When Is The Best Time To Take Zinc Supplements?

Much depends on personal preferences. "It doesn't matter what time of the day a zinc supplement is taken," said Deborah Cohen, DCN, RDN, Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical and Preventive Nutrition Sciences at the Rutgers School of Health Professions. "No matter what time, the body metabolizes zinc in exactly the same way."

Ferira adds, “For some people, taking zinc on an empty stomach can make them feel sick, and for these people it may generally be in the morning. Chelated zinc is gentler, but regardless, as with most nutritional issues, it's an important individual consideration. "

There is also some data to suggest that taking zinc at night "may improve the quality of sleep," * says Vijaya Surampudi, M.D., professor of internal medicine at UCLA Health. A randomized controlled trial of older Italian adults with sleep problems found that those who took a combination of melatonin, magnesium, and zinc an hour before bed for eight weeks reported “significantly better” sleep quality scores than those who took a placebo . *

Another double-blind randomized controlled controlled study of the sleep quality of critical care workers found that caregivers reported better sleep quality when they took 220 milligrams of zinc sulfate capsules (i.e. 50 mg of zinc) every 72 hours for a month. *

In addition, Ferira notes that "this clinical study in young women around their menstrual cycle showed that zinc supplementation of 30 milligrams per day significantly improved quality of life, and sleep quality was one of the parameters that improved (albeit modestly)." *