gut, or they will not have released the nutrients by the time they reach the area of the gut where nutrients are absorbed.

B Vitamins: B vitamins can be taken at any time. However, for highest energy and absorption, always take them in the morning with breakfast. If you have had a stressful week, or a night of binge drinking or smoking, B vitamins are destroyed more easily, so up your intake to twice a day. Don't worry about over-dosing-B vitamins are water-soluble, hence any extra doses will be excreted in your urine.

Reproduced from Outlooks Business's Wellness Column by Rachna Chhachhi.